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.
Review by JCVIP 5BlockedParent2021-08-30T04:00:53Z
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.