Oldboy - Movie Review

Chris Stuckmann reviews Oldboy, starring Choi Min-sik, Yoo Ji-tae, Kang Hye-jeong. Directed by Park Chan-wook.

[squatch]

One of my favorite things about Oldboy is how the antagonist, Woo-jin, is simultaneously sympathetic and over-the-top. You understand why he blames Oh Dae-su for basically ruining his life, but then the lengths he goes to for revenge are ultimately just so petty. I felt felt a little bad for him at the end, even with all his mustache-twirling.

[montenegroafro]

I swear to God Korean filmmakers are masters of incorporating comedy into their movies. Whether action, horror, drama, no matter how dark or depressing the movies are, the comedy works soo magically that it never ruins/undermine the story!

[Cinnamarollin]

I saw this for the first time last night at my local theatre, where they were showing the remastered version to honor the 20-year anniversary, including the post interview you mentioned. I felt like this was pretty ideal circumstances to watch it for the first time, not knowing much about the plot beyond the basic synopsis. Park Chan-wook mentions before the movie begins that it deals with incredible violence, feelings of loneliness and sadness, and told first time viewers to brace themselves, which I was grateful for. This movie hit me like a train, I laughed, cringed, felt sick to my stomach, and watched in awe at the cinematic beauty of it all. Truly a masterpiece.

I’m looking forward to watching Decision to Leave this week.

[gchudasamadarshit]

Oldboy is a pure masterpiece and one of the greatest movies ever. At some places, it becomes over the top, while at other places, it becomes super realistic. At times it's darkly funny, and in other moments, it transforms into one of the greatest tragedies in films. There are numerous symbolisms and subtleties in the movie, and it takes interesting approaches to its themes of mystery, revenge, and truth. In many instances, this movie is surprisingly philosophical as well. Oh Dae-su remains in prison from the beginning of the film until the end. He starts in a police prison, then he's in the prison of Lee Woo-jin, where he's imprisoned for 15 years. Later, he enters the prison of the real world, and finally, he gets imprisoned in the prison of TRUTH, from which escape is impossible.

The direction of the film is absolutely mesmerizing and poetic. And Lee Woo-jin is one of the greatest antagonists ever. Oh Dae-su also has many interesting character moments. Overall, this movie is a masterpiece.

[willlauzon]

Also love how the plug for this movie is a therapist.

[thecinematicconstructor]

Oh my Chris giving Grades!!!! A+ well deserved. I saw it a month ago, it was so hard to believe how a director can have a vision for a movie like this. So weird and it works so well

[mikeh]

This was the movie that changed my perceptions of what a movie could be. Putting this movie into the dvd player in 2003 was like opening gateway to a different world that I never knew existed. Before watching Oldboy i thought of movies as entertainment and this was the first movie to make me more culturally aware of what a movie could be. I searched out a load of other foreign language films after seeing this. It will always have a special place in my heart for that.

[FALLENVGAS]

You're going to need Better Help after watching Old Boy...

[ronaldeliascorderocalles]

(SPOILER ALERT)
The ending still haunts me. Woo-jin gets his vengeance upon Oh Dae-su. He planned for decades for this moment. He has finally got the man who he blames for the death of his sister to beg on his knees and cut his own tongue. He smiles, but inside the elevator, he realizes that after completing everything he wanted, the pain is still there. Her sister still jumped, and he became a monster. "Cry, and you cry alone"

[fureafila]

Fun random fact. I was watching this movie with my wife. All of a sudden she screamed: THAT’s MEEEE! 😅😅 on the scene on the hair saloon there is a poster for some Wella products and she is the girl on the picture! 😅😅

[Jonathan_Collins]

Watched Oldboy in a theater last night, and judging by the reaction of the audience (most of whom probably already had seen it or at least knew what was coming), the movie hasn't lost an ounce of its power in the last two decades.

[markmononoke]

I saw this in theaters last week. I went in completely blind, with the exception of hearing about an insane hallway fight scene. That's all I knew. I assumed it was like a Korean Jon Wick. Needless to say, I was completely floored by the end. The final third blew me away. It was nothing at all what I expected. It was so much more. I'm very thankful that my first time watching was on the big screen!

[JaydevRaol]

Before Parasite there was Oldboy (still is) acting as a gateway to 'Korean Cinema' and one of the most recommended "Foreign Films".

Love the movie. So I'm glad that you finally covered this, Chris. 🙌

[Hatter]

My favorite Korean film since I was introduced to them decades ago. It’s always wonderful to see Oldboy on the big screen! My favorite aspect of Oldboy that no one talks about are the quieter moments: when Mido talks about the ants and how she’s conveying soul crushing loneliness without actually saying it and the tender moments when he blow dries her hair. In my mind these moments are what truly give Oldboy its humanity towards its characters.

[tubecrazy]

20 years later and I still can't say that any movie is quite similar to this or reminds me of this.. A unique masterpiece

[venkyramana]

7:26 chris giving the grades gave me vintage vibes of this channel.. he is my favourite critic

[Jonathan_Collins]

Never in my life would I think Vanify Fair getting Park Chan-wook to talk about one of the greatest scene of film history.

[JoshLeitzel]

One of the GOAT’s! You utterly nailed your description of the film’s singular tone. Got me into Korean cinema, and what a ride it has been. Recently got around to watching his 2016 release The Handmaiden and it was fantastic as well (albeit being a very different type of film). Decision to Leave is next up.

[ajtaylor]

I just recently had the pleasure of seeing this at the Music Box Theater in Chicago, and it's truly one of the best cinema experiences I've had in my life. Park Chan-Wook is one of the greatest living filmmakers of all-time and this might be his masterpiece.

[Mankey]

Oldboy is one of the most unique and masterpiece of films I’ve ever seen. It really left a huge impact on me after I watched it. The ending of this movie still leaves a permanent image in my brain.