While there's no denying that Park has strong visual skills, his content so far is in appalling bad taste.
Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance (2005)
Tomatometer
How does the Tomatometer work ![]()
Reviews Counted:53
Fresh:29
Rotten:24
Average Rating:6.1/10
Consensus: Though Park directs with stylistic flair, this revenge thriller is more excessively gruesome than thrilling.
Rated: R [See Full Rating] for strong gruesome violence, strong sexuality, language and drug use
Runtime: 2 hrs 9 mins
Genre: Foreign Films
Theatrical Release:Aug 19, 2005 Limited
Synopsis: RYU (SHIN Ha-kyun), a young factory worker, has recently quit art school in order to look after his sister, who is dying a slow, agonizing death for want of a kidney. When a doctor tells Ryu that... RYU (SHIN Ha-kyun), a young factory worker, has recently quit art school in order to look after his sister, who is dying a slow, agonizing death for want of a kidney. When a doctor tells Ryu that he is an unsuitable donor and that the chances of finding one is slim, Ryu turns to the black market. But the old lady who runs an underground organ ring cheats him, taking both his life savings and his kidney and leaving him without the kidney she promised in exchange. Ryu's girlfriend, a Raggedy-Ann leftist named YOUNGMIN (BAE Doona), urges Ryu to kidnap the four-year-old daughter of industrialist owner PARK DONG-JIN (SONG Kang-ho), who recently laid off Ryu and many other workers from his factory. Ryu agrees, but just as the plan is on the verge of success, Ryu's sister discovers what Ryu and Youngmin have been up to, and kills herself in despair. Compounding the tragedy, Ryu loses track of his little illicit charge during a visit to his childhood haunts, and she drowns in the river Ryu and his sister played in as kids. Dong-jin's deep grief quickly turns to rage and he embarks on an implacable quest for vengeance. At the same time, Ryu goes after the organ traders, knowing that if they had come through, none of the tragic occurrences would ever have happened. Bound by their common sense of loss and deep-seated anger, the two are on a collision course of revenge. --© Tartan Films [More]
Starring: Ha-kyun Shin, Kang-ho Song, Doo-na Bae
Starring: Ha-kyun Shin, Kang-ho Song, Doo-na Bae
Director: Chan Wook Park
Director: Chan Wook Park
Screenwriter: Chan Wook Park
Studio: Tartan Films
Get This Movie
Reviews for Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance
There's powerful drama in watching Ryu and Dong-Jin take their inevitable paths toward destruction, but not enough to mitigate the stomach-turning luridness along those paths.
Park's juvenile obsession with blatant gross-outs belies his many talents.
Promises to be a stylish, resonant plunge into the dark waters of despair and revenge but ends up amusing itself with ostentatious shocks.
Park's deliberate direction is full of serene scenes and lovely images for a film so full of violence and death...
It's all a little ultra-cool for me. Shakespeare was right. Revenge is a dish best served ice-cold, not cool.
Park's worldview is grotty to such extremes that it becomes hard to recommend [this] in good conscience, no matter how virtuosic the delivery.
Even more brutal than Oldboy, but sadly less focused and with less intrigue
Park pays most of his attention to visceral style, but he sketches in enough about his characters to make them frighteningly relatable.
So bloody, scatologically violent and consistently shocking, it seems to have no larger purpose than itself -- which is pretty grim.
Two hours that didn’t entertain much, thrill much or do much of anything…much.
Somehow you'd be more won over by his anti-revenge case if he didn't seem to be having such a good time making it.
This ultra-violent revenge thriller is far more notable for its baroque excesses than coherence or credibility.
Slow pace and the lack of clear definition between good and bad makes it a less immediate effort than Oldboy.
It's a hauntingly original film in which the seeds of Park's even more audacious Oldboy (2003) are clearly evident.
You'll likely be repulsed by much of Park's vision, but, as somebody once said: no pain, no gain.
You can't look away, not only because the carnage is so masterfully photographed, but because the director sucks you into his bleak, poetic, even sensible vision of cosmic brutality.
Latest News for Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance
May 15, 2009:
Cannes 2009: The Tomato Report – Thirst’s Vampires Descend on the Croisette
Park Chan-wook is best known for his exceptional Vengeance Trilogy -- Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance, Oldboy and Lady Vengeance -- three blood-soaked, expertly drawn films that... More...
March 17, 2008:
Charlize Theron Has Sympathy for Lady Vengeance
She'll spend the summer blending humor and superhero action with Will Smith and Jason Bateman in Hancock, but Charlize Theron already has Vengeance on her mind. More...
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
|---|---|
| 36% 36% | Angels & Demons |
| 25% 25% | Four Christmases |
| 68% 68% | Funny People |
| 95% 95% | Star Trek |
| 14% 14% | The Ugly Truth |
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
|---|---|
| 32% 32% | Terminator Salvation |
| 44% 44% | Night at the Museum: B… |
| 86% 86% | A Christmas Tale |
| 60% 60% | Paper Heart |
RT On Current TV
DIRECTV 358 | Comcast 107 | DISH Network 196
What’s Hot On RT
Other News
CloseSponsored Links
Around The Network
- Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance at Rotten Tomatoes
- Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance at AskMen
Fresh Links
Featured

MSN Movies offers a little background on the success of Disney Animation.

TIME takes a look back at the history of vampires on film.

Techland examines the visual splendor of Peter Jackson's upcoming film.

AOL put together a list of 10 recent news items that would be perfect as TV Movies.

Hollywood.com's C. Robert Cargill explores how remakes and reboots have warped our thinking.
Promos

Get the latest Tomatometer updates on upcoming movies!



Top Critic


