Reviews

One of the few times that a "slasher film" actually made sense. Story has a base and you understand (almost) everything. I also like that there is (seemingly) no supernatural elements. This can be my favorite of this genre.

I still don't know how was that girl able to get up and attack someone with a stake in her throat though.

I've expected to love it but only elements that saved the film for me was the nicely presented dystopian atmosphere, Rutger Hauer's performance and the film's essence. Other than that, it was just filled with errors and cliches.

• Tyrell Corporation certainly must have the records/profiles of the replicants they have produced (it is a much bigger plot hole if they don't, as they are the biggest company on Earth). Records which include their names, faces etc. Bryant seems to have those files, as he mentions it to Deckard, knowing even their production purposes (Leon being the ''ammunition loader on intergalactic runs'', Pris being the pleasure bot, etc.). They could have just utilized them, there would be no need for the Voight-Kampff test at all.

• We have a world which classic sci-fi stuff like off-world colonies, flying cars and surprisingly ''intergalactic'' travel exists, yet people don't have air conditioners so use cheap ventilators in their offices. This may seem like a small problem with creativity, but there is something bigger:

Intergalactic means between galaxies, closest galaxy to ours is Canis Major Dwarf Galaxy, which is 25,000 light years from our Solar System (so even if you move at the speed of light, it would take 25,000 years to reach there). In order to reach CMDG, you must either have space ships traveling way faster than the speed of light or some technology to warp the space-time (a kind of a cosmic shortcut). No matter which one they have, a society that is advanced enough to travel between galaxies would not be in a poor situation such as the one depicted in Blade Runner.

• Replicants, humanoid robots who are able to feel emotion and they live only four years but we don't get even a fictional explanation of how. To have emotions, their neurological structure must be extremely similar to humans, but then you cannot implement any memories. Deckard is a former blade runner and he was the best of them, according to Bryant. Yet, he seems very surprised when he sees the profile of a replicant on the computer screen, he even feels the need to ask ''What's this?'' (at least he could wait for two seconds until Bryant explains it, right?)

• City is presented as a large and overpopulated urban area, so the police force must be equally large in order to preserve order. But when one blade runner gets injured, they pull a former one out of retirement. This indicates that police force is critically insufficient.

• One of the replicants, Leon, is said to be able to lift ''400-pound atomic loads'' but when he confronts our tough cop he decides to pass the time with soft slapping him around instead of just finishing him (so Rachel can show up just in time and save Deckard & they can have romantic moments...)

• It is also very interesting that Rachael doesn't know that she is a replicant, despite these robots have superhuman strength and agility. Have she never tried to lift something heavy or catch something quickly in her life before? If you're going to say that she wasn't designed for missions requiring physical strength, explain me this: why does Pris, a replicant designed for ''pleasure'', has super strength/agility (enough to defeat Deckard, an experienced blade runner, in unarmed combat)?

• Why does Sebastian, a genetic engineer for the biggest company in the world, live in a jerry-built apartment out of electricity? I see no reason for the lights being out all the time in the movie, other than the desperation to make the atmosphere ''darker''.

• Tyrell is wanted by his creations (they killed 20 people and coming after him) so he is supposed to be cautious about his security but somehow there is nothing in the name of security around where he lives (not even a camera in the elevator) and Roy easily gets to his bedroom (Tyrell never panics, presses any emergency button or calls for help by the way) and gouges his eyes, because Tyrell acts like this creature who he limited his life span to four years is his best friend in the world.

• Roy can break bricks with his head but screams in pain when he pierces his hand with a nail...

• Question that how does Roy know Deckard's name is still unanswered.

• Only reason that Roy's death was brought two months forward was to have a dramatic ending.

All right. I don't mean to offend anyone who is a fan of this film, in fact I think Blade Runner could be awesome. I kind of still like it with its flaws. However, I cannot just ignore everything, jump on the fan vagon and claim this is a ''masterpiece''. For me, this is no different than a B-movie you would only watch to have some fun. I know I only pointed out the negative aspects but that's because of the intense hype this film gets. As for the good parts, the atmosphere, action and acting is quite remarkable (mostly because of Rutger Hauer). It is also clear that this film has a historical importance and influence on many films after itself, unfortunately I do not consider this a justification.

''In our lives, we have good things and bad things, happiness and pain. Life is full of pain and happiness and that's what I wanted to show.'' - Park Chan-wook

I was reluctant to write a review on this one, mainly because I don't know what can I say about this film that hasn't been already said.

I can write about the story, best to describe it as the groundbreaking revenge tale with a genius twist and ending, but it has already been mentioned by many people on here. What you see is the story of Dae-su, who has lost everything he had, deprived of his freedom for fifteen years and naturally wants revenge against whoever is responsible for everything he went through. On the other hand you see the ''bad guy'' behind the Dae-su's imprisonment, another complex character who has his own understandable reasons for what he did. And we have a girl caught in the middle of the pandemonium. While everyone thinks that this film is about the twist, I can assure you there is way more than that. Everything about the story does make sense, and without any plot holes (which is a huge plus).

I can write about the stylish camerawork done in the most Park Chan-wook way possible, but that has also been mentioned. The smooth and colorful cinetography that makes you feel every second of it like you are there inside the film, surreal sequences to explore the emotional states of certain characters and action direction which plays a rather small but important part. Hallway scene might be getting all the praise but for me every single frame in this film is equally dazzling.

I can also write about the soundtrack, Cho Young-wuk's emotion filled compositions in full synchronization with the moods of their scenes and so on...

Analyzing each and every second of every minute, only conclusion I can reach is that everything about Oldboy is both sturdy and elegant, and totally worthy of applause. Despite knowing all there is to know about this film, I can watch it over and over again, it never gets boring. I can use all the fancy words I know to glamorize this film but my words will be just another pack of praise words among a million others, and that is a good thing. Being ''just another guy who likes Oldboy'' is awesome. To see that this film gets all the love it deserves makes me very happy.

Guess it's time for me to use the word that I don't use often. This word:

✨M A S T E R P I E C E✨