Oldboy

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Oldboy

R

2013

1h 43m

Mystery & Thriller

Drama

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

40%

Tomatometer

151 Reviews

37%

Popcornmeter

25,000+ Ratings

Although his life is already in a downward spiral, things get much worse for advertising executive Joe Doucett; while drunk one night, Joe is kidnapped and thrown into solitary confinement in a bizarre, hotellike room. For the next 20 years, Joe suffers unimaginable torment, but the motive and identity of his captor remain unknown. When he is inexplicably set free, Joe emerges with one goal: to find the person who stole two decades of his life.

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Critics Consensus

Suitably grim and bloody yet disappointingly safe and shallow, Spike Lee's Oldboy remake neither surpasses the original nor adds anything new to its impressive legacy.

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Jason Bailey

Flavorwire

Jun 18, 2016

The first hour or so of Lee's 'Oldboy' is so gripping that it's dispiriting to watch the wheels fall off the wagon so spectacularly in the third act.

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Wesley Morris

Grantland

Dec 10, 2013

Everything is wrong with [Spike] Lee's version of Park Chan-wook's notorious, super-violent super-action-thriller. For one thing, it's far from super. Not the quality, per se (although, for Lee, that's off, too), but the energy.

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Jonathan Robbins

Film Comment Magazine

Dec 9, 2013

Viewers new to Oldboy will appreciate Lee's affecting and entertaining tale of a man unjustly imprisoned. Fans of Park's film-and there are many wildly loyal ones-will likely be far less impressed.

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JD Duran

InSession Film

Aug 19, 2024

C+

Oldboy is rushed, undeveloped and if you haven’t seen the original, you’ll feel lost. The story is not explained well and is a huge disservice to the twist that is supposed to hit you hard.

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Diego Batlle

Otroscines.com

Nov 28, 2023

4.5/5

An undisputed reference when it comes to exploring new forms of auteurial expression within the framework of genre and spectacular cinema. [Full review in Spanish]

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Brian Eggert

Deep Focus Review

Aug 19, 2022

1.5/4

Lee’s not-inconsiderable talent makes a fine attempt to interpret the story with two or three unique touches, but he doesn’t make it vital or offer a fresh take.

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Dennui S

@dennui 22 hrs ago

It is a bit of a crime that Spike Lee thought he should remake Old Boy. And to think he also remade Akira Kurosawa's Hi and Lo, smh.

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Andrew A

@andeluuu Sep 20, 2026

There isn't much that I can say, I think that this was really twisted. To psychologically do that to someone is horrible, truly messed up. I actually didn't expect that story twist, but now that I know what happened, I realise that it was there were hints.

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Jeffrey P

@vanillavoodoo1 Jun 15, 2026

Underwhelms as it plods about towards weak motives and the big reveal... hmm... well then, that’s a new method of revenge but it still seemed flat for something so diabolical.

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Niki M

@Niki_ta18 Jun 10, 2026

I haven't watched the original one so I think its really great movie... whoever watched the original one have different opinion but i think it deserve a better rating

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Chirag P.

@trini Jun 4, 2026

No, it’s not as good as the original but this movie is still good and doesn’t deserve the hate it’s gotten.

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D G

@RT43174127 May 9, 2026

I've seen the original but after so many years this was worth the watch and apart from others bad reviews this movie was not bad at all .. mystery action and gross with weirdness that only Western culture could muster unlike it's counterpart ..

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Synopsis

Although his life is already in a downward spiral, things get much worse for advertising executive Joe Doucett; while drunk one night, Joe is kidnapped and thrown into solitary confinement in a bizarre, hotellike room. For the next 20 years, Joe suffers unimaginable torment, but the motive and identity of his captor remain unknown. When he is inexplicably set free, Joe emerges with one goal: to find the person who stole two decades of his life.

Director: Spike Lee
Producer: Roy Lee, Doug Davison, Nathan Kahane
Screenwriter: Mark Protosevich
Distributor: FilmDistrict
Production Co: Vertigo, 40 Acres & A Mule Filmworks
Rating: R (Language|Disturbing Images|Nudity|Some Graphic Sexuality|Strong Brutal Violence)
Genre: Mystery & Thriller, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Nov 27, 2013, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Feb 18, 2014
Box Office (Gross USA): $2.2M
Runtime: 1h 43m

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