There are few films that are as near and dear to my heart as Chan-Wook Park’s 2003 exercise in revenge opulence, Oldboy. From beginning to end, Oldboy it is a film that tiptoes with perfection in all of it’s cinematic aspects. It’s stark, unnerving, brutal and surprisingly beautiful all at once. I love it.
Suffice to say, when news arose that this heralded Korean film was being remade for American audiences with Spike Lee at the helm, me being “less than enthused” is to put it mildly. It wasn’t purely blind hate, though. I thought Lee as director was an interesting choice. Then Josh Brolin, one of my favorite working actors that doesn’t get near enough credit for his work, was cast in the lead role thankfully replacing Will “Welcome to Earf” Smith and causing me to be even more intrigued by this remake. Yet, I’ve still held tight to my precautions.
Today, the first footage of Spike Lee’s Oldboy has hit the interwebz in a red band trailer that, I can honestly say, looks quite excellent. There’s a visual style on display that feels out of Lee’s typical comfort zone, which is a good thing. We’re also given glimpses of Brolin solidifying me belief that he would at least bring an A-game performance to the role.
Check out the Old Boy red band trailer below.
With any remake, the most important question is “What’s the point?” If it’s just the same thing all over again, why bother remaking it? While this trailer does hit a few familiar points with its 10-year old predecessor, it does leave enough area open that the film make take some of its own paths. The original has a quite objectionable plot point that I wouldn’t have dreamed in a million years would have been touched on in this remake, but the seeds are there. Much like that first Evil Dead red band trailer immediately changed my opinion on that remake this one has done the same. Color me optimistic. I can’t wait for it to arrive on October 25.
