Oldboy (2013)
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A man who was mysteriously imprisoned for twenty years seeks out his captors after being released.
The story
In 1993, alcoholic advertising executive Joe Doucett is mysteriously imprisoned in a hotel room for twenty years. During his captivity, he is provided with basic necessities but no explanation for his imprisonment. He spends his time training his body and mind, fueled by a desire for revenge against his captors. After being released and finding a cell phone, Joe begins a desperate search to identify the man responsible for his long confinement. He encounters a nurse named Marie who assists him in his quest to uncover the truth behind his twenty-year imprisonment and the identity of his mysterious captors.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
After being imprisoned for twenty years, Joe Doucett is released and begins a search for his captors. He teams up with a nurse, Marie, to track down the 'Stranger' who held him. He eventually discovers the Stranger is Adrian Pryce, a man from his past. During a confrontation, it is revealed that the girl Joe thought was his daughter was a paid actress, and Marie is actually his biological daughter. Adrian, having orchestrated the events to make Joe suffer the loss of everything, commits suicide. Devastated by the truth, Joe tells Marie they can never see each other again and returns to his cell.
- First release year
- 2013
- Runtime (minutes)
- 104
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Spike Lee
- Writers
- Mark Protosevich · screenplay
- Cast and characters
- Josh Brolin · Joe Doucett; Elizabeth Olsen · Marie; Sharlto Copley · Adrian Pryce
- Genres
- neo-noir; action thriller
- Themes
- revenge; paternal relationships; identity
- Tone and mood
- grim; bloody
- Premise and plot tags
- remake; mystery; action
- Source material / true-story basis
- Japanese manga
- Reception
- The film received negative reviews from critics, who often compared it unfavorably to the original South Korean version, describing it as safe and shallow.
- Reported review scores
- Rotten Tomatoes · score: 5.1 · scale: 10 · review count: 152; Metacritic · score: 49 · scale: 100 · review count: 41
- Production trivia
- The final cut was significantly shorter than Spike Lee's original version.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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