Oldboy

My memories of Chan-Wook’s original have faded everything but the octopus scene, and checking my review of the original, pretty much the same comments could apply to this one, except that Lee seems to take more genuine joy and gusto in following the soapier and melodramatic plotting that leads to the expertly somewhat tragic climactic reveal, that is indeed worthy of an episode of THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL! Minus the original’s tendencies towards hideous grotesquerie, I found this a far more enjoyable experience, even if it’s ultimately just a sleazy exploitationer in dress clothes, but when the cut of the fabric is this stylish, it’s difficult to complain too loudly. Energetic performances from the likes of Brolin (channelling Dennis Quaid), Olsen and a fiendish Jackson are icing on a demented cake; Copley is a chillingly insidious villain.