Lady Vengeance Details

Park is a genius

I was waiting for this movie for a long long time having been suitably impressed a few years ago with both JSA and Sympathy For Mr Vengeance, then in 2004 Oldboy just blew my mind.

The third and final installment of Park Chan-Wook's vengeance trilogy is a much more subdued affair. It doesn't have the grand scale and twists and turns of Oldboy nor the stomach churning violence of Mr.. but it is probably the most mature work of the 3.

As with Oldboy, Park builds the tension and mystery in this film by not revealing the reason for vengeance until the last part of the film - and when it comes it is suitably evil and worthy of such a cunning plan as builds in the first 2/3rds.

Yeong-ae Lee is good as the troubled Lady Vengeance and Choi Min Sik shows why he is one of todays great actors with a truly evil performance.

The last part of the movie is brilliantly made, full of tension and both the vengeance and the reason are suitably horrific, but the entire film is filled with glorious camera work and clever imagery and while the movie is mainly following (with flashbacks) the plan for revenge and those who plot it, without letting on what that plan is, or the reason for it, it's always gripping and wonderful to look at.

There are people who loved Oldboy but never really had the same feelings for ..Mr Vengeance. I would have to say the movie is closer in style to ..Mr than to Oldboy.. in terms of pacing and being much less grand and operatic in terms of plot.

It should definetley be checked out if only to see one of todays most daring and brilliant directors at the top of his game. Watch out for cameos from the leads from Park's earlier films too!

[Highly rated reviewer]

Very good, but not as good as Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance or Oldboy

A very good film, with an interesting story (the story does jumps around a bit though - to the past, then back to the present, then to the past again (maybe too much)), some occasional dark humour, some violence (as usual), and a good soundtrack. The film however has a slower pace than Sympathy for Mr Vengeance and Oldboy, and yet more unnecessary animal cruelty (shooting a dog)! Min-sik Choi is great again (as he was in Oldboy), and there is good acting from Yeong-ae Lee in the main role. The two main leads out of Mr. Vengeance are also good in the limited roles they are given as two assassins (it must be noted that alot of the cast from the other two films in the Vengeance Trilogy (Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance & Oldboy) are given roles or cameos in this film). On the whole the film is better in the 2nd hour (and in particular the last 30-minutes) than the 1st hour, but lacks a big twist (like Oldboy) and real emotion (like Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance). The weakest of the Vengeance Trilogy of films, but still very good on its own merits.