Do you want to see ‘Oldboy’?

Oldboy (2004)

tomatometer

All Critics
Top Critics

Average Rating: 7.3/10
Reviews Counted: 126
Fresh: 102 | Rotten: 24

Violent and definitely not for the squeamish, Park Chan-Wook's visceral Oldboy is a strange, powerful tale of revenge.

Average Rating: 7.1/10
Critic Reviews: 30
Fresh: 24 | Rotten: 6

Violent and definitely not for the squeamish, Park Chan-Wook's visceral Oldboy is a strange, powerful tale of revenge.

audience

liked it
Average Rating: 4.3/5
User Ratings: 114,838

My Rating

Added to your Facebook Timeline. — undo

Movie Info

South Korean filmmaker Park Chan-wook directed this violent and offbeat story of punishment and vengeance. Oh Dae-su (Choi Min-sik) is a husband and father whose reputation for womanizing is well known. One day, for reasons he doesn't understand, Oh Dae-su finds himself locked up in a prison cell, with no idea of what his crime was or whom his jailers may be. With a small television as his only link to the outside world and a daily ration of fried dumplings as his only sustenance, Oh Dae-su

R, 1 hr. 58 min.

Mystery & Suspense, Drama

Directed By: Chan Wook Park

Written By: Chan Wook Park

In Theaters: Mar 25, 2005 Wide

On DVD: Aug 23, 2005

Box Office:$0.6M

Tartan Films

There's a lot less here than meets the eye.

April 17, 2007 Full Review Source: Chicago Reader

| Comments (16)

J. R. Jones

Chicago Reader

Top Critic

It's mesmerizing and discomfiting, engaging the viewer on a visceral and an intellectual level.

June 10, 2005 Full Review Source: Orlando Sentinel

| Comment

Roger Moore

Orlando Sentinel

Top Critic

A visually beguiling trip that keeps pulling you along and keeps you wondering what fresh hell could possibly come next.

June 2, 2005 Full Review Source: Atlanta Journal-Constitution

| Comment

Bob Townsend

Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Top Critic

Its magnificence is that it takes itself dead serious. It's not entertainment, but it's sure a piece of toughness.

May 20, 2005 Full Review Source: Washington Post

| Comment (1)

Stephen Hunter

Washington Post

Top Critic

Combining the sinister suspense of Alfred Hitchcock with the unrepentant violence of Quentin Tarantino, South Korean director Park Chan-wook delivers a revenge tale as shocking as it is thought-provoking.

April 28, 2005 Full Review Source: Arizona Republic

| Comment

Kerry Lengel

Arizona Republic

Top Critic

While one might argue that it loses credibility and impact as it reaches further along the ledge of outrageous, tummy churning plot developments, there's no denying the turbulence it creates.

April 15, 2005 Full Review Source: Toronto Star

| Comment

Geoff Pevere

Toronto Star

Top Critic

Banzai-violence kin to "Cast Away" about a man at time's cruel whim, "Oldboy"is an endurance test worth taking. Its conclusion is the most sadistic and destructively wrathful since "Seven," and the point of no return has rarely shocked this much.

September 17, 2010 Full Review Source: Suite101.com

| Comment

Nick Rogers

Suite101.com

Intense and dark but also humorous and moving, this is an ambitious film that fulfils its promise, despite an arguably overly protracted denouement. Excellent.

July 16, 2010 Full Review Source: Film4

| Comment

Film4

... a revenge thriller set in a cinematic neverland one zip-code away from Seven and Saw.

March 25, 2010 Full Review Source: Seanax.com

| Comment

Sean Axmaker

Seanax.com

One of the best imports I've seen in a while...

April 29, 2009 Full Review Source: Cinema Crazed

| Comment

Felix Vasquez Jr.

Cinema Crazed

Vengeance, says director Chan-wook Park, is the most dramatic subject in the world. The problem with that view driving his filmmaking is that it seems to override his creative judgement, presenting us with cruelty as the vehicle for his cinematic jollies.

October 18, 2008 Full Review Source: Urban Cinefile

| Comments (6)

Urban Cinefile Critics

Urban Cinefile

Director Chan-wook Park keeps the suspense going for as long as possible.

December 27, 2007 Full Review Source: Big Picture Big Sound

| Comment

Joe Lozito

Big Picture Big Sound

As played by Choi Min-shik, Dae-su attains tragic stature. He's like a shaggy King Lear undone by his own foolishness.

April 19, 2007 Comment

Beth Accomando

KPBS.org

Definitivamente no para todos los gustos, esta violenta y asombrosa pel�cula coreana promete convertirse en una de las verdaderas sorpresas del a�o.

May 23, 2006 Full Review Source: Uruguay Total

| Comment

Enrique Buchichio

Uruguay Total

Park has a strong visual style and a near-surrealistic noir touch, but unraveling the mystery scarcely repays sitting through his relentless rounds of gut-wrenching violence.

May 12, 2006 Full Review Source: Sacramento News & Review

| Comments (11)

Jim Lane

Sacramento News & Review

Not to everyone's tastes, but if you have a strong stomach, OldBoy is sure to impress.

April 1, 2006 Full Review Source: Empire Magazine

| Comment

Empire Magazine

Quite an achievement then, and well worthy of its Cannes prize.

January 26, 2006 Full Review Source: Time Out

| Comment

Trevor Johnston

Time Out

Oldboy is a delirious, confronting ride, a movie full of visceral shocks and aesthetic pleasures: it has an explosive immediacy and a persistent afterlife, a lingering impact that is hard to shake.

January 17, 2006 Full Review Source: Sydney Morning Herald

| Comment

Philippa Hawker

Sydney Morning Herald

Be amazed at my cruel virility. Feel the pain. Oh yeah.

November 22, 2005 Full Review Source: Film Experience

| Comments (16)

Nathaniel Rogers

Film Experience

Its tentacles are still wriggling in my memory, as if I just ate something that should never have been served in the first place.

October 31, 2005 Full Review Source: Looking Closer

| Comments (13)

Jeffrey Overstreet

Looking Closer

That Park has talent in the technical department is a given; that he's a good filmmaker is debatable.

October 14, 2005 Full Review Source: Ozus' World Movie Reviews

| Comments (20)

Dennis Schwartz

Ozus' World Movie Reviews

Once [it] reels you in, it never lets go.

September 26, 2005 Full Review Source: Bullz-Eye.com

| Comment

Jason Zingale

Bullz-Eye.com

More Critic Reviews

Audience Reviews for Oldboy

View All

What an incredibly disturbing but impeccably well-made masterpiece. Min-sik Choi, who plays as Oh Dae-su, the main character, was absolutely mesmerizing. Because this movie is a South-Korean movie, the plot unravels in a way that is very unfamiliar to American audiences. Everything is so well crafted but the real

February 22, 2011

Albert Kim

Super Reviewer

Dae-su Oh: Even though I'm no more than a monster - don't I, too, have the right to live?�"15 years of imprisonment, 5 days of vengeance."Oldboy is the second film in Chan-Wook Park's revenge trilogy and it is widely regarded as the best in the trilogy. Even if you don't like violent movie, which I do, there is no

October 4, 2011

Melvin White

Super Reviewer

Oldboy Quotes

View All

1. Oh Dae-Su: Laugh and the world laughs with you. Weep, and you weep alone.
– Submitted by Fenky G (36 days ago)
1. Lee Woo-Jin: Your gravest mistake wasn't failing to find the answer. If you keep asking the wrong questions, you'll never find the right answer.
– Submitted by Abhilash A (43 days ago)
1. Oh Dae-Su: Revenge is good for your health, but pain will find you again.
– Submitted by Miss. B (5 months ago)
1. Oh Dae-Su: Even though I'm worse than a beast, don't I deserve to live?
– Submitted by Isa L (12 months ago)
1. Oh Dae-Su: Laugh and the world laughs with you. Weep and you weep alone.
– Submitted by Chris P (13 months ago)