Oldboy

We have all seen obscure films that may or may not have a message behind them, however obscure nonetheless. Obscure? Com'on, let me scratch your brain: "Eraserhead" '77, "The Cell" 2000, "The Tree of Life" '11, last year's "A Cabin in the Woods", even "2001: A Space Odyssey" '68. So, when I viewed "Oldboy", my thought was that I could put this film on that ever growing list.

This visceral thriller about an advertising executive, Joe Doucette (Josh Brolin) is kidnapped and held hostage in 1993, surviving in a single room basically in solitary confinement for 20 years. When he is inexplicably released, he embarks on an obsessive, vengeful mission to discover who orchestrated his incredible punishment, only to find he is still trapped in a web of conspiracy of why he was set free.
Joe realizes he needs help to discover the one who imprisoned him so he calls upon long time friend, Chucky (Michael Imperioli) and new found friend, Marie Sebastian (Elizabeth Olsen) to assist him, because he's well aware that the man he seeks is incredibly psychotic and extremely dangerous. Before Joe ultimately meets his nemesis, he plays a cat and mouse game with Chaney (Samuel L. Jackson), the main henchman for 'the stranger'.

Others to round out the cast are Sharlto Copley as Adrian/The Stranger, Pom Klementieff as Haeng-Bok, James Ransone as Dr. Tom Melby, Max Casella as James Prestley, Linda Emond as Edwina Burke, Elvis Nolasco as Cortez, Rami Malek as Browning, Lance Reddick as Daniel Newcombe, Hannah Ware as Donna Hawthorne, and Richard Portnow as Bernie Sharkey.

This was directed by a director one wouldn't expect in that this isn't a message film, unless you want to count a moral dilemma of the different characters. However, this was incredibly directed with a great deal of intensity by veteran Spike Lee (" School Daze" '88, "Do the Right Thing" '89, "Mo' Better Blues" '90, "Malcolm X" '92, "Crooklyn" '94, "Clockers" '95, "Girl 6" '96, "Get on the Bus" '96, "4 Little Girls" (Documentary) '97, "He Got Game" '98, "Summer of Sam" '99, "Bamboozled" 2000, "25th Hour" '02, "She Hate Me" '04, "Inside Man" '06, M.O.N.Y. (TV movie) '07, "Miracle at St. Anna" '08, "Da Brick (TV movie) '11, "Red Hook Summer" '12, "Bad 25" (Documentary) '12). Certainly Lee's earlier anti-racism films were looked at as being obscure by some, visionary by others, so with films like this, maybe they might be looked at as being message laden instead of weird and odd by many now. This was adequately written by Mark Protosevich based on a manga by Garon Tsuchiya and Nobuaki Minegishi. It was a fair attempt, script wise, however there were places where the stranger would have to have the ability to read Joe's mind to be able to set this guy up in certain situations that I can't go into, lest it would kill the plot for you.But suffice it to say, this flaw made it difficult to grasp what was happening to Joe, because it lacked elements of what is real and what's not. You be the judge.

I suspect that the manga which the film is based on is quite gratuitous, because this IS rated R for a reason. This is an adult film, and not one for teens, so when you go to the multiplex, get a babysitter for this one, or little 'Johnny or Suzy' will get a quick education probably before they're ready.

Out of 4 Stars: 2.5                       Rated: R                          104mins.