Though popular opinion is decidedly split regarding Spike Lee’s upcoming remake of the Park Chan-wook cult classic Oldboy, the chances of the new film actually being great are increasing in my estimation. A large part of why I have been growing excited for Lee’s Oldboy has been the film’s stylish, intriguing marketing campaign, which has so far avoided highlighting Oldboy‘s brutal action, instead focusing on the film’s warped and weird story.
Whether this tactic will pay off at the box office remains to be seen, but moviegoers certainly benefit regardless with marketing like the epic series of ads shown below, which present twenty years of imprisonment as experienced by Josh Brolin’s tortured protagonist.
Additional new images show a scarred Sharlto Copley as antagonist Adrian Pryce, Samuel L. Jackson’s colorful villain Chaney and Ilfenesh Hadera as the mysterious Judy.
Check the new images out below:
Oldboy centers on successful advertising executive Joe Doucett (Brolin), who is inexplicably snatched off the street by an unknown enemy and placed in solitary confinement for twenty years. When he is suddenly released, Doucett embarks on a violent, dangerous mission to track down his abductors and learn the reasons behind his imprisonment so that he can finally move on with his life.
The film boasts one of the most diverse casts of the year. Brolin headlines, with Copley, Jackson, Hadera, Elizabeth Olsen, Michael Imperioli, Hannah Simone, Lance Reddick, Max Casella, James Ransone and Hannah Ware co-starring. Lee working behind the camera should also put Oldboy on many moviegoers’ lists. The director has never been one to shy away from controversy, so don’t expect Oldboy to pull any of its punches, especially if it keeps the shocking, brilliant ending of Chan-wook’s original film (as it should).
What do you think of this new marketing campaign? Is Oldboy on your list of films to see this fall, or is it just another remake sure to be inferior to the original? Let us know in the comments section!
Oldboy will be released on November 27th.
