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Oldboy (2005)
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All reviews for Oldboy
This Rant is Good for You
by
Stinger839
in
Stinger839 Blog
liked it.
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"Of the Chanwook Park Vengeance trilogy, Oldboy is the middle piece, the one with the least subtext and the most predictable, and not surprisingly the one with the most orchestrated glorified violence that the American market devours. And the one with the most pointless deus-ex machina "twists" may I add, whereas plot "twists" in the other movies unravel like a perfectly dropped ball of yarn cascading in a straight line down a staircase. This is the weakest movie of the trilogy, and anyone wishing to understand the subtext of Chanwook''s vision should at least do him the courtesy of watching Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance and Lady Vengeance before taking to analyze this in terms of theme because the movies are meant to be like a chord. One note - nothing but repetitive sound. Three notes- a chord. And Oldboy is an annoying note. It's a great movie but it's just not anywhere as good as the other two. "
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Not as good as other Korean movies
by
pratchettfan
in
pratchettfan Blog
liked it.
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"The premise is very interesting. D-War is a Korean production (director, producer and production company are all Korean) but the movie is set in the US and most of the cast are Americans.The story is based on an ancient Korean legend where two snake battle each other to find Yeouijoo to get into heaven.The action scenes are pretty good, but after seeing Oldboy and The Host I was expecting more depth to the story than D-War had to show for. All in all it was just another action movie with some interesting scenes (a huge snake climbing up a high-rise and an army of fire-breathing dragons (?) battling helicopters) and not much more. "
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Oldboy : "The dreadful has ...
by
jlgdrd
in
Wicked Fun
loved it.
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"Remember mini-mysteries? When I was a kid, we used to play mini-mysteries to pass the time during long motor tours. They were elaborate riddles that you solved by asking “yes” or “no” questions until you figured it out. One in particular I recall had a very eerie solution. A man appears at another man’s doorstep, wearing a cape and carrying a box under his arm. When the other man answers the door, something about him enrages the visitor, who kills him on the spot. When I got the answer to the story, I shuddered. Such is the case with Park Chinwook’s startling new film, Oldboy, a very unconventional, though disturbingly plausible mystery. At first you don’t know quite what to make of it. Days afterward you may find yourself huddled in a corner. And you may also be wondering if you just may have seen the future of mystery film noir. What a diseased and visionary guy is Park Chinwook. Cruel and gentle. Tender and sardonic. Deranged. Oldboy was ... "
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Too high expectations
by
mnoo
in
mnoo Blog
is neutral about it.
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"Oldboy is in so many people's Top 10 and I've heard so much praise and been pestered to see it forever. So, needless to say, the expectations were perhaps very much too high going in. I did rather enjoy the first half. The plot was certainly original to start with, and the cinematography definitely ranks quite high on the visually gorgeous side of things. My problem is that I usually have an annoying talent of spotting where the plot is going quite early on (yes, I'm one of those 'I bet he killed her' people, which annoys others who might have wanted to stay in suspense until the final showdown. :P), and with this plot it was just glaringly obvious to me where it was going. So for most of the film I was just waiting for the plot to catch up and put me out of my misery. I also think that after showing so much promise at the start, and having gone to all the trouble of trying to confuse the watcher, the actual underlining story was way too simplistic and insipid. I was desperately ho ... "
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Misunderstood and Underappreciated
by
PaPaJosh
in
PaPaJosh Blog
loved it.
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"Though most on Spout agree with me and believe that this film is a masterpiece, I still feel generally it is one of the most underappreciated and misunderstood films ever made. A blind man in a dark room can acknowledge the extraordinary brilliance of the craftsmanship and the artistry of Park Chan Wook, his DP and everyone else involved in the making of this film. And even though it is unanimously considered a magnificently made film, that, as we all know, is not the measure of how a film is rated (or SHOULD be rated). The STORY is the lord of all things in a films, and that is where I feel OldBoy gets short-changed and misunderstood.Here's what I mean... YES, this movie is action-packed and harrowing in it's intensity and drama. YES, it was violent and graphic. AND YES, we know it had a grotesque scene involving sheers and a body part... and that incest was the catalyst behind that moment. These moments leave a lasting impressions and truly make OldBoy unforgettab ... "
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