Oldboy (2013)

This one is a mixed bag. First things first, Old Boy (2013) is an American adaptation from a Korean homonimous movie and, from what I can gather, it gives it a fresh tone, erasing all sorts of Eastern fantasy stuves the Korean flick had; but don't get me wrong, it's all fantasy.It's a movie you just watch. You have no sympathy for the main character, since he's a douche at first. You pretty much just want to know what is going on and why. And if you've watched the original, you'll be in for a surprise.All in all, good flick, entertaining, kinda nonsense, but nice.

I mean the original film is pretty intense and has a unique atmosphere. It is weird and twisted in a lot of ways but it is poetic and beautiful and also makes sense for 90% of the run time. And I absolutely get why it accumulated a significant fan base as well as positive reviews and recommendations. This thing however is fundamentally broken. Everything is either rushed or forced, or crudely copied off of the original but makes no sense. The story is also dumbed down for the American audience (I'd take offense on that if I were I part of said audience) and "relieved" of innumerable artistic features of the original film. Please, if you value your time, do not watch this garbage. Just pick up the original Oldboy of 2003 and enjoy a bizarre but somehow still beautiful story.

OLDBOY is a grim and unpleasant film for sure, but compared to Park Chan-wook's Korean masterpiece, this remake is weak sauce indeed. Spike Lee's version of the tale is a grim and nihilistic outing that takes away most of the original's power and style, leaving it an oddly hollow, uninvolving, and nasty viewing experience.A brutish Josh Brolin takes the lead role and fails to bring the complexity that Choi Min-sik added to the part. Brolin's character is a mere thug who never gains the viewer's sympathy for a moment despite the dark journey his character undertakes. In support, Samuel L. Jackson is quite poor basically playing himself, and Sharlto Copley has possibly the fakest-sounding British accent heard in a movie; what were they thinking? A surprisingly sincere Elizabeth Olsen is the only one who gives what I consider to be an impressive performance.The plot follows that of the original quite closely but smooths away rough edges and the nastier implications of the original narrative. It's not as controversial, let's say that. Certain scenes, like the infamous corridor fight, aren't a patch on those of the original film, and I found the ending to be a particular disappointment. Just another needless remake, then.

You look at the cast - Samuel L Jackson, Josh Brolin and Sharlto Copley and say "wow, this film has to be at least decent because these guys would never sign onto a project that could be a total dud." This is an example of a one trick pony director (Spike Lee) who built a name around race-based films trying to actually do something other than his usual shtick and having his agents hook these names onto a project which they all probably regret.IMPORTANT: WATCH THE ORIGINAL FIRST. THEN START THIS FILM, WATCH 10 MINUTES AND THEN DECIDE IF YOU REALLY WANT TO TORTURE YOURSELF FOR THE ENTIRE RUNNING TIME.Mistake #1 - You've got to be pretty darn arrogant to think you're going to do at least a good job if not better of remaking one of the greatest original films made. Why would anyone even try remaking Casablanca? The Godfather? Bladerunner? They nailed it perfectly - writing, editing, acting, casting, etc. Chances are you're going to fail.Mistake #2 - Trying to change the story to put your own trademark on your film. I couldn't understand why Spike Lee would bother with his own additions other than to sit back and enjoy seeing the pleasure of his own work where the black man has the upper hand. It's awkward, poorly scripted into the story, poorly acted and blows valuable running time to further Lee's conceit.Mistake #3 - Changing the most important parts of the story to put your own trademark to create a twist which desperately needs chemistry to work but failing miserably to generate it at all. This is a twisted film. The original is done very, very well. I would advise anyone NOT to watch this film and to watch the original so as to enjoy the entire movie and the way the reveals play themselves out. This steaming pile is tossed together with characters that really don't have chemistry and is disturbingly contrived. You will not be able to thank me enough times for telling you NOT TO WATCH THIS FILM AND TO SEE THE ORIGINAL FIRST. You see so many people saying the same thing and there is GOOD REASON for it. Not only will you LOVE the first film's style and execution but you won't be able to sit through the first 15 minutes of this film without being between a laugh and a retch. You will then save 90 minutes of your life. The rating on this film is only in the 5.x grade because Spike Lee clearly had his marketing people stuff the ballot box.WATCH THE ORIGINAL FIRST