OLDBOY no stars

I'm not a fan of American remakes of foreign language films. I'm particularly not a fan of American remakes of Korean or Japanese horror movies or action flics and I'm certainly not a fan of Spike Lee's remake of "Oldboy", but then I was never a fan of Chan-wook Park's film "Oldboy"in the first place. I found it to be brutish and nasty if undeniably clever with a couple of memorable set-pieces, even if they were none too pleasant. Lee's remake is just nonsensical while the violence is even nastier this time round.

Now it's Josh Brolin who is the prick of a businessman kidnapped, while drunk, and locked in a small room for 20 years until one day he is mysteriously released. In the original it was interesting idea made even more interesting by its inscrutable Far-Eastern setting. Now it's just deeply silly and the shift to America is a major mistake. Even the great Samuel L Jackson as Brolin's jailer can't redeem this one, which represents a new low for its once talented director.