I am still far from convinced that Spike Lee’s Oldboy remake is a good idea, and to be honest the only thing that really excites me about it is seeing Josh Brolin play the role made so iconic by Choi Min-sik in Park Chan-wook’s terrific original. See, I adore the original and I really struggle to see how a remake can bring anything interesting to such a harsh story, but say what I want, the film is happening, there is no way of getting out of it, and now an official release date has been released.
Film District acquired US rights to the film back in September, and they have announced a release date in the US of 11th October 2013. At this moment in time there does not appear to be anything else scheduled for this date, which right now leaves Oldboy the remake to have free reign of the cinema that particular week. There are no details as yet on when the film will arrive here in the UK, but I would imagine it will be around about the same time. We will let you know once a UK date is confirmed.
Spike Lee will direct the remake which is based on Park Chan-wook’s second film in his superb ‘Vengeance Trilogy’ (starting with Sympathy For Mr Vengeance and ending with Lady Vengeance). The cast includes Josh Brolin, Elizabeth Olsen, Samuel L. Jackson and Sharlto Copley.
Synopsis:
OLDBOY follows the story of an advertising executive (Josh Brolin) who is kidnapped and held hostage for 20 years in solitary confinement without any indication of his captor’s motive. When he is inexplicably released, he embarks on an obsessive mission to discover who orchestrated his bizarre and torturous punishment only to find he is still trapped in a web of conspiracy and torment. His quest for revenge leads him into an ill-fated relationship with a young social worker (Elizabeth Olsen) and ultimately to an elusive man (Sharlto Copley) who allegedly holds the key to his salvation
By Matt Wavish
Why?