Min-sik Choi, Yu Ji-tae, Kang Hye-jeong, Dae-han Ji, Seung-Shin Lee

An ordinary man named Oh Dae-su, who lives with his wife and adorable daughter, is kidnapped and later wakes up to find himself in a private makeshift prison. Dae-su makes numerous attempts to escape ...( read more  read more... )and to commit suicide, but they all end up in failure. All the while Dae-su asks himself what made a man hate him so much enough to imprison him without any reason. While suffering from his debacle, Dae-su becomes shocked when he watches the news and hears that his beloved wife was brutally murdered. At this very moment, Dae-su swears to take revenge on the man who destroyed his happy life. Fifteen years later Dae-su is released with a wallet filled with money and a mobile phone. An unknown man calls Dae-su and asks him to figure out why he was imprisoned.

Flixster Users

95% liked it

98,940 ratings

Critics

81% liked it

118 critics

R, 1 hr. 59 min.

Directed by: Park Chan-wook

Release Date: March 25, 2005

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DVD Release Date: August 23, 2005

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Stats: 10,821 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (10,821)


  • December 27, 2009
    The film is a hyper-violent revenge fantasy that chronicles the bizarre odyssey of Oh Dae-su, a derelict alcoholic who is abducted for fifteen years, eats an octopus, commits incest and kills people with a hammer to discover the reason for his plight. Vengeance is hardly new cine...( read more)matic territory, but it throbs with new vigor and creative energy when seen through the eyes of Korean filmmaker Chan-wook Park.
  • October 31, 2009
    Incredible film, brilliant story, brilliant twist, brilliant action.
  • October 27, 2009
    I felt as if the film needed to watched while on mind-altering drugs. I may have enjoyed it a bit more. It wasn't bad to watch, but just a little out there for me. It was alright with an interesting story.
  • September 16, 2009
    The second film in Chan-wook Park's vengeance trilogy is an explosive one. There are so many layers to pull back in this one that you'd be excused if you feel a little dizzy before the end. Hollywood wishes it was this good, so they will remake it and pass it off as their idea no...( read more) doubt!
  • September 2, 2009
    A good Korean film, if quite odd at times. However it is a great tale of revenge with some surprising twists. Well worth checking out.
  • January 1, 2010
    My introduction to the magic of South Korean cinema, and Park Chan-Wook's magnum opus to date. Beautiful camera work, epic score and a screenplay that springs so many surprises, and takes you to so many dark places, your jaw will drop and your head just might explode. Amazing.
  • December 27, 2009
    This movie is probably the first great achievement of modern cinema in the 21st century. Don't believe any reviewer, don't pay attention to your friends' comments. Watch it and be ready to be taken to another level in cinema watching and moviemaking.

    If cinema can be considered ...( read more)art, it's because of the very few movies like Oldboy we have.
  • December 26, 2009
    3 stars just for the style and being not too boring.Brother-sister, father-daughter relations, revenge or altered characterizations are going nowhere.
  • December 25, 2009
    Inesperada, retorcida e intensa
  • December 23, 2009
    Old Boy (2003)

    I know I'm going to get some flack for this, especially from my Flixster friends, because "Old Boy" is such a cult classic. A Korean movie based on the Japanese graphic novel, it tells an elaborate story of vengeance, violence, incest, and just being able to keep...( read more) your damned mouth shut, when you should. That's usually the kind of movie that I go for, but in this case, not so much.

    Dae-su Oh (Min-sik Choi) is kidnapped on the day of his daughter's birth and held captive for 15 years and then is allowed to escape. Together, with a young woman that he meets, Mi-do (Hye-jeong Kang), he spends most of his time trying to figure out who did this to him and why, and hopefully exert some payback himself.

    The movie is well made and translates to American movie-goers well. So, why don't I like it as much? It sort of reminds me of "Seven" another violent movie about spending hours of energy, time, and money, just to make an elaborate statement; when a simple killing would suffice.

    The ultra-elaborate stuff that the bad guy does to the protagonist in "Old Boy" is the same way. The amount of money and time and energy spent to extract vengeance on him in a long, weird and convoluted way, makes no sense to me. It just makes the whole concept absurd. So much so that I need to take away a couple of stars of an otherwise well done movie. Sorry.

    Other than that, it's a good movie, if only to see what all the fuss is about. :-) It's well made and tells the story in a nice way.

Critic Reviews


May 9, 2005
Nick Schager, Lessons of Darkness

Argues for its own pointlessness. full review

April 15, 2005
Ty Burr, Boston Globe

For a while, though, this is as invigorating -- and as darkly funny -- as modern rogue moviemaking gets. full review

March 26, 2005
Stephanie Zacharek, Salon.com

It's a grand, gritty, indelible experience. full review

March 25, 2005
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

Oldboy is a powerful film not because of what it depicts, but because of the depths of the human heart which it strips bare. full review

March 24, 2005
David Edelstein, Slate

Oldboy is a movie where you think you're in hell from the first frame -- but have no inkling of the infernal circles to come. full review

March 24, 2005
Peter Travers, Rolling Stone

An explosively exciting psychosexual revenge drama from Korean powerhouse Park Chanwook that makes movies feel alive again. full review

March 22, 2005
Anthony Lane, The New Yorker

Oldboy has the fatal air of wanting so desperately to be a cult movie that it forgets to present itself as a coherent one. full review

View more Oldboy reviews at RottenTomatoes.com

Comments


  • itbegins2005
    April 1, 2009
    ... I knew it was his daughter the moment he walked into that g@#damned sushi bar.
  • ekaniki
    February 18, 2009
    Brilliant!!!
    One of the best movies about incest...
    ...and the last soundtrack is so cool!!!
    The Last Waltz:)))

    I recommend this movie to everyone
  • 115b
    November 7, 2008
    I hear they're making a remake where Will Smith is involved. Perhaps an americanized version? Either way I think the original is going to be better. I personally don't see Will Smith cutting out his own tongue.
  • showbiz101
    February 11, 2008
    i'm not usually one to agree when feminists cry misogyny ... but i thought the way that women were depicted in this movie was really disturbing

    obviously its not the only fkked up thing about the film, but disregarding the purposely disturbing stuff ... it still left a sick feeling in my stomach because of this

    anyone else agree?
  • waynechriss
    June 25, 2007
    It wasn't the trapping of the man that excecuted brilliances, it was the events following that, especially the end.

    But I thought the movie was deftly prepared, and I was "wowed" at the end. It the movie is a tad slow paced, but I kept watching because I was trying to dicern the wacky scenes and parts of the film.
  • mjgildea
    May 13, 2007
    Oldboy is one of the most overrated pieces of crap I've ever seen and I hate it more than life itself. Taking up a heroin habit would actually be more constructive than watching this movie. I won't dispute that it started off strong enough and had me intrigued for the first hour, but once the hammer came down it didn't even make a dent for me.

    I don't know if there were some cultural differences that didn't translate well ot what, but it started off brilliantly and ended in the most pathetic of ways. And I understand and appreciate that it didn't follow a formula, but you've got to understand as a filmmaker that if you lock someone in a room for 14 years there won't be a reason on earth that's going to leave an audience paralyzed with brilliance.

    And this is all just my opinion. I say this because everyone on this site seems to have a boner for this movie and I can't understand why.
  • ThaSoulSurvivor
    May 2, 2007
    The second film in the Revenge Trilogy, Olboy pacts a punch! The key is identifying the actual protagonist... only then will you understand the meaning of vengeance in this movie. A must see!!!
  • DragonEyeMorrison
    January 31, 2007
    So far the only review of the film i had read that sums up everything about it:

    http://www.thegline.com/dvd-of-the-week/2004/05-24-2004.htm

    Must read, for both fans and detractors of the film.
  • ozarksavage1977
    January 25, 2007
    my wifey got me the 3 disc set for Xmas. Color me overjoyed. Best movie of 2005.
  • DrZeek
    November 27, 2006
    Fans of Oldboy should definetely get the Deluxe 3 disc DVD, it's packed with Greatness.

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

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Oldboy Trivia


  • Which movie is this quote from? "Even though I'm no more than a monster - don't I, too, have the right to live?"  Answer »
  • What live animal does Dae-Su Oh eat in Oldboy?  Answer »
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