A man is released from a prison after serving 15 years for a crime he didn’t know he committed. Upon release, he sets out on a mission to find who was responsible for his incarceration.

OLDBOY is the second in Mr. Park’s vengeance trilogy and in my opinion; he gets better with each film. That’s saying a lot because SYMPATHY FOR MR. VENGEANCE is also a great film, but neither are quite as polished as LADY VENGEANCE. OLDBOY is probably the most stylish of the three and seems to have more symbolism and meaning than the other two. It’s a great film and one that will actually get you excited to watch the special features.

The glaring positive note on the film is the performance of Min-Sik Choi, who gives a once in a lifetime performance as the main character. With the reliance Park rested on Choi’s shoulders, the film could have bombed with a lesser actor. Thankfully for all involved, Choi and the rest of the cast were fantastic. Every ounce of emotion was felt and you could see the pain, hopelessness and satisfaction in Choi’s eyes.

Despite the powerful performances, the real credit goes to Chan-Wook Park, who continues to amaze American audiences with his amazing ability to tell a story. He’s a gifted director and his attention to detail is prevalent throughout the film. He uses every inch of film space by utilizing everything from the brightness of the mountains to the color of the wallpaper. His efforts translate well on film and make for a powerful film.

OLDBOY is not a run of the mill action/revenge film. It’s a powerful story that captivates the audience. Within minutes, you’re dying to know why he was captured as badly as the main character does. You have a genuine sense of urgency and you’re pulling for him to satisfy his need for revenge. Park knows this, and that knowledge and ability to manipulate the audience should keep Park around for years to come.

Video: Widescreen (2.35:1): Predictably so, OLDBOY has never looked better. This is a film that utilizes every color on the screen and it’s a requirement to have it in the best possible resolution. This Blu-Ray version does just that and all of the colors are vivid and distinct. This is a beautiful looking film.

Audio: Korean DTS 7.1, Korean and English 5.1 Korean and English 2.0 with English subtitles: I didn’t think the 6.1 DTS track on the DVD could be outdone, but they managed to add an additional channel and the result is smoother surround channels which helps throughout the film. The DTS track is amazing and puts you right into the film.

Sadly, the three hour documentary “Autobiography of OLDBOY” wasn’t included in this Blu-Ray release. It’s frustrating because Blu-Rays are supposed to hold twice as much as regular DVD’s, why couldn’t they fit it on here?

Commentary with Chan-Wook Park: Remember that you have to read all of the commentaries, but don’t let that turn you off. This one is probably the best of the bunch because he doesn’t dive into the technical aspects of the film and instead focuses on the symbolism and meaning behind the film. I enjoyed this one and he mentioned a lot of things that I didn’t pick up on while watching the movie.

Commentary with Chan-Wook Park and Jeong Jeong-hun: This one is the technical commentary and they focus on how they created certain shots and the difficulties surrounding various shoots. It was ok, but I’d recommend this one to anyone that is interested in being a filmmaker.

Commentary with Chan Wook Park, Min-Sik Choi, Ji-Tae Yu and Hye-Jeong Kang: This one rounds out the trifecta for commentaries by giving you a lighthearted, fun track. The cast jokes about everything and it makes for a fun listen. You won’t learn anything from this track, but it’s worth listening to.

Deleted Scenes (24:54): I wasn’t a fan of any of these, especially the alternate hallway fight. None of them added or detracted from the film and presumably, most were cut for pacing issues.

Making The Film (10:55): This is the introduction into the making of the movie. It’s pretty general and covers all the basics of how the story got to be a movie. It’s worth a watch and since I’m going to recommend watching all of the featurettes, you should start with this one.

Production Design (13:10): Park put a lot of effort into this movie and it’s laced with underlying themes and symbolism. This featurette covers some of those that Park mentioned in his commentary and gives some good examples of what he was trying to do.

Music Score (16:48): Not only did he direct and write the film, but he also co-wrote the score. Park takes you through the various scores used in the film and explains what he was trying to say with his music. Again, this one takes you even further into the movie and is very interesting.

CGI (7:06): There wasn’t a whole lot of CGI used in the film, but what was used is covered in this featurette. Other special effects are covered too and nothing is left unexplained.

Flashback (23:35): This was a really neat featurette in which the cast and crew answer questions from their fan site. Very cool indeed. They tell a lot of great stories and answer some pretty good questions.

Cast and Crew Interviews (41:13): I think these would have been better within the other featurettes, but it’s nice that they were included. Everyone is covered here, but by this point, there’s not a whole lot to say that we haven’t heard before.

Le Grand Prix at Cannes (8:49): This is the cast and crew at Cannes, where the film won the top prize, deservingly so. It’s a quick featurette, but the point is that it won, which we didn’t need 8 minutes to tell us.

There are also some Previews

This is a good film and everything you’ve heard or read about it is true. It’s a must see for movie fans and should please just about everyone. This Blu-Ray version is a high recommend if you don’t already have a copy. Otherwise, stick with your three disc DVD.