Oldboy -- 2003 -- R

The follow up film to Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance is leaps and bounds above its predecessor. You almost wonder if the same guy was behind it. This time, we get a single protagonist with a singular problem, and he works it out only with those who affected him in some way...and we even get a big twist.

I do want to be clear though although these first two films and it's final film, Lady Vengeance, are considered part of a trilogy, they are separate stories, so you do not need to watch them in any order, nor is one required to watch any of the others. The theme here is revenge, and all three are from the same director which is their only common thread.

A guy is bailed out of the drunk tank and working to get home to his wife and daughter when he mysteriously disappears. He finds himself locked up in a prison, of sorts, without any explanation as to why he is there. With no word from his captors, he spends the next fifteen years behind those walls working himself up to have at them once he gets out. He tries to dig out, but they let him go just as he finishes his tunnel to the outside.

Once out, he finds himself in contact with whoever it was that had him put away, and challenged to find out why he was put away for fifteen years by a certain date. Along the way, he runs across a girl who takes him in and since she feels sorry for him, does what she can to help him (and you know, they do a little bit of everything, if you know what I mean).

This film keeps moving throughout its structure with very few slowdowns at all hindering our plot progress. The guy spent time training himself for fighting once he got out, and fights he has aplenty. It's not martial arts, as one might want to expect here, but down and dirty street fighting with fists and whatever else you can pick up on the sidewalk. As soon as the film tries to dip into the silly when the fights go on, it gets changed up just enough to prevent it from going down.

Watching the clues and backstory unfold before us maintains interest throughout, and the story is really engaging. And just when you think everything is all worked out, the film zings you in a good way and throws out the "big secret." It's wonderfully horrible, and I wouldn't dare give it away.

Though the first film in this trilogy was mediocre, this one really worked well and showed that the people behind this series do have a clue if they'd only stick with it. Very good film, and for those who dislike subtitles, this one is dubbed in English.