Oldboy (2013)
Josh Brolin is perfectly cast as Joe Doucett an outwardly menacing, but inwardly heroic figure. Elizabeth Olsen (younger sister of Mary-Kate and Ashley) radiates charisma as Marie Sebastian.
Sharlto Copley was great in District 9 (2009) and I liked him in The A-Team (2010), but he’s not menacing enough as The Stranger, and, at this point in his career, Samuel L. Jackson no longer creates characters, but does recurring impressions of Jules Winnfield.
Spike Lee has made some very good films: Do the Right Thing (1989), Malcolm X (1992), 4 Little Girls (1997), and 25th Hour (2002), but he’s out of his comfort zone here.
This isn’t a bad movie, but it’s vastly inferior to the original. Chan wook’s adaptation of the Japanese manga was a visually astounding tale of revenge and unintended consequences. This remake hits the same beats, but feels listless and uninspired.