Please Note: This will be the first of likely two reviews for the Oldboy trailer. This review will allow me to vent. Hopefully the second, just prior to the film's release, will be more objective.
Oh.... my....GOD.
It has finally happened. Arguably, one of the most brilliant and disturbing films of the 21st Century - a Korean masterpiece by Chan Wook Park, is on the verge (Oct. 2013) of release by remake.... Directed by....
Spike Lee?
I like Spike Lee, but Spike, for f**ksakes, why would you even attempt to feed this subject matter to a North American audience, let alone to the masses? WE ARE NOT READY FOR THIS - WE MAY NEVER BE READY FOR THIS!!!
Spike, you know how beautifully shot the original is. You know how technically flawless the original is. Clearly, you appreciated the brilliance in the vision that Chan Wook Park had for the execution of this film. Spike, you know how incredibly disturbing the story is. Yes, Spike, we appreciate your brilliance, too.
I've always said that it's better to remake a bad movie than it is to remake a good movie badly. Oldboy is not a bad movie. So, Spike, do you think you can do it justice? Well? Do ya? Do ya? Do ya?
I watched the trailer. Twice. It's good. But is it good if you don't know the original? I was looking too closely for the similarities and how they were handled to actually notice. Let me watch it a third time with this in mind...
Hmmm maybe.
Josh Brolin is very good as Oh Dae-su... the lead. The prisoner. The man imprisoned for 20 years in an unknown location without knowing why. Then, he is released and, of course, must find out why, by whom, save his daughter and of course, exact his revenge. But the real question to be asked is, who is really exacting the revenge?
This trailer (on IMDB) shows him in captivity and then shows him exacting revenge all over the place. It even shows him meeting his captor and yes there were many similarities to the original....
I just found the original 2003 trailer on youtube and watched it. In all fairness, it's on par with the Spike Lee trailer. But, the original trailer was made almost 10 years ago.
I was worried that there would be clues to the twisted levels of revenge in the Spike Lee trailer for Oldboy and during the third viewing watched closely for the spoilers. Fortunately, there was nothing blatant, though I had heard that there is one trailer out there that does actually spoil it. I hope it isn't true. Spoilers in the trailer would completely take away the "holy shit" and "oh no" moments in this film.
Oh Spike. I want to love this movie but I also want to hate this movie. My curiosity will likely draw me to it the day it opens. So, I ask again...
Do you think you can do it justice, Spike? Well? Do ya? Do ya? Do ya?
We shall see.
