A brutal, stylish revenge thriller that turns a simple premise into a nightmare of obsession, humiliation, and shocking revelation. It’s as much a psychological tragedy as an action film, with unforgettable set pieces and a deeply unsettling emotional payoff.
96% ★★★★★ (2,212,195)
Oldboy
Where to watch: Buy
Movie · Drama · Thriller · R
2003 · 2h 0m · ★ 96% (2M)
15 years of imprisonment, five days of vengeance.
Director: Park Chan-wook
Starring: Choi Min-sik, Yoo Ji-tae, Kang Hye-jung
Overview
With no clue how he came to be imprisoned, drugged and tortured for 15 years, a desperate man seeks revenge on his captors.
Director
Park Chan-wook
Production
Show East, Egg Film, Cineclick Asia
Cast
Choi Min-sik, Yoo Ji-tae, Kang Hye-jung, Kim Byeong-ok, Ji Dae-han, Oh Dal-su, Lee Seung-shin, Yoon Jin-seo, Oh Tae-kyung, Yoo Yeon-seok, You Il-han, Lee Young-hee, Kim Young-ae, Lee Mi-mi, Han Jae-duk, Kwak Jung-ae, Kim San, Jang Chae-soo, Im Seol-a, Syd Lim
Curator Review
Verdict
A brutal, stylish revenge thriller that turns a simple premise into a nightmare of obsession, humiliation, and shocking revelation. It’s as much a psychological tragedy as an action film, with unforgettable set pieces and a deeply unsettling emotional payoff.
Best for
fans of dark revenge stories
viewers who like twist-heavy thrillers
audiences drawn to intense, stylized violence
people interested in morally corrosive psychological dramas
Skip if
you want a light or feel-good watch
you’re sensitive to graphic violence or disturbing sexual content
you prefer straightforward plotting over extreme twists
you dislike bleak, emotionally punishing endings
Overview
Oldboy is one of the defining revenge films of the 2000s because it refuses to stay in one lane. It starts as a mystery of captivity and punishment, then keeps widening into something sadder and more corrosive, where revenge becomes inseparable from shame, memory, and self-destruction.
Worth noting
Park Chan-wook stages the film with real formal confidence: the corridor fight, the hammer-wielding momentum, the dreamlike visual control, and the way every reveal feels both engineered and cruel. The movie is sensational, but it is not empty; its shocks are designed to wound the characters as much as the audience.
Bottom line
What lingers most is the film’s emotional nastiness. It is funny in places, operatic in others, and then suddenly devastating. If you can handle its extremity, it’s a landmark thriller with a nasty intelligence and a singular sense of doom.
Top Letterboxd reviews
Jay (5★) · 31161 likes
Reuniting With My Daughter After 15 Years GONE WRONG
lizzy deane (5★) · 21020 likes
the final 20 minutes of this movie make me want to vomit every single time
Luca (4.5★) · 19172 likes
A few months before watching this my friend spoiled it for me, he probably doesn’t remember He probably doesn’t think very much of it One day he will disappear He will spend fifteen years locked in a hotel room eating fried dumplings Then find himself drawn towards a certain woman at a sushi bar... Keep your mouth shut
john (5★) · 12791 likes
pov: you just read the craziest 'am i the asshole' reddit post
Jay (5★) · 12404 likes
oh dae-su: licks lee woo-jins feet tarantino: god i wish that were me