Lets face it, no matter what, Spike Lee’s remake of the Korean cult classic Oldboy was going to get loads of negative attention. Just the rumor that Chan-wook Park’s beloved film was in the discussion to potentially be remade and Americanized was enough to send the internet into an all out frenzy. Was an American remake really necessary? Probably not. But it was happening, so I got over myself, and tried to embrace the film for what it was.
Don’t get me wrong, Lee’s remake is not as awful as the film’s fanatics would lead you to believe. With that said, it does have a lot of issues that are problematic on many levels. I assure you, going into the film without seeing the original will most definitely help your enjoyment of this remake significantly, a notion that our guest writer Jon Hudson would agree with. I’m sure that it is possible to enjoy the film if you’re a lover of the original, but unfortunately it didn’t quite happen for myself.
It’s a shame because I really wanted to love this film. On paper, if any team was going to assemble a successful Oldboy remake, this was the one. With Spike Lee at the helm, and Josh Brolin at the lead, there was no doubt an interesting set of potential to be had. Then you thrown together a cast that includes Elizabeth Olsen, Sharlto Copley, Samuel L. Jackson and Michael Imperioli and it seemed like anything was possible. I’m all for creativity and taking risks, but the changes that writer Mark Protosevich made to the story didn’t quite work for me. I found that it was trying too hard to both stay faithful to the story, while somehow also changing certain elements at the same time. This created a big conflict for the film that I never really got past.
If you are unfamiliar with the story of Oldboy, it’s the revenge story of a man named Joe Doucett (Josh Brolin), who is mysteriously kidnapped and kept in a room where he’s imprisoned for 20 years. He’s framed for the murder of his wife, leaving his infant daughter in the hands of adoptive parents. Although he was a troublesome alcoholic that didn’t play well with others, he couldn’t imagine anyone who would do something like this to him. One day he’s mysteriously released back into the world. Only, his mysterious captor continues to play games with him, challenging him to figure out who did this to him, and why. If he fails to do so in a timely manner, the mysterious man will kill Joe’s daughter. This sends Joe on a surge of vicious revenge, trying to solve his great life puzzle over the course of 5 days.
Lee’s Oldboy is stripped entirely of all the atmosphere and riveting sense of intrigue that made the original so god damn good. Instead, the film feels vapid, bland and lifeless, Sort of like a pale ghost just floating through the motions. Josh Brolin is one of the better actors going right now, and although he’s pretty good in the role, there’s only so much he can do with what he’s given. The rest of the cast is fine as well, but the script and direction felt forced. The supposed big moments that were reworked here didn’t come off as natural or genuine, leaving a stale taste in the air.
To be fair to you, I can’t dive anymore into the specifics about the story or even the roles of the other previously mentioned actors. It’s best for you to go into Oldboy knowing as little as possible (aside from the general synopsis). Plenty of events will go down that will shock you to the point of disturbance. If you do check it out, do yourself a favor and check out the original after (or even before), it’s available to stream on Netflix. While I do believe Spike Lee and everyone involved gave their best effort (it’s certainly a watchable film), this remake didn’t fair well as a remake and it unfortunately shows that Oldboy should have just been left alone. It’s not a bad film, but it is disappointing.
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