It’s a fairly safe remake with only anecdotal changes, so there really isn’t any incentive to watch and compare.
The original is better, so if you’ve got that bias going in, it’s better to avoid the whole thing altogether. That being said…Oldboy tells the story of Joe Doucett (Josh Brolin), a particularly vulgar, alcoholic, bullshit-artist who is mysteriously imprisoned and kept alive for 20 years. When he’s released, he has to find out where his daughter is and most importantly, who impris- oned him and why they let him go.
Josh Brolin does a really good job but doesn’t ever really elevate over-expectations. Actress Eliza- beth Olsen’s also fairly competent, but the film doesn’t expect very much from her.
The problem with Oldboy is less in the acting and more in the context.
You have to remember this isn’t just a remake but an American remake; things are going to get lost in translation. Samuel L. Jackson’s character, for example, is handled pretty well plot-wise, but he’s dressed like he’s coming right out of a Manga and it’s incredibly distracting.
Also, there’s something really jarring about the action here. The famous hallway fight is shot really well and it’s that goofy-gory kind of fight you might see in an anime.
The problem is that the film switches from this to really serious, emotionally heavy kills without convincing us that the emotion is there.
It comes with the territory with this kind of movie, but because it’s a remake, you have a certain amount of freedom to tweak plot points, which Spike Lee didn’t seem to be interested in.
All in all, Oldboy is a lesser version of an amazing and terrifying film.
It still holds on to some of that original brilliance, but certainly not enough to warrant a watch unless the luxury of the English language is enough to entice you.
TJ Brown
Contributor
