Stometer
Save your money for something good and enjoyable
Brightlyme
i know i wasted 90 mins of my life.
Steineded
How sad is this?
Maidexpl
Entertaining from beginning to end, it maintains the spirit of the franchise while establishing it's own seal with a fun cast
Majikat
Spike Lee respectfully takes on the iconic original and puts his version across with success. A murder, a kidnapping, mysterious happenings, an investigation thrown together with fate. Cult like in its visuals and tribute. Brolin makes the character his own.Much better than remembered, twisted, but genius!
GP
This is my first movie review and I felt this must be wrote after just finishing the movie. I find myself still in an odd state that's hard to describe, a bit of disbelief mixed with a touch of what-the-hell followed by silence. I was curious what others thought so I looked up the movie on here and was astounded by the number of 1-3 star ratings. The number one critique seems to be that it was not on par with the original.Being honest, going into this movie I never heard of this movie nor the original. I watched it because it had Elizabeth Olsen and my expectations really weren't that high going in.I enjoy movies that take you on a roller coaster of emotions which I definitely found true in this movie. I felt both Josh Brolin and Elizabeth Olsen delivered great performances. Maybe I don't have the developed palate, to say, to find this movie as horrendous as the other reviewers, most of whom I assume highly praise and review Sundance Film Festival movies as "Graceful style with complex earthy tones of sage, a flutter of tobacco and the faintest soupcon of pencil lead flavors, which focus and gain intensity on the finish."I strongly suggest giving this movie a chance, and apparently, make sure to watch this one before you watch the original or you're sure to be let down.
Leofwine_draca
OLDBOY is a grim and unpleasant film for sure, but compared to Park Chan-wook's Korean masterpiece, this remake is weak sauce indeed. Spike Lee's version of the tale is a grim and nihilistic outing that takes away most of the original's power and style, leaving it an oddly hollow, uninvolving, and nasty viewing experience.A brutish Josh Brolin takes the lead role and fails to bring the complexity that Choi Min-sik added to the part. Brolin's character is a mere thug who never gains the viewer's sympathy for a moment despite the dark journey his character undertakes. In support, Samuel L. Jackson is quite poor basically playing himself, and Sharlto Copley has possibly the fakest-sounding British accent heard in a movie; what were they thinking? A surprisingly sincere Elizabeth Olsen is the only one who gives what I consider to be an impressive performance.The plot follows that of the original quite closely but smooths away rough edges and the nastier implications of the original narrative. It's not as controversial, let's say that. Certain scenes, like the infamous corridor fight, aren't a patch on those of the original film, and I found the ending to be a particular disappointment. Just another needless remake, then.
John
You look at the cast - Samuel L Jackson, Josh Brolin and Sharlto Copley and say "wow, this film has to be at least decent because these guys would never sign onto a project that could be a total dud." This is an example of a one trick pony director (Spike Lee) who built a name around race-based films trying to actually do something other than his usual shtick and having his agents hook these names onto a project which they all probably regret.IMPORTANT: WATCH THE ORIGINAL FIRST. THEN START THIS FILM, WATCH 10 MINUTES AND THEN DECIDE IF YOU REALLY WANT TO TORTURE YOURSELF FOR THE ENTIRE RUNNING TIME.Mistake #1 - You've got to be pretty darn arrogant to think you're going to do at least a good job if not better of remaking one of the greatest original films made. Why would anyone even try remaking Casablanca? The Godfather? Bladerunner? They nailed it perfectly - writing, editing, acting, casting, etc. Chances are you're going to fail.Mistake #2 - Trying to change the story to put your own trademark on your film. I couldn't understand why Spike Lee would bother with his own additions other than to sit back and enjoy seeing the pleasure of his own work where the black man has the upper hand. It's awkward, poorly scripted into the story, poorly acted and blows valuable running time to further Lee's conceit.Mistake #3 - Changing the most important parts of the story to put your own trademark to create a twist which desperately needs chemistry to work but failing miserably to generate it at all. This is a twisted film. The original is done very, very well. I would advise anyone NOT to watch this film and to watch the original so as to enjoy the entire movie and the way the reveals play themselves out. This steaming pile is tossed together with characters that really don't have chemistry and is disturbingly contrived. You will not be able to thank me enough times for telling you NOT TO WATCH THIS FILM AND TO SEE THE ORIGINAL FIRST. You see so many people saying the same thing and there is GOOD REASON for it. Not only will you LOVE the first film's style and execution but you won't be able to sit through the first 15 minutes of this film without being between a laugh and a retch. You will then save 90 minutes of your life. The rating on this film is only in the 5.x grade because Spike Lee clearly had his marketing people stuff the ballot box.WATCH THE ORIGINAL FIRST