Just got through watching the second movie in the trilogy, Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance. It was also quite good, but not as good IMHO as Oldboy. It was certainly less of an "eye rape." The pacing was kind of similar, with most of the really crazy stuff happening in the last half. The story is also quite twisted, just not as twisted as Oldboy.
Thematically, I can see how they relate. Apparently, revenge is messy and maybe futile.
Some really intense action, with a couple of moments that are borderline sickening.
I can't wait to see the third installment.
Ooops, I just checked and now realize I got the release dates mixed up, as Oldboy was second and Sympathy was first. That makes more sense, as I had felt after watching that Oldboy was, to me, evidence of more refined directing. There's some interesting ways some of the scenes are shot in Sympathy, but in Oldboy, the way many of the scenes were shot seemed to better capture a feeling, if that makes any sense.
Last edited by dwid; 06-30-2006 at 08:59 AM.
The cinnabun palm is deadly, especially when combined with the tomato kick. - TenTigers
Reply With Quote