This was very disappointing, considering Oldboy is usually my answer to the question of favourite movie of all times. I've hesitated to watch the other parts of the "trilogy" for fear that I might not like them nearly as much – which was what happened with one out of two now.
The theme, obviously, is basically the same, except that it handles it without any of the depth and ambivalence that make Oldboy such a masterpiece and an emotional rollercoaster. Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance, on the other hand, knows only one direction: downwards. In some way, that makes sense given the topic at hand, but it just didn't really have an impact on me. The characters remain way too bland for me to have really cared about any of them, a stark contrast to Oldboy's super-careful buildup.
The only thing it has more of than Oldboy is gratuitous violence, which is also something that efficiently puts me off a movie. It had some memorable locations and great cinematography, but a much less interesting soundtrack and much less convincing acting to its sequel-in-spirit. But what it lacks in most is its paper-thin shroud of a story. I kept expecting something surprising, or at least moving, to happen in the process of its pretty long runtime, but it never did. It has much more in common with Saw or Kill Bill than with Oldboy, and I don't see myself watching it again.
Not as good of a story as Oldboy, but still interesting enough. I like how cyclical this narrative was.
Vengeance trilogy by Chan-wook Park
Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance - Part 1
Oldboy- Part 2
Lady Vengeance - Part 3
Holy shit Holy shit Holy shit
this movie was the literal definition of "just when you think the situation can't get worse, it gets worse, way way worse"
An excellent movie, with very good actors.
The original title of the film is Boksuneun naui geot.
I was expecting much more violence. Honestly I was quite bored. Wrong expectations, definetly my fault.
A peculiar movie because of what happens and how it tells it
Often called a cruel film, I think its misfortune is mistaken for heartlessness. But the film holds sympathy for each protagonist in its tragedy and gives each of them ample screentime to explain how we got here, and that makes the wave of violence that envelops the final third well earned. It didn't- shouldn't- have to be this way. One scene in particular solidified this for me; the detective needing ten million won, in the same scene where Dong-jin mentions the economy crashing. Societal ills created this situation and thrust it forward, and the fact that these three would've been good people otherwise is the heart of the tragedy.
"I know you're a good guy... so you know why I have to kill you..."
The film views them all as human, all have the capability of being good at their heart. But inversely, human nature compels them forward to continue the cycle.I think the film is also buoyed by knowing when to show the brutality and when to pull back, knowing which will make the viewers wince to see and which will be even more brutal for them to imagine. Add in a killer cast, especially Song Kang-ho and Bae Doona, and it's a film you shouldn't miss.
I'd say that the biggest problem with this movie is its 1st act. It's too slow and it's also confusing in some parts. It tends to jump some important parts for no reason; like the kidnapping scene. That confused the f*ck out of me. This also happened later in the movie, when "Mr. Vengeance" appeared in Ryu's hideout, when the hideout itself had never been established nor did he look for it. He was just there, waiting.
Devastating is the only way to describe this film. The beginning lets you think it is going to be the usual socially aware film about inequality, but things quickly degenerate into a spiral of revenge and violence that transcends social context and culture. Park Chan-wook has a reputation for over-stylized films, but here he is masterful in maintaining the perfect balance between surreal atmospheres, realistic mise-en-scene and bad taste black humor. The way he indulges in each tragedy feels genuine, painfully raw, and never melodramatic. Yet, most scenes still retain a peculiar, highly cinematic feel. I was hoping for a more impactful ending but it's still close to a masterpiece.
(second viewing)
2 / 2 directing & technical aspect
1 / 1 story
1 / 1 act I
1 / 1 act II
1 / 1 act III
1 / 1 acting
.5 / 1 writing
.5 / 1 originality
1 / 1 lasting ability to make you think
-.5 / 1 misc (Shin over-acts even in this role)
8.5 / 10
Park is fucking amazing. First entry of the vengeance trilogy is a rock solid one.
A movie where you can't take anyone's side!
Just when you think nothing worse can happen it happens!
Flawless cinematography, every character development was just perfect.
A clear allegory of a modern society that struggles in moral values. A rude capitalist businessman that fires his workers without a word, and a worker that, ingenuously, thinks that a kidnap (of the businessman's daughter) can solve his situation. In fact, Chan-wook Park is a master in painting the escalation of (useless) violence and the stupidity of the human mind (remember: both of a deaf-mute worker and a rich businessman) blinded by the desire of revenge. This movie wants to be a 2 hours psychiatric session, and it does well.
I'm speechless. This is perfection. The intensity, the pace, the details.
Chan-wook Park is a master of his art, making us suffer ever so gracefully, twitching us, twisting our sentiments, making us silent, until we get the blood-red feeling painted all over the piece.
We absorb, then we endure.
Maybe the message here is that graphic or not, all is violence.
Very good movie. Part of the "Vengeance trilogy", so far I have seen Oldboy and this. Both were great but I like this one a little bit more.
Shout by luckzBlockedParent2022-11-22T05:56:14Z
For a lot of its runtime, it felt like a wannabe-Tarantino movie more than anything else.
It's unfortunate that some crucial plot developments are left to the viewer's imagination.
Besides a rather high level of graphic violence, the other thing that distinguishes it from your average Tarantino-inspired film is the at times extremely pretentious camerawork – the one year younger Memories of Murder does this much better.
The bog-standard English subtitles for this are terrible, they're missing crucial stuff.
Decent subtitles will have a translation for the sticker on the wall a bit more than 4 minutes in, as well as something about the manifesto 11 minutes in. (Subtitles can be missing everything from background voices to the 'communicated thoughts' of the main character.)