Oldboy (2003)

Directed by Park Chan-wook. Starring Choi Min-sik, Kang Hye-jung, Yoo Ji-tae, Ji Dae-han, Park Cheol-wong, Kim Byeong-ok, Yoon Jin-seo, Oh Tae-kyung, Yoo Yeon-seok. [R]

Businessman Dae-su (Choi Min-sik) is kidnapped and imprisoned for fifteen years without ever knowing who’s behind it or why they’re doing it to him. After finally being released, he tracks down the man responsible and is given an ultimatum: figure out the motive behind the incarceration in five days or the young sushi chef (Kang Hye-jung) who is helping him will die. A blistering, creative, and darkly humorous neo-noir thriller that steamrolls right over several glaring plot holes, but a water-tight narrative would be impossible when serving Park Chan-wook’s diabolical contraption of brutal revenge, speculating its uncertain worth and devastating cost. The initial power of its shock scenes (toss up over where you’ll squirm more: the rash removal of a tender body part or the consumption of a living animal) and not-as-shocking revelations (I can’t be the only one who thought the big surprise was telegraphed far too early) fades after the first viewing, leaving technical craft and character work to keep it humming with sordid vitality. That’s where Park’s bravura skill and audacity matter the most, engineering more than enough breathless, haunting, ultraviolent, and/or exhilarating set pieces to make up for its shaky foundation. Based on a same-named Japanese manga by Garon Tsuchiya and Nobuaki Minegishi. Second installment in Park’s so-called “Vengeance Trilogy”, released between Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance and Lady Vengeance. Remade by Spike Lee in 2013.

83/100