If you’ve had your fair share of holiday movie fare, Oldboy is coming to cure your touchy-feely ills.
Spike Lee's take on the Korean original (based on the bloody and beloved Japanese manga) tells the story of Joe Doucett (Josh Brolin), an alcoholic businessman who, after a night of casually blacking out, wakes up in a private prison where he is to remain for the next 20 years. When he is unexpectedly set free with no explanation, Doucett sets out to find why he was kidnapped and locked away in solitary confinement for two decades. Fueled by his thirst for revenge, he learns that he should not be asking why he was imprisoned, but rather, why he was free—and the answer will knock you into next week.
Not feeling the feels this holiday? Here's why you need to see Oldboy right now:
1) Josh Brolin’s transformation
We first meet the unscrupulous drunk Joe Doucett in 1993. Like most alcoholics, Doucett is not in the best shape of his life when we first meet him: he's puffy with a big gut. Over the course of his 20-year imprisonment, Doucett turns into a lean, mean fighting machine. Brolin gained weight in a very short amount of time, which is not the healthiest thing to do, then lost it all in a matter of days. Because dedication.
2) Samuel L. Jackson
Yes, Samuel L. Jackson is in basically every badass movie ever, with Oldboy the latest notch on his belt.
3) Comparison to the Original
Created by Garon Tsuchiya in 1996, the Japanese manga first spawned an award-winning South Korean film by director Park Chan-wook in 2003. When it comes to the original, Brolin is a total fanboy, so it was important to him not to besmirch its good name. This is no shot-by-shot re-creation of Chan-wook’s film, but the basics of the story are here and crafted with a Western perspective.
4) Hammer Time
Apparently when you’re locked up for 20 years with only a handful of kickboxing-inspired workout videos for entertainment, you’ll be a very pissed-off kung fu master upon your release. On his road to revenge, Doucett takes down anyone in his way, from college jocks to martial arts masters. Oh, and Doucett’s weapon of choice? An old hammer. It's one of the few elements from the original Lee kept, albeit we won't see it in one take like the original.
5) Shock value
If you’ve not read the Japanese manga or seen the Korean film, you’ll spend the film pondering the following questions: who locked up Joe Doucett and why, and who set him free and why? The answers will be revealed, and trust me, your mind will be blown.
