For fans of Korean cinema, and Asian films in general, it is a dark, unoriginal Hollywood day my comrades. Park Chan-Wook, Korea’s premier director and auteur, has made a successful career so far in making dark, dense, and visual films. His Vengeance trilogy (Sympathy For Mr. Vengeance, Old Boy, Lady Vengeance) is not to be missed, and if you must see only one, Old Boy takes the cake. Old Boy has already been optioned up for an American remake, ugh, and rumor has it that Steven Spielberg will be producing with Will Smith starring as lead. Now Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance is also on the remake butcher block at Warner Bros.
Some would think that I would be excited about a remake of a movie I really love, however, Sympathy is very much a Korea film in terms of the character psyches and Park’s directing is too dark and unsettling for the typical American audience. I can only imagine that this would lend itself to an indie or horror audience and even then I don’t think it will ever compare to the impact of the original. Simply put, watch the originals, I can rarely think of a remake that ever compared to the original (phff, Inglourious, perfect adjective). Lookout for a review for each of the Vengeance flicks.
Here’s a trailer for those interested in the ORIGINAL!
