Joe Doucett (JHosh Brolin) is kidnapped and jailed
for 20
years in a private prison. He is
released one day and he is given five days to find out who imprisoned him and
why. He gets help from a social worker
(Elizabeth Olsen) at a medical clinic.
Samuel L. Jackson seems to phone it in as an over-the-top bad guy here
while Sharlto Copley seems to be a bad guy version of the type of characters he
has played. Josh Brolin is kinda of meh
in this movie while Elizabeth Olsen is really impressive in this film.
I am a big fan of the Korean adaptation, bit
I found that
Spike Lee and Hollywood have turned
the American adaptation into a bland and neutered remake. The violence comes
off as very cartoonish and
the ending reeks of Hollywood morality code and it doesn’t have the ending be
as shocking as what ended up in Spike Lee’s version (even though the bad guy is
in an even more perverted relationship than in the Korean one). I think he was
the wrong guy to direct this
movie. Skip this movie and go rent (or
buy) the Korean version instead.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
There isn’t really anything you are missing
out on with the
one alternate scene and three extended scenes unless you want more of Sharlto
Copley’s badass Asian bodyguard/ lover.
THE MAKING OF OLDBOY gives some behind-the-scenes
footage
and interviews with cast and crew. Josh
Brolin says he is a fan of the Korean version of the movie and the cast says
how they like working with Spike Lee.
TRANSFORMATION- Josh Brolin talks about his physical
transformation in this brief promo featurette
TALKING HEADS and WORKOUT VIDEO are other promotional
featurettes which you can skip.
FINAL ANALYSIS:
Stick
with the Korean version of OLDBOY which is a far superior version of the story
compared to the Spike Lee joint of it.
This review is ©3-8-2014
David Blackwell and cannot be reprinted without permission. Send all comments
to feedback@enterline-media.com
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