Oldboy

Play trailer

Oldboy

R

2013

1h 43m

Mystery & Thriller

Drama

Play Trailer

Watchlist

Watchlist

Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

39%

Tomatometer

150 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.

Watch on Fandango at Home

Stream Now

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.

Read Critics Reviews

Jason Bailey

Flavorwire

06/18/2016

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.

Go to Full Review

Wesley Morris

Grantland

12/10/2013

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.

Go to Full Review

Jonathan Robbins

Film Comment Magazine

12/09/2013

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.

Go to Full Review

JD Duran

InSession Film

08/19/2024

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.

Go to Full Review

Diego Batlle

Otroscines.com

11/28/2023

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]

Go to Full Review

Brian Eggert

Deep Focus Review

08/19/2022

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.

Go to Full Review

Read all reviews

Jeffrey P

@vanillavoodoo1 5d

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.

See more

Niki M

@Niki_ta18 Jun 10

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

See more

Chirag P.

@trini Jun 4

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

See more

D G

@RT43174127 May 9

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 ..

See more

jordan m

@RT33862223 Nov 27

went into this movie without watching the one from 2003. all i have to say is i can see why this failed at the box office. rushed character development, rushed pacing, a typical revenge storyline, and bad acting

See more

Ronnie M

@spuncake Oct 19

The movie was just fair

See more

Read all reviews

Read More

Read Less

WRITE A REVIEW

EDIT REVIEW

POST RATING

Spike Lee

Director

Josh Brolin

Joe Doucett

Elizabeth Olsen

Marie Sebastian

Sharlto Copley

Adrian

Michael Imperioli

Chucky

Linda Emond

Edwina Burke

The Rover

67%

52%

The Rover

Watchlist

Side Effects

82%

70%

Side Effects

Watchlist

TRAILER

for Side Effects

Arbitrage

87%

62%

Arbitrage

Watchlist

Flight

77%

75%

Flight

Watchlist

Shutter Island

69%

77%

Shutter Island

Watchlist

TRAILER

for Shutter Island

Discover more movies and TV shows.

View More

Now Streaming: 12 Years a Slave, Nebraska, and More

Box Office: Frozen Can’t Cool Catching Fire

Spike Lee’s Best Movies

Oldboy: Teaser Trailer - Preparing Your Stay

1:19

Oldboy: Featurette - Talking Heads

2:38

View more videos

View more photos

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