The U.S remake of one of my favorite Korean movies was disappointing but not that bad.
I knew this version wasn't going to be something special but I still had to see it. I tried hard to not compare this to the Korean version but I couldn't resist. A lot of things are pretty much the same except for the ending and some details. I have not read the original manga this is all based on but I didn't like the twist here and I also didn't like Joe's decision at the end. Of course, the Korean version was more poetic. Oldboy is about this drunk no good person named Joe. After a typical night of being a jerk, he passes out and wakes up in a hotel room with locked up doors and no windows. He has been abducted and locked up. He goes crazy staying in that room. Days turn to years. 20 years later, he gets released. The first thing on Joe's mind is who's responsible for this? He goes on to find the truth. It's a sick twisted revenge tale. The guy responsible for all of this, played wonderfully by Sharlto Copley, is a disturbed guy who lost his family a long time ago all because of certain actions taken by Joe. In the Korean version, the guy responsible did all of this because he lost his sister (whom he was in love with) to suicide. So, major difference. Pretty decent performance by Josh Brolin who plays Joe in this U.S. version. Didn't like the fake daughter trick they did here and that there was no hypnotism. Kudos for the long hammer fighting scene. Although not as cool as the Korean version, it was still pretty impressive.
I knew this version wasn't going to be something special but I still had to see it. I tried hard to not compare this to the Korean version but I couldn't resist. A lot of things are pretty much the same except for the ending and some details. I have not read the original manga this is all based on but I didn't like the twist here and I also didn't like Joe's decision at the end. Of course, the Korean version was more poetic. Oldboy is about this drunk no good person named Joe. After a typical night of being a jerk, he passes out and wakes up in a hotel room with locked up doors and no windows. He has been abducted and locked up. He goes crazy staying in that room. Days turn to years. 20 years later, he gets released. The first thing on Joe's mind is who's responsible for this? He goes on to find the truth. It's a sick twisted revenge tale. The guy responsible for all of this, played wonderfully by Sharlto Copley, is a disturbed guy who lost his family a long time ago all because of certain actions taken by Joe. In the Korean version, the guy responsible did all of this because he lost his sister (whom he was in love with) to suicide. So, major difference. Pretty decent performance by Josh Brolin who plays Joe in this U.S. version. Didn't like the fake daughter trick they did here and that there was no hypnotism. Kudos for the long hammer fighting scene. Although not as cool as the Korean version, it was still pretty impressive.
Overall, it was a little okay for a remake but doesn't do justice.
If you haven't seen the Korean version, do yourself a favor, and go get it now.
