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Oldboy

Oldboy

Mystery · Thriller · 2013

A man has only three and a half days and limited resources to discover why he was imprisoned in a nondescript room for 20 years without any explanation.

Movie details

Oldboy

“Ask not why you were imprisoned. Ask why you were set free.”

2013 Mystery · Thriller 1h 44m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

5.9 / 10

Community rating

A man has only three and a half days and limited resources to discover why he was imprisoned in a nondescript room for 20 years without any explanation.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over Oldboy?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

I Spit on Your Grave

I Spit on Your Grave

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A beautiful woman from the city, Jennifer Hills, rents an isolated cabin in the country to write her latest novel. Soon, a group of local lowlifes subject her to a nightmare of degradation, rape, and violence.

For the Sake of Vicious

For the Sake of Vicious

Action · 2021

An overworked nurse returns home to find a maniac hiding out with a bruised and beaten hostage. When an unexpected wave of violent intruders descend upon her home, it becomes a fight for survival.

God Is a Bullet

God Is a Bullet

Thriller · 2023

Vice detective Bob Hightower finds his ex-wife murdered and daughter kidnapped by a cult. Frustrated by the botched official investigations, he quits the force and infiltrates the cult to hunt down the leader with the help of the cult’s only female victim escapee, Case Hardin.

The Substitute 2: School's Out

The Substitute 2: School's Out

Action · 1998

When teacher Randall Thomasson is killed during a carjacking, an unexpected visitor shows up at his funeral - his estranged brother, Karl Thomasson. An ex-Green Beret turned mercenary, Karl signs on as a new substitute teacher in order to investigate Randall's murder.

Hider in the House

Hider in the House

Thriller · 1989

A deranged man hides in the attic of a new house and becomes obsessed with the unsuspecting family that moves in.

Until Death

Until Death

Action · 2007

Anthony Stowe is a dirty cop who is hooked on heroin—and everyone hates him. After a serious accident, he is placed into an induced coma, but emerges from it a better person who wants to put things right.

In the Blood

In the Blood

Action · 2014

When her husband goes missing during their Caribbean vacation, a woman sets off on her own to take down the men she thinks are responsible.

Sin City: A Dame to Kill For

Sin City: A Dame to Kill For

Action · 2014

Some of Sin City's most hard-boiled citizens cross paths with a few of its more reviled inhabitants.

Wanted

Wanted

Action · 2008

Doormat Wesley Gibson is an office worker whose life is going nowhere. He meets an attractive woman named Fox and discovers that his recently murdered father - whom Wesley never knew - belonged to the Fraternity, a secret society of assassins which takes its orders from Fate itself. Fox and Sloan, the Fraternity's leader, teach Wesley, through intense training, to tap into dormant powers and hone his innate killing skills. Though he enjoys his newfound abilities, he begins to suspect that there is more to the Fraternity than meets the eye.

Accident Man

Accident Man

Action · 2018

Mike Fallon, the Accident Man, is a stone cold killer. When a loved one is murdered by his own crew, Fallon is forced to avenge the one person who actually meant something to him.

Where it lives

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Spike Lee

Written by

Mark Protosevich

Josh Brolin

Josh Brolin

Joe Doucett

Elizabeth Olsen

Elizabeth Olsen

Marie Sebastian

Sharlto Copley

Sharlto Copley

Adrian Pryce

Samuel L. Jackson

Samuel L. Jackson

Chaney

Michael Imperioli

Michael Imperioli

Chucky

Pom Klementieff

Pom Klementieff

Haeng-Bok

James Ransone

James Ransone

Dr. Tom Melby

Court is in session

Put Oldboy on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Adrenaline Seeker

“It owes the canon nothing.”

The movie pursues immediacy and audience pleasure without begging institutions to certify its worth.

The prosecution The Prestige Tourist

“Easy pleasure, short half-life.”

It moves efficiently through the moment but offers little reason to keep arguing once the credits end.