Park Chan-wook’s Oldboy is a cult classic, a mysterious vengeance thriller that’s gritty, gory and demented (but with a central mystery that holds you in a tight grip until the bitter final scenes). I wonder how the film’s rabid fanbase will feel about Spike Lee’s planned Oldboy remake once they get a look at the red-band trailer that just landed on Yahoo Movies.   

Be careful: This clip has foul language and disturbing images, including several violent scenes. It is Oldboy, after all.
 

 
The big-picture details are the same. Josh Brolin plays a man who is kidnapped and detained for a long period of time (20 years in this remake) by total strangers. Then, he’s released as mysteriously as he was detained, and embarks on a mission to find out who imprisoned him. 
 
I like the introduction of the key events Lee thinks would affect Brolin’s character, from 9/11 to the flooding in New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina. And our “hero” dons a hammer for what looks like a fresh spin on the classic hallway fight scene. (Here’s the original. So genius.) 
 

 
But Oldboy needs to be a personal story, and the weight of that will fall on Brolin’s shoulders. Is he up to carrying that responsibility? Lee’s version of Oldboy costars Samuel L. Jackson and Elizabeth Olsen. It opens in theaters on October 25. What do you think of the first footage?
 
 

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