Finkle Is Einhorn: OLDBOY

Finkle Is Einhorn is a new segment where we will compare original films against their respective remakes; much like the fictional NFL kicker Ray Finkle and Lt. Lois Einhorn, they are the same…just in slightly different packaging.

First up for the Finkle is Einhorn treatment is Oldboy, both the original Chan-wook Park masterpiece and the newly-released Spike Lee joint (spoilers contained within that sentence). Oldboy’s story consists of a man held in solitary confinement for 15 (20) years until he is finally released, tasked with finding out who imprisoned him and why.

Finkle is Einhorn features a multitude of spoilers!

Changes from the original will be notated in BOLD.
Example: Korean OLDBOY – American OLDBOY

There are a couple of pressing inquiries when it comes to the American remake that need to be discussed before I fully analyze both films – such as is there a continuous one-take hammer sequence?, does someone eat a live octopus?, does someone cut out their own tongue?

Yes, the hammer sequence is there in Spike Lee’s version and it’s actually longer and unfolds in more than one corridor, although it is not one-take. And yes, it is inferior to the original in a number of ways: 1) the embellishments (i.e. longer/two levels) seem uninspired; honestly, that is all you could come up with? 2) it’s missing the outright display of exhaustion contained within the original, where in Oh Dae-su, along with the thugs, has to take a breather from the beatdowns 3) there are no moments where you think that Doucett might not make it out alive; there are no breaks where Doucett’s on the floor being kicked repeatedly by a handful of thugs, or the thugs discussing whether or not Doucett is dead.

No, no one eats a live octopus. An octopus is shown, but no one eats it.

No again, but a detached tongue is shown nestled nicely inside of a handkerchief.

The most obvious and glaring differences are in the form of the performances of both films. While, Oldboy contains an emotionally draining performance from its lead actor, Min-sik Choi, Oldboy counters with Josh Brolin’s Neanderthal-like Joe Doucett hell-bent on vengeance. Once again, all the ambiguity and complexity residing in Min-sik Choi’s Dae-su Oh character is reduced into a former belligerent, alcoholic asshole that’s turned into a mindless, almost dispassionate brute. Choi effortlessly moves between comedy, drama, action, to a downright stunning portrayal of man, emotionally devastated and broken in every way. Brolin traipses and stumbles around for (what feels like) 10 minutes towards the beginning, screaming and yelling drunk in the rain, puking on himself and generally producing a wide array of guttural noises.

WINNER: Min-sik Choi…hands down. Although, to be fair to Brolin, I don’t think he was really given the proper chance as a consequence of Mark Protosevich’s rudimentary script.

The villain in Oldboy, Adrian played by Sharlto Copley has the benefit of actually making sense age-wise compared to Ji-tae Yu’s Woo-jin Lee character who seemed entirely too young given the narrative’s concept. However, whatever benefit bestowed upon this improvement is quickly forfeited through Copley’s unprecedented over-acting. He seems lost, as if he belongs in a ’70s era, James Bond knockoff playing the ridiculous nemesis with creative facial hair. I could be wrong, but I think he was wearing a cape at one point.

SPOILERS!                SPOILERS!                  SPOILERS!

The moment you’ve all been waiting for…the differences in regards to the shocking, incestuous reveal, the forgotten memory that initiated this elaborately constructed revenge/scavenger hunt. There are some slight changes between the original and the remake, but the remake manages to keep the incest angle albeit with the father sleeping with both the daughter and the son (Sharlto Copley) instead of the brother (Ji-tae Yu) sleeping with the sister. In both films, Copley and Yu’s characters were in love with their respective family members and blame Brolin and Choi’s characters for ruining their forbidden love.

Both films also feature the same revenge for their lead characters – that is tricking them into sleeping with their very own daughters, the ones they were separated from 15 (20) years ago. Choi is deceived into incest through post-hypnotic suggestion, which honestly feels like a bit of a stretch. However, Brolin is given the old misdirect through Copley’s fake television studio with a small stockpile of actors/musicians hidden away in his penthouse basement, seemingly with a budget akin to TBS or TNT. Now, the whole post-hypnotic suggestion thing from the original feels firmly planted in the realm of possibility.

Another important difference that greatly affects both films shocking revelation is that of the lead character’s reputation that is developed throughout the film and the apparent infraction that has caused all this planning, vengeance, incest and death.

Choi’s Oh-Dae su is represented as a slightly ambiguous character with the viewer fairly ignorant to the lead’s integrity; he is introduced drunk and disorderly inside a police precinct, but outside of that singular incident not much is known about Oh-Dae su. Is he a heavy drinker? An absentee father? Verbally abusive towards his wife? The viewer is never presented with these answers, which allow the viewer to feel sympathetic towards his desolate predicament.

Brolin’s Joe Doucett, on the other hand, is ascribed with a fairly hardy backstory in the beginning of the film. He is shown as a heavy drinker/daydrinker/at-work-drinker. He is also presented as a verbally abusive ex-husband who doesn’t pay child support and routinely misses important moments in his daughter’s life, plus he cannot keep his hands off the ladies, even if it costs him his job. He is an overall dick-shit (to borrow a word from the original film) and one that viewers will find immensely difficult to feel any sort of compassion towards, even if his life is effectively annihilated before his eyes.

Chan-wook Park’s Oldboy is a vengeance-fueled masterpiece (despite its minor flaws) that also features an impressive performance from Min-sik Choi, who fluidly maneuvers between a myriad of emotions that culminate in a deftly portrayed display of a complete and total mental and physical breakdown.

Spike Lee’s Oldboy, along with Protosevich’s script, reduces all of the original’s complexities and ambiguity into nothing more than your average mindless action flick, while other aspects merely devolve into unintentional silliness.

There was one aspect of Lee’s Oldboy that can be seen as an improvement from the original – the title design…and that’s about it.