Oldboy
Directed by: Spike Lee
Written by: Mark Protosevich, Based on the manga by Garon Tsuchiya and Nobuaki Minegishi
Starring: Josh Brolin, Elizabeth Olsen, Sharlto Copley, Samuel L. Jackson, Michael Imperioli, Pom Klementieff, James Ransone, Max Casella, Linda Emond, Elvis Nolasco, Lance Reddick, Hannah Ware, Richard Portnow
Action/Drama/Mystery/Thriller - 104 min
Written by: Mark Protosevich, Based on the manga by Garon Tsuchiya and Nobuaki Minegishi
Starring: Josh Brolin, Elizabeth Olsen, Sharlto Copley, Samuel L. Jackson, Michael Imperioli, Pom Klementieff, James Ransone, Max Casella, Linda Emond, Elvis Nolasco, Lance Reddick, Hannah Ware, Richard Portnow
Action/Drama/Mystery/Thriller - 104 min
I am not an enthusiastic supporter of remakes. Most are unnecessary (the Bad News Bears category), a few are middle of the road (Carrie), some experiment with new technology on an old story (King Kong), and a very slim minority are even better than the original (3:10 to Yuma and True Grit). Why would Spike Lee, one of America’s most creative and distinctive directors, tie one hand behind his back and remake a film that was released just 10 years ago? It was a South Korean film, but it is not obscure; most film aficionados are familiar with Chan-wook Park’s 2003 revenge thriller Oldboy.
Oldboy requires secrecy. There are plot points and surprises that must remain unknown to the film-goer lest they spoil what is one of the most jaw-dropping plot twists in film history. Therefore, if you have already seen the original 2003 film, or have even read the original late-‘90s Japanese manga by Garon Tsuchiya and Nobuaki Minegishi, do not bother attending the remake. You know the story, it has barely changed. Sure, not everything is 100% the same, but there is no punch, no WTF moment, when it all comes together in the end. There is merely recollection and the, "Ah yes, I remember that" feeling.
If this is your first Oldboy experience, the premise is Joe Doucett (Josh Brolin) is an asshole. He is a neglectful husband, an inattentive father, a miserable employee, a philandering womanizer, and a guy you do not want to count among your friends. One morning, after a not uncommon drunken bender, Joe wakes up in what resembles a hotel room, but he cannot leave. There is no doorknob, no window, and there is a slot for a food tray to be pushed through. Such is the setup and the beginning of the Oldboy mystery.
Who put Joe in the room? Why can’t he leave? Who did he piss off so much that they would resort to such torture? His list of names is considerably longer than any list you or I would put together in a similar situation. Day after day, year after year, Joe endures solitary confinement, a TV his only friend. Inexplicably, after 20 long years, Joe is released from captivity and begins a quest to find the answers to all of his questions.
Oldboy remains overall a mystery, a story worthy of Hitchcock, yet it makes time to include graphic, violent sequences as Joe used some of those 20 years to become a martial arts expert absorbing instructions from Bruce Lee movies on TV. The choreography of these blood-soaked interludes involving knives, hammers, swords, and face-pounding fists is impressive, yet feels stale in comparison to the earlier version. In fact, most of the film is the lesser to its earlier superior so I will cease with the reminders.
However, Josh Brolin does not copy Min-sik Choi’s original performance. He is believable first as an obnoxious alcoholic and later as a slimmed down, psychologically damaged shell of his earlier self. The movie’s first half is almost all a one man show and that man must hold our attention for an extended time. This is no small feat. Elizabeth Olsen, Samuel L. Jackson, and Michael Imperioli all turn in capable supporting performances in their assigned roles to either help or hurt Brolin, but Sharlto Copley, unforgettable as Wikus from District 9, delivers another memorable accomplishment here in his pivotal portrayal.
Unlike the adapted screenplay by Mark Protosevich, no stranger to revising scripts from earlier works (I Am Legend), the unexpected move here is Spike Lee’s choice to direct the film. Lee is one of the greats at social commentary through film (Do the Right Thing, 25th Hour) and has proven himself adept in the action and thriller genres as well (Inside Man, Miracle at St. Anna). Oldboy’s story is indeed compelling, but it is not strong enough for Spike Lee to stiff-arm originality to recreate a film that does not need to be resurrected. Spike, leave the remakes to lesser filmmakers. Cinema needs your voice to continue on in its ground-breaking, visionary style, not in needless re-creations of someone else’s vision. Conversely, Chan-wook Park directed one of this year’s best films, Stoker, instead of raising his hand to remake someone else’s movie.
Oldboy requires secrecy. There are plot points and surprises that must remain unknown to the film-goer lest they spoil what is one of the most jaw-dropping plot twists in film history. Therefore, if you have already seen the original 2003 film, or have even read the original late-‘90s Japanese manga by Garon Tsuchiya and Nobuaki Minegishi, do not bother attending the remake. You know the story, it has barely changed. Sure, not everything is 100% the same, but there is no punch, no WTF moment, when it all comes together in the end. There is merely recollection and the, "Ah yes, I remember that" feeling.
If this is your first Oldboy experience, the premise is Joe Doucett (Josh Brolin) is an asshole. He is a neglectful husband, an inattentive father, a miserable employee, a philandering womanizer, and a guy you do not want to count among your friends. One morning, after a not uncommon drunken bender, Joe wakes up in what resembles a hotel room, but he cannot leave. There is no doorknob, no window, and there is a slot for a food tray to be pushed through. Such is the setup and the beginning of the Oldboy mystery.
Who put Joe in the room? Why can’t he leave? Who did he piss off so much that they would resort to such torture? His list of names is considerably longer than any list you or I would put together in a similar situation. Day after day, year after year, Joe endures solitary confinement, a TV his only friend. Inexplicably, after 20 long years, Joe is released from captivity and begins a quest to find the answers to all of his questions.
Oldboy remains overall a mystery, a story worthy of Hitchcock, yet it makes time to include graphic, violent sequences as Joe used some of those 20 years to become a martial arts expert absorbing instructions from Bruce Lee movies on TV. The choreography of these blood-soaked interludes involving knives, hammers, swords, and face-pounding fists is impressive, yet feels stale in comparison to the earlier version. In fact, most of the film is the lesser to its earlier superior so I will cease with the reminders.
However, Josh Brolin does not copy Min-sik Choi’s original performance. He is believable first as an obnoxious alcoholic and later as a slimmed down, psychologically damaged shell of his earlier self. The movie’s first half is almost all a one man show and that man must hold our attention for an extended time. This is no small feat. Elizabeth Olsen, Samuel L. Jackson, and Michael Imperioli all turn in capable supporting performances in their assigned roles to either help or hurt Brolin, but Sharlto Copley, unforgettable as Wikus from District 9, delivers another memorable accomplishment here in his pivotal portrayal.
Unlike the adapted screenplay by Mark Protosevich, no stranger to revising scripts from earlier works (I Am Legend), the unexpected move here is Spike Lee’s choice to direct the film. Lee is one of the greats at social commentary through film (Do the Right Thing, 25th Hour) and has proven himself adept in the action and thriller genres as well (Inside Man, Miracle at St. Anna). Oldboy’s story is indeed compelling, but it is not strong enough for Spike Lee to stiff-arm originality to recreate a film that does not need to be resurrected. Spike, leave the remakes to lesser filmmakers. Cinema needs your voice to continue on in its ground-breaking, visionary style, not in needless re-creations of someone else’s vision. Conversely, Chan-wook Park directed one of this year’s best films, Stoker, instead of raising his hand to remake someone else’s movie.
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