Old Boy (2003)

Important staple of the South Korean cinema: thought provoking but not enjoyable per se

Going through the cinematography of the very famous director Park Chan Wook, I was compelled to watch this movie for which he was acclaimed for. I am happy to have seen it for my cinematographic culture but I must admit that it was not a gratifying watch. Even if I recognized the quality of the overall cinematography as well as the concept and ideas behind this movie, I cannot say that I enjoyed it.

I found its pacing kind of sluggish and felt bored more than once watching it. I disliked quite strongly the main "hero" making it impossible to care and root for him. I also found the main female protagonist too meek and passive... Overall the female roles were really not the most developed which is honestly a shame as I feel that would have brought much more nuance and sensibility to the plot. Here, I was just not understanding those characters and was not able to empathize with any of them except maybe the "villain". It is the only character I kind of appreciated and was curious to see more of...I knew the film passed me by when I found myself more intrigued and supporting the antagonist than the hero...

The acting was good with solid performances from everyone casted. Even though their portraying is impressive, I had trouble to feel emotionally involved in what the characters were living through. In addition to a good cast, the production value is very nice as well. There are some really striking shots in terms of production, it is not as refined and polished as the most recent works of Park Chan Wook but there is clearly an already pretty strong identity and style to the work of this director. The soundtrack is not very memorable to me but felt very adequate while watching the movie.

I would recommend this to people that are looking for a noir action thriller centred around vengeance and quite enigmatic. It is an important piece for South Korean cinema and even though I did not "enjoy" it, I still think it is worth the watch and that it leaves a lasting impression on the viewer.

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I Really like the beginning of the story/Movie it was real cool, how the story went on was really cool, but this movie has many disturbing scenes.

I think all the actors did a really good Job, it's the characters that are a bit of a problem, I liked the main lead -just the first part of the movie- & I liked the main Villain's voice, he’s so crazy I really liked his character , I hated the character Mi Do a lot Eww really disgusting & shallow.


I have mixed feelings towards the story as a whole, I liked the beginning a lot yet now that I’m done watching this I feel like vomiting, I wish I hadn't watched it but I don't think this will be the case for all.

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This movie is a male power fantasy

and it doesn't shy away from the fact that their target audience is middle-aged men.

Man gets kidnapped and is locked up for 15 years (by the way, he looks the same age before and after) and becomes a badass, pro at fighting and spouting random facts (due to television being the only entertainment he had). Not only that, he gets a young girl as a lover (rather tragic, truly).

Conceptually I can give the story, acting, cinematography, and music great scores, yet this movie was hilarious and I couldn't take it seriously.

At the start it was funny and I chuckled at the nonsensical nature of it (if you like Japanese humor you will like it too). But then the second act starts and the viewer is supposed to care about... Characters.

Then climax and reveal happens, impressive acting performance, emotions going through the roof.
Yet I don't care. I don't even shed a tear or gasp in surprise (spoiler was revealed ages ago to me).

"Laugh and the world laughs with you. Weep, and you weep alone." wonderful quote that says how I feel about this movie.

One of the most annoying features of Oldboy- male gaze (our character is lustful). And at times it's quite random, especially in the second half (because in the first half it was played for comedic effect).

By the way, female characters here are basically just decoration (it's not about them after all + it's 2003 movie).

Will I rewatch this movie? Nah. If I need I will look up gifs or screencaps for wonderful cinematography.

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Finally I thought of a rating for this movie. 7/10.

This movie is really hard to rate, in my opinion. Although I found the acting absolutely brilliant, I wasn't happy with the flow of the movie at all. Also the story is just sick sick sick!!!
I can understand the male lead's actions at first cause he wasn't aware...but the ending??!! Gosh that was gross and messed up!! and SICK!!! *goes to a corner and pukes*

This movie was similar in a way to the movie "No Mercy". The whole revenge idea in "Old Boy" was good but I enjoyed the revenge in 'No Mercy' way way better...that movie was just brilliant and haunting...especially the ending!

So what I 100% enjoyed in "Old Boy" was the acting. The whole cast was brilliant, especially Choi Min Shik. I don't think they could have chosen anyone better for that role!

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Well…

Okay I have to admit, I did watch this movie solely because people on tiktok always called it ‘the best korean movie’. I wanted to see for myself what the hype was all about..but honestly, I don’t really see what makes it so special?

The plot is completely incestuous and once that was revealed everything became uncomfortable. You can spare the whole ‘deep meaning’ behind it. I still think it’s a nasty movie lol…

Other than the plot, the acting was truly amazing though! You can tell these are veteran actors. I’m always in awe at how great actors could play such a terrible character.

Though Daesu didn’t know it was his daughter, I still think it was wrong of him to just continue the relationship blissfully.

I don’t know…i’ve got mixed feelings about this movie. I’m just left with a nasty feeling honestly.

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