Oldboy

After having it recommended it me months ago and having a copy of it gathering dust for nearly as long, I finally got around to watching Oldboy on Saturday night.

Twisted and dark is the only way I could describe this movie. It begins with the main character, Oh Dae-Su, drunk and in a police station. He gets released from custody, gives the police the fingers, but on his way home is mysteriously kidnapped.

He is imprisoned for 15 years with only a TV for company, begins training and attempts to escape, Shawshank style, but when he has nearly removed enough bricks to break free, he is drugged and wakes up on the roof of the building…

I don’t want to give too much away, but the essence of the story is that Oh Dae-Su is given 5 days to figure out why he was imprisoned (he quickly finds out who). The movie is action-packed and includes the lesser-known technique of removing teeth with a claw-head hammer aswell as one scene where Oh Dae-Su eats an alive octopus (yum yum!)

To be faithful to the movie I decided to watch Oldboy with the original Korean soundtrack and English subs and after the first few minutes I didn’t notice the subtitles at all and proceeded to be entertained.

It was really refreshing to have to think during a movie for a change and the twist at the end was just demented, get yourself a copy today!