Oldboy

Welcome to another episode of Lights....Camera....Popcorn!

Today's review is Oldboy.

Directed by Spike Lee.

Written by Mark Protosevich.

Based on the 2003 film "Oldboy" Directed by Chan-wook Park.

Based on the manga written by Garon Tsuchiya & Nobuaki Minegishi.

Review #236

MPAA Rating: Rated R for strong brutal violence, disturbing images, some graphic sexuality and nudity, and language.

Run Time: 104 min

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Cast

Josh Brolin...Joe Doucett

Elizabeth Olsen...Marie Sebastian

Sharlto Copley...Adrian / The Stranger

Samuel L. Jackson...Chaney

Michael Imperioli...Chucky

Pom Klementieff...Haeng-Bok

James Ransone...Dr. Tom Melby

Max Casella...James Prestley

Elvis Nolasco...Cortez

Rami Malek...Browning

Lance Reddick...Daniel Newcombe

10 years ago Chan-wook Park made a stunning film. Oldboy took the revenge genre and turned it upside down. It was able to balance the power between the hero and the villain while blurring the lines between them both. It also had a twist that was as shocking as you could get in a revenge film. The popularity of this film was so big that it was a matter of time before it was remade for the U.S. of A. Why it took a decade to remake is questionable. Nevertheless here we are and here it is. The Americanized version of the Korean classic.

Does it match up? Of course the answer is always NO!

Plot

Obsessed with vengeance, a man sets out to find out why he was kidnapped and locked into solitary confinement for 20 years without reason. 

The first factor against this movie is the subject matter. Not the genre. The twist at the end. I can't and won't reveal what it is. What I will say is that since this film is based on a comic book from Korea then adapted to a film from Korea, there's a big possibility that the film could get lost in translation. And I'm not talking about the language. There are just some films that other countries do better. There are less boundaries to overcome and the films excel as a result. Oldboy serves as a prime example of that. The principle story of Oldboy is WAY out there and while it works brilliantly in the Korean adaptation, major questions were raised by me if the American version would be bold enough to go the same way or chicken out and strip away what made the original so powerful.

I'd love to say if this remake does that but I won't. What I will say is that of all the directors out there to helm this property.

The worst one was chosen.

In my opinion, Spike Lee barely qualifies as a film maker. In the interest of full disclosure I will man up and admit that I am not a big fan of his films and I don't like the man personally. I have very strong opinions about his opinions and when he strategically expresses them. I feel that when he goes after other film makers like Tyler Perry or Quentin Tarantino it's based solely on jealousy and spite. It's no secret that Lee loves to stir the pot from time to time and many of his comments are designed to take the spotlight from the ones who deserve it and place it on him. I don't want to turn this into a Spike Lee hater review but I can't ignore the fact that despite his diminutive stature, his ego is MASSIVE and it comes through in a lot of his films.

Especially the ones he writes.
Thankfully he didn't write this film but he couldn't resist implementing some of his signature tricks. Like the POV shot where the camera is strapped to the actor so you get the sense of what he or she is feeling physically. Or the equally annoying treadmill shot. The one he used in his last 90's film where the actors are stationary but appear to be moving forward. It was unique back when he first used it. 20 PLUS YEARS AGO! He doesn't abuse those shots but they stick out and scream out this is a Spike Lee film. It's not about you man.

Get over yourself and make the damn movie properly.

That being said, the flaws in this remake are not all Lee's fault. Screenwriter Mark Protosevich needs to shoulder some of the blame here. While he did make some nice changes to the story, he failed at one of the biggest ones. The relationship between Joe and Marie was CRUCIAL to the plot and their introduction was ridiculous. The motivation for their relationship was equally moronic. This bond needed to be developed and Lee does not give the film the time for that to happen. This was a colossal error that does irreparable damage to their story line going forward. According to Protosevich a lot of that was left on the cutting room floor. Who knows what to believe. The fact remains that their relationship flourishes from nothing and it doesn't pass the smell test.

Now comes the moment of truth. Anyone who's seen the original knows what I'm talking about. The hallway fight. Aside from the ending, this was the one moment that I among many others were curious to know if and how Lee was going to screw it up. In the original, there's a 4 minute fight scene that's one continuous shot of the hero mauling through a gauntlet of bad guys with a hammer. You watch this scene and it looks like something that any one of us could do with an I phone and 20 guys. The choreography appears to be non existent but don't let be fooled. This scene contained some of the best fight choreography displayed in quite some time. The scene is just exhausting to watch and was one of the most iconic moments in the movie. You instantly respect the performers in this scene because they are literally out of gas as the scene comes to it's inevitable climax.

So you know Lee's gonna F##K this up right? You bet your A$$ he does and he does so by using the worst tactic possible.

He cheats.

The scene starts out promising. As Joe is going through the henchmen it's one complete tracking shot going from left to right just like in the original. Then he cheats by moving Joe down a level. The fight doesn't take place in one hallway. Lee breaks it up by having Joe move down. He tries to hide that the fight is not one full shot by using editing tricks. I was super pissed at this. There was no reason to do this. It takes away from the emotion that the fight was supposed to create. It also showed Lee's inability to shoot an action scene.

Why was I surprised?

He also insulted my intelligence by making Joe a superhuman in this fight. What made the original fight so much fun to watch was not the fact the hero beat the crap out of all those guys. It was that he got just as much as he gave if not more since the numbers were against him. The fight though ridiculous maintained a feeling of reality because those stuntmen were giving it all they had and these guys literally took breaks in between hacking and slashing just to catch their breaths. The remake doesn't come close to reminding you of the effort those Korean performers put forth.

If there's one thing I can credit the remake for it's the ending. Not the twist, the literal ending. The original film's end was weak to be nice. Protosevich updated it and made it much more plausible. It doesn't wash away some of the films other story flaws but he was able to give Joe a much better send off here than in the original.

The bottom line is Spike Lee should have NEVER touched this film. Oldboy would have been better suited in the hands of someone like David Fincher, Darren Aaronofsky or my personal choice Quentin Tarantino. Regardless, the poor choice of director doesn't mask the undeniable truth that this film should not have been made at all.

Judging by the poor box office returns, the people agreed with me. 

On the 5 star scale. Oldboy gets 1.5 stars with a "Netflix It!" recommendation.

That's a wrap for today.

Until Next Episode...."I'll Save You A Seat!"

"D"