Lady Vengeance on DVD (2005)

Park is a genius

Neil from Wales , 05/01/2006

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!

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Good but no 'Oldboy'

andycro1 from Tyne and wear , 24/06/2006

This is the third and final instalments of writer/director Chan Wook Parks 'Vengeance' trilogy. Like its predecessors 'Sympathy for Mr Vengeance' & 'Oldboy' the plot revolves around an act of wrongdoing and the victims, often ingenious-always violent, efforts to seek revenge.

Don’t worry if you haven’t seen the previous two movies as each instalment is individual and not related to the others except for the common theme.

It’s an excellent movie and it’s probably unfair to compare it to 'Oldboy' which is legendary!

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

DJM666 from Walsall , 13/02/2006

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.

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A tale of two halves

kim hargreaves from london , 10/08/2006

Lady vengeance starts off in the same vein as the directors previous hit, Oldboy, a whimsical tale of a loner looking for revenge, and whilst being very violent it has a blackly comic sense of fun,and even elements of magic as the heroine sets about planning her revenge on the scumbag who forced her behind bars.

But into the second half of the film a dark secret is revealed that sends the storyline into more of a discussion on the nature of revenge and whether inner peace can be attained by violent retribution, leading to some very unpleasant scenes.

now both halves are interesting and entertaining but as a whole the complete shift in style and content stops the flow of the narrative.

there was potential for two great films, but instead were left with a bit of a mess.

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Like Oldboy.... but more in your head

Nick from London, Engerland , 22/02/2007

I'm a fan of the Korean extreme type of film (Oldboy, Sympathy for Mr Vengeance and Audition*), although some of them are just too graphic. Lady Vengeance is a pretty good place to start if you're new to this genre, and an intelligent addition if you're not.

The story gradually develops, and it avoids most of the explicit gore that previous such films included. Don't get me wrong - the gore is still there, but it's off-screen and in your head.

In short, a more complex, layered film that is well worth watching, but (to my mind) still not quite as good as the admittedly more screwy Oldboy.

* - yes, it's Japanese, but so what

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Customer Review

A customer from UK , 23/06/2008

Lacking both OLD BOY'S dramatic style, visual flair and sheer brilliance, this is a major let-down. Those that loved OLD BOY'S violence,sex, humour and fantastic unpredictable narrative, will be massively dissapointed with this pedestrian revenge drama. It begin's promisingly but never get's going and by the end will leave you thinking "so what?". If your looking for OLD BOY mark 2 don't bother.

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