An advertising executive is 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 punishment only to find he is still trapped in a web of conspiracy and torment.
Review
If the original version of "Oldboy" has a perfect 10 out 10 this one has a mixed 6 out 10.
At first I just came back from the theater and I found this movie a very poor remake if I compare it with the excellence the complexity and power of the Asian film. That film was purely brilliance. So this new version was really promising but had the bar raising too high.
From Spike Lee we could expect a truly mesmerizing movie or a very weak one. And in this case I say that this one is not so bad as it looks like here. It's obvious that some people is apparently going too far. It's a disappointing movie but not a bad movie. It focuses too much in blood and gory instead of the script and the complexity of the characters and situations. The ending can be a bit upsetting for some viewers.
Josh Brolin is one of the better things of this version. His performance is as good as he always do his roles. The rest of the cast is between average or good. Nothing remarkable under my watch.
So this "Oldboy" is not a brilliant movie or a powerful remake but it's an entertaining one. It's weird and bloody. Be prepared for that.