Proudiddy's Non-Weekly, Semi-Monthly, Been A Long Ass Time Since The Last One, Recently Released to Home Media, Movie Review - "OId Boy"

[Proudiddy]

I hadn't seen anything about this movie prior to seeing it available at the Redbox.  I was surprised because it has some pretty big stars in it - Josh Brolin and Samuel L. Jackson.  I still wasn't interested until I heard it discussed on DirecTV's previews channel.  The premise sounded genius!

 

"Brolin wakes up in a locked room, having no idea how or why he got there and spends 20 years in there trying to find out.  While he is in the room, he finds out that his wife was raped and murdered and he is the prime suspect, despite being imprisoned and no one knows his whereabouts.  He finally gets out, only to meet up with his captor, Samuel L. Jackson, and explores how and why this has happened."

 

Man, you talk about an intriguing premise!  This is the best and one of the most creative I had heard in a long time.

 

So, I had my wife pick it up from the Redbox...

 

ABSOLUTELY HORRIBLE. 

 

The fight scenes at times were amazing.  Very "Enter the Dragon"-like.  At some points, it even felt like this was a Tarantino flick with all of the choreographed fight scenes and over-the-top, grotesque violence...  but, then the movie fell apart.

 

*SPOILER ALERT*

when you discover the reason he was imprisoned, and the reason he got out, it makes the whole movie NOT WORTH WATCHING.  It is so disgusting and graphic that you'll wish you hadn't rented it.  I was absolutely disgusted and then to realize that it was a Spike Lee movie?  Man...  I seriously pondered if he should ever make another movie again.  It just got so unbelievable and then again, to pour it on with the violence and subject matter behind the whole plot...  SMH...  It was HORRIBLE.

[PanthersBigD]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SJikvQriM_A

[Proudiddy]

LOL, for some reason, the Joe Dirt-version didn't bother me.  I'm guessing because it was a comedy. 

 

Old Boy was just so dark and the twist just took it beyond redemption for me because of the subject matter and how it was handled.  Just vomit-worthy.

[scpanther22]

The way this film was Americanized really took away from what made the original so good. This was more a thriller were everything was just plot points trying to figure out a mystery. The original was more about the characters and it made the twist even better.

 

from interviews Spike's Lee version was longer but the studio made him cut it down.

[Proudiddy]

The way this film was Americanized really took away from what made the original so good. This was more a thriller were everything was just plot points trying to figure out a mystery. The original was more about the characters and it made the twist even better.

 

from interviews Spike's Lee version was longer but the studio made him cut it down.

 

Yeah, you could tell it was thrown together, and from what you describe, it sounds (and looked) like it was done so in editing.  I love some of Spike's movies and his vision, but this was horrible.

 

I was unaware that it was based on an original movie (the Korean version) until the opening credits.  I'm guessing the lack of attention to it was the reason it got rushed and pushed to a "straight to DVD" release.  And that's how it should've been.

 

There were times where I was wondering if he was making a joke out of it?  Should I take it seriously?  Should I be invested in this character?

 

And the rush in editing was obvious.  There was one point in the movie where the sequence from one scene to another was jarring in regards to the plot.  It made no sense, AT ALL. 

And again, at times, it felt like it was a dark comedy then once the twist was revealed it just all turned dark and disgusting - pretty much unwatchable for me.  I was telling my wife, the premise just had so much potential and they ruined it with the subject matter at the heart of it, mainly because Spike was insensitive about it and was so graphic.  The idea that the villain went to the lengths he did to punish him and then just gave it all up after he got what he wanted was also ridiculous.