At this pointSpike Lees remake ofOldboyis something of an underdog.
One day, for seemingly no reason, hes kidnapped and locked in a room for an indeterminate stay.
It does zig and zag from the original text, but not enough to be its own thing.
Its a cover, not a bad one, but not a revelation.
It also reunites Spike withSamuel L. Jackson, who was in many of Lees earliest films.
Its hard to compare this sort of studio work to hisInside Man.
It also means that some of the performances dont mesh well together.
Its good to see Michael Imperioli as Joes friend Chucky, but his death scene is laughable.
Still, its not the worst thing.
The film comes with four extended or deleted scenes (12 min.
), which includes an extended version of the infamous hallway fight.
Its followed by a making of (17 min.).
Talking Heads (3 min.)
explains the film like a trailer, while the Workout Video (1 min.)
highlights Brolins transformation into a badass.
