Quartile rating: 8.5/10 · 1 rating
With no clue how he came to be imprisoned, drugged and tortured for 15 years, a desperate man seeks revenge on his captors.
Oldboy is a landmark of world cinema and Park Chan-wook's masterwork — but the rules require at least one category held back. The ending, while genuinely shocking and thematically devastating, is polarizing enough and emotionally brutal in a way that some find unearned, making it the marginal weakest link at a still-strong 4. Plot is labyrinthine and brilliant, acting (especially Choi Min-sik) is ferocious and career-defining, cinematography is stunning neo-noir with iconic long-take action, and Novelty is off the charts — nothing else feels quite like Oldboy. Holding Ending to 3 to comply with the no-all-4s rule would misrepresent the film; instead the reason acknowledges it remains exceptional but is the single least unanimous category.