I remember my friend badgering me to watch this foreign film called Oldboy every time I spoke to him. Finally last year I broke down and Netflixed it. Everything my friend said about this film was completely and utterly true. It was a a blood-bath, an emotional rollercoaster, a tear jeaker, and any other cliche idiom film critics say about great movies.
So why the hell would you remake it?
Following the Asian remake trend, Stephen Spielberg and Will Smith are planning to make an American version of Park Chanwook's Oldboy. Why? Profit? I have no idea. The raw and strange subject matter of the film doesn't really seem like either person's cup of tea. Maybe if Martin Sorsese said he was going to remake this, I would be more exicted. But Spielberg is known for his more comtemplative movies, not so much for beat-em-up action films. And adding Will Smith to the mix...ok, just because you did I am Legend (a total watered-down version of the book) does not mean you can take on an incestual/gorey/crazy Asian film. It's like putting Simon and Garfunkle in charge of a bio-pic about The Ramones. It just doesn't mix well.
WTF?!
Livewire
2 comments:
I don't know who they're going to sell this to, because really, the people who swear by this movie aren't seeing your everyday multiplex fare. Not only that, but if you cut the violence out of this, it's basically another revenge movie, like all the ones Harrison Ford used to do.
This movie should remain untouched. I had the pleasure of seeing it and it changed the way I viewed and will view Asian cinema. To dumb it down for American Audiences is just wrong.
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