Oldboy (TBA) – Starring Josh Brolin, Elizabeth Olsen and Samuel L. Jackson, directed by Spike Lee
Hollywood seems to be in a remake frenzy, taking on classics such as Carrie and RoboCop (due out next year) that add nothing to the original. Foreign films, especially, have been seen as ripe for ‘Hollywoodisation’, with Asian and European ‘classics’ such as ‘Let The Right One In’ and ‘The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo’ notable examples.
Now the 2003 Korean thriller ‘Oldboy’ has been tackled. Itself an adaptation of a Japanese comic book, the 2013 version sees hostage Joe Doucette (Brolin) inexplicably released from solitary confinement after 20 years, and then compelled to take on the task of finding out why he was imprisoned.
Before his incarceration, haggard and abusive Joe was estranged from his wife and daughter, harbouring a sense of guilt that acted as a driving force behind his personal issues.
Obsessed with seeking vengeance on those who held him for two decades, a lean and mean Joe sets out to find those who are responsible. Unsure of whom to trust, Joe soon turns to a drug clinic worker (Olsen) who helps him piece together the identity of his captor.
As his sense of guilt is slowly unveiled and Joe tracks down his captor Chaney (Jackson), he unravels the twisted truth behind his release.
Director Lee has altered few details from the Korean original, including the infamous hammer fight, which is this time played out as an elaborate multi-storey warehouse attack, but it remains to be seen whether the movie stacks up favourably against its feted precursor.
Oldboy hits cinemas this Thursday 5th December.
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Best Man Holiday (18+)
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Saving Santa (PG13)
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Devil’s Pass (TBA)
In 1959, nine Russian hikers were mysteriously killed in the Ural Mountains. Years later a group of students retrace their footsteps, uncovering the truth about the forces behind the bizarre occurrences in the Dyatlov Pass.
