Member VenomsFan Posted February 13, 2014 Member Share Posted February 13, 2014 This remake was brilliant. By itself OR as a remake. If the director's name was David Fincher, I'm sure there would be more positive reviews. This is easily one of Spike Lee's best. He's got that stigma, you know. Like M. Night Shamalayan. No matter what movies they make or who's in it, they will always be considered bad. For one, I thought the hammer battle was more brutal and realistic- just better - in Lee's version. And I happen to like the original. The acting and cinema is all here. It's a good flick. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member yojimbo Posted February 21, 2014 Member Share Posted February 21, 2014 Just watched it last night. Remake does a few things right, but then messes up on everything else. I like the cinematography, especially some of the earlier shots in various angles. I liked some of the hammer fight scene. When he is moving down to the lower floor and then kicked the guy toward the audience/fence. There were a lot of things I thought could have been done better. Josh Brolin does a decent job of being a loud obnoxious asshole. However the rest wasn't as good as Choi Min Shik in the original. The way he was talking seemed like a normal guys who just went away for a while. I don't think people who watched the subbed versions knew that Choi's character of Oe Dae Soo was talking slow and broken Korean since he'd been locked up so long without talking to anyone. The Bellhop who showed up as a hullcination in the US version didn't match the psychological reason Choi was seeing ants in the Korean version. I also thought that the US version approach to him wacking off due to being lonely wasn't addressed well. If I recall, the Korean version Choi's voice over was saying that the TV was everything after being locked up including his lover. Maybe they should have carried over some of the voice overs. The fights in the US version were well done but missed the point. Sure he has a TV and was watching some boxing and punching the wall. But it wouldn't make him some type of fighting genius without actually having people to spar against. In the Korean version, there wasn't as much flash. It was just about Choi having punched the walls all those years and developing a strong fist. So the fights are simpler and more direct. The torture scene at the prison. I would have preferred they stuck to originals hammer. Also, Brolin is released and comes out of the suitcase. He didn't seem really all that out of it. Even though it wasn't necessary. I missed the scene from the Korean version where he talks to the suicidal jumper. He couldn't say a whole lot, but did muster up that crazy smile. Was there really a need to change the villains bodyguard from male to female for the US version? Also, have her show all that skin? Take the Hollywood Asian female fetish elsewhere. Or save it for some other movie. I also didn't like Copley's main villain. He just didn't have that something that Yoo Ji Tae's portrayal in the original version had. Also, he didn't come across as evil or a big threat. It also seemed like they spent a lot of time trying to fill in the backstory that the original didn't. Or add things to make it more sense in their minds. I can't say for certain if I would have liked the movie had I not seen the original. Which one will they remake next? Sympathy for Mr Vengeance? Or Lady Vengance? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member QueMuchita Posted February 21, 2014 Member Share Posted February 21, 2014 I didn't mind this, Yeah the original is better but this was still a decent watch. If I had never seen the original I probably would of enjoyed this a lot more but I still liked it. On IMDB I seen a lot of people giving this a 1/10! Come on people, thats just ridiculous. Which one will they remake next? Sympathy for Mr Vengeance? Or Lady Vengance? I believe they were in works to remake Lady Vengance starring Charlize Theron. Apparently it is on hold now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member reason108 Posted March 6, 2014 Member Share Posted March 6, 2014 Just watched it last night. Remake does a few things right, but then messes up on everything else. I like the cinematography, especially some of the earlier shots in various angles. I liked some of the hammer fight scene. When he is moving down to the lower floor and then kicked the guy toward the audience/fence. There were a lot of things I thought could have been done better. Josh Brolin does a decent job of being a loud obnoxious asshole. However the rest wasn't as good as Choi Min Shik in the original. The way he was talking seemed like a normal guys who just went away for a while. I don't think people who watched the subbed versions knew that Choi's character of Oe Dae Soo was talking slow and broken Korean since he'd been locked up so long without talking to anyone. The Bellhop who showed up as a hullcination in the US version didn't match the psychological reason Choi was seeing ants in the Korean version. I also thought that the US version approach to him wacking off due to being lonely wasn't addressed well. If I recall, the Korean version Choi's voice over was saying that the TV was everything after being locked up including his lover. Maybe they should have carried over some of the voice overs. The fights in the US version were well done but missed the point. Sure he has a TV and was watching some boxing and punching the wall. But it wouldn't make him some type of fighting genius without actually having people to spar against. In the Korean version, there wasn't as much flash. It was just about Choi having punched the walls all those years and developing a strong fist. So the fights are simpler and more direct. The torture scene at the prison. I would have preferred they stuck to originals hammer. Also, Brolin is released and comes out of the suitcase. He didn't seem really all that out of it. Even though it wasn't necessary. I missed the scene from the Korean version where he talks to the suicidal jumper. He couldn't say a whole lot, but did muster up that crazy smile. Was there really a need to change the villains bodyguard from male to female for the US version? Also, have her show all that skin? Take the Hollywood Asian female fetish elsewhere. Or save it for some other movie. I also didn't like Copley's main villain. He just didn't have that something that Yoo Ji Tae's portrayal in the original version had. Also, he didn't come across as evil or a big threat. It also seemed like they spent a lot of time trying to fill in the backstory that the original didn't. Or add things to make it more sense in their minds. I can't say for certain if I would have liked the movie had I not seen the original. Which one will they remake next? Sympathy for Mr Vengeance? Or Lady Vengance? I have not seen the remake but my best friend was trying to explain it to me. But, from the way he described it, the motivation of the main bad guy had been changed. Though, I will wait until I see it myself; it sounds like I won`t. F**k remakes! I would rather see another original movie on the same level as Oldboy or Sympathy! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Drunken Monk Posted March 6, 2014 Member Share Posted March 6, 2014 The remake was not only a waste of time but failed to come even close to the original. For me, it felt too glamorous. The mystique and sense of macabre the original had is totally lost and Sharlto Copley hams it up so much that his character becomes laughable. The villain (if you can call him that) in the original was a broken, lost, tortured man. You could see that in him. Copley just plays a foppish dandy. He's like Russell Brand's morose uncle. Also, I thought Spike Lee adding an additional level to his one-shot fight was arrogant and, ironically, the whole scene ended up looking much worse than the original. It's a shame he didn't door more with it, opting instead to take the Korean version and make minor tweaks. It's not a terrible film but it's not good either. Certainly not one I'd ever watch again. The highlight is genuinely Elizabeth Olsen's boobs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member yojimbo Posted March 8, 2014 Member Share Posted March 8, 2014 Not all remakes are bad. Yojimbo - Fist Full of Dollars Le Samourai - The Killer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member OpiumKungFuCracker Posted March 8, 2014 Member Share Posted March 8, 2014 The remake was not only a waste of time but failed to come even close to the original. For me, it felt too glamorous. The mystique and sense of macabre the original had is totally lost and Sharlto Copley hams it up so much that his character becomes laughable. The villain (if you can call him that) in the original was a broken, lost, tortured man. You could see that in him. Copley just plays a foppish dandy. He's like Russell Brand's morose uncle. Also, I thought Spike Lee adding an additional level to his one-shot fight was arrogant and, ironically, the whole scene ended up looking much worse than the original. It's a shame he didn't door more with it, opting instead to take the Korean version and make minor tweaks. It's not a terrible film but it's not good either. Certainly not one I'd ever watch again. The highlight is genuinely Elizabeth Olsen's boobs. I agree, Olsen boobs were amazing. The fight scene was incredibly weak in the remake, and the music is lame and not even close to being as epic as the original. But Olsen's boobs are awesome I would like to suck on those like coconut juice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member masterofoneinchpunch Posted March 10, 2014 Member Share Posted March 10, 2014 Not all remakes are bad. Yojimbo - Fist Full of Dollars Le Samourai - The Killer The Killer has some influence from Le Samourai and Melville in general, but it is not really a remake (though maybe somewhat like what Kenneth E. Hall writes "a sustained homage". But you are correct not all remakes are bad and some like Huston's The Maltese Falcon are celebrated more than an earlier version(s). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Drunken Monk Posted March 11, 2014 Member Share Posted March 11, 2014 Not all remakes are bad. Yojimbo - Fist Full of Dollars Le Samourai - The Killer Agreed. In fact, I'd say there are a lot of good remakes. Sadly, "Oldboy" isn't one of them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Violent Newtype Posted March 17, 2014 Member Share Posted March 17, 2014 I want to see as many oldboy variation as possible. Is there another oldboy from another country that I can find like a German Oldboy or a Canadian Oldboy? not exactly a film but theres the Japanese manga Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member daisho2004 Posted March 23, 2014 Member Share Posted March 23, 2014 OK I finally watched Spike Lee's remake of "Old Boy" and I have to say after hearing everyone's disapproval of this remake including my own, I thought it was excellently remade. Certain things were different but for the most part it stayed on part with the Korean version. I'm glad Spike did his own thing and changed things around, the ending was a little different same results if you seen the Korean version without given away any spoilers, it's just what he does that was different, and I liked it. I mean there is always going to be some things I didn't like for instance some of the fight scenes brutal as they were, seemed a little stale & staged it didn't seem like it flowed. But overall I thought it was an excellent movie and definitely worth watching. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Cognoscente Posted May 2, 2021 Member Share Posted May 2, 2021 They should have opted for David Fincher and Denzel Washington. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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