I am a huge fan of Park Chan-wook’s original OLDBOY and this remake worried me back when Steven Spielberg and Will Smith were linked to it. OLDBOY is such a dark and f*cked up story that there is no way those two could have made it what it needed to be. While choosing Josh Brolin to star was an inspired choice, I was still not completely sold on Spike Lee as the director. Lee has had a career of ups and downs with some recent highlights including INSIDE MAN, BAMBOOZLED, and THE 25TH HOUR. What OLDBOY needs is the director who made SUMMER OF SAM.
What we get is exactly what we needed. The red band trailer that debuted today is spectacular in how similar it is to the Korean classic and yet a completely new take on the story, sticking closer to the original comic. Check it out.
OLDBOY is a provocative, visceral thriller that follows the story of an advertising executive (Josh Brolin) who is abruptly kidnapped and held hostage for 20 years in solitary confinement. When he is inexplicably released, he embarks on an obsessive mission to discover who orchestrated his bizarre and torturous punishment only to find he is still trapped in a web of conspiracy and torment.
If you have seen the original, the controversial twist ending looks to be completely intact which I never thought would make it to the American version of the movie. A lot of people are going to be in for one hell of a surprise.!
Brolin looks great. Would it be too much to say Best Actor nomination based on the trailer? Samuel L. Jackson as the prison “warden” is a great choice and the fleeting glimpses of Sharlto Copley make this one of the better trailers of the year. Count me as super excited for OLDBOY!
OLDBOY, starring Josh Brolin, Sharlto Copley, Samuel L. Jackson, and Elizabeth Olsen opens October 25, 2013.