8 Mind-Bending Movies Like Oldboy For This Weekend

When Oldboy, Park Chan-wook’s classic, was restored and remade in 4K for its 20th anniversary, it amazed both old and new movie fans with how well it was made. Oldboy is known for its mix of mystery, drama, and payback. Choi Min-sik plays Oh Dae-su, a man who wants to get even after being locked up for 15 years without being told why. One of the most important films that helped Korean cinema become known around the world, Oldboy has inspired many other filmmakers and won a lot of praise for its shocking twist ending and even more famous one-shot hallway fight scene.

People who watch Oldboy for the first or thirty-first time may be looking for more films like it that have great stories, payback, mystery, or exciting action. Here is a list of 8 movies like Oldboy. They range from more films by Park Chan-wook to one of Christopher Nolan’s early masterpieces.

The Top 8 Movies Like Oldboy:

John Wick (2014)

John Wick, directed by Chad Stahelski and written by Derek Kolstad, is about a former hitman named John Wick (Keanu Reeves) who gets a puppy as a gift from his late wife to help him deal with his grief. A group of Russian Mafia thugs break into his house, beat him up, kill his dog, and steal his Mustang because he wouldn’t sell it to them. That means John Wick has to kill the person who killed his dog and everyone who stands with him.

John Wick is all about getting even. The story is very simple and mostly about action. John Wick is driven by sadness and guns to kill everyone who gets in his way. There are going to be several sequels to John Wick and a future TV show that will be a prequel. Like Oldboy, John Wick is about how violence can spread and how far people are ready to go to get payback.

The Chaser (2008)

The Chaser, which came out in 2008, was Na Hong-jin’s first full-length movie. He would go on to make hits like The Wailing. What makes this movie interesting is Joong-ho, a police officer who has turned bad. He makes a living as a pimp, but now he has to deal with a new problem: two of his sex workers have disappeared. When he goes to find out what happened to them, he gets caught up in the plans of a serial killer.

The Chaser is based on the true story of a Korean serial killer from the early 2000s. Na does a great job of making this movie very scary. Like Oldboy, it’s a fascinating character study that lasts the whole time because you won’t want to root for any of the characters. Watch on AMC+

A Bittersweet Life (2005)

A Bittersweet Life is a South Korean neo-noir action drama directed by Kim Jee-woon. It follows the New Noir action film A Bittersweet Life is made in South Korea and is directed by Kim Jee-woon. The story is about Sun-woo (Lee Byung-hun), a hitman who is abused and works for crime boss Kang against a rival gang family. Kang tells Sun-woo to keep an eye on his woman Hee-soo (Shin Min-ah), who he thinks is cheating on him. When Sun-woo finds out that Hee-soo is cheating on Kang, he tries to hide it to protect Hee-soo but is caught. He then becomes Kang’s next target and swears to get back at Kang.

This is a great gangster movie about a servant who stands up for himself and his views. Rotten Tomatoes gave it a perfect score of 100% because it has a lot of excitement, great acting, and strong personalities. It’s a great way to get into the world of Korean films, just like Oldboy.

The Man from Nowhere (2010)

The Korean action movie The Man from Nowhere, which came out in 2010, got off to a great start. It stars Kim Sae-ron and Won Bin. Cha Tae-sik, played by Won Bin, is the owner of a pawn shop who makes friends with a girl from the neighbourhood whose life isn’t very stable. The girl is taken when the girl’s mother gets caught up with the local crime lords. Tae-sik gets caught up in all of this too in order to save the girl.

The main character of The Man from Nowhere has a goal to reach, just like Oldboy. Despite not having a clear connection to the girl, So-mi, he still worries a great deal about her and her well-being. This makes him go crazy when she is taken by some very bad people. Use Netflix to stream

Also Read: Best 6 Movies Like Shawshank Redemption for Fans of Drama

Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance (2002)

Park Chan-wook directed the neo-noir crime film Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance. It’s about Ryu (Shin Ha-kyun), a deaf-mute factory worker who needs to raise money for his sister’s very important kidney transplant. After getting fired, Ryu kidnaps the daughter of the head of the factory business and holds her hostage for money. His life gets even worse when his sister finds out what he did and starts him on a worse road to get back at her.

The scary movie Sympathy for Mr Vengeance is the first in Park Chan-wook’s Vengeance Trilogy. The other two films are Oldboy and Lady Vengeance. It came before the better-known Oldboy, but the two are not related. This movie has the same complex plot with scary turns and violence.

I Saw the Devil (2010)

Director and screenwriter Kim Jee-woon has made a name for himself over the last few decades. I Saw the Devil is his work. Lee Byung-hun plays a character named Kim Soo-hyun who gets payback when his fiancée is killed and cut up by a killer (Choi Min-sik) after getting a flat tyre. While the killer plans to kill more people, Kim swears she will kill him no matter what.

If you liked how Oldboy showed how the mysteries were solved, I Saw the Devil is the perfect next movie to watch. If you like thrillers, this is a must-see in Korean cinema thanks to Lee and Choi’s great acting. Look at Peacock Stream

Lady Vengeance (2005)

Lady Vengeance by Park Chan-wook is a neo-noir psychological thriller. Lady Vengeance is about Lee Geum-ja (Lee Young-ae), a woman who gets out of jail after being wrongly jailed for kidnapping and killing Won-mo, a 5-year-old boy. Now that she is free, she plans to get back at Mr. Baek (Choi Min-sik), the school teacher who threatened her to get to Won-mo and take the blame for his death.

The third and final movie in Park Chan-wook’s Vengeance Trilogy is Lady Vengeance. Oldboy and Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance are connected to Lady Vengeance by shared themes and Park’s unique style. Regarded favorably by critics, and for good reason: it’s a thrilling story full of twists and intrigue that keeps viewers glued to the screen, making this a must-see South Korean movie.

The Villainess (2017)

In The Villainess, Kim Ok-vin shows up ready to destroy and dismantle anything that comes in her way. She portrays Sook-hee, who has worked as an assassin for years, but when she has a daughter, she decides she wants to walk away from this life. Sook-hee gets an apartment, but when she becomes smitten with the man next door — who, unbeknownst to her, was sent to watch over her — it could lead to her downfall.

The Villainess is simultaneously like and unlike Oldboy; its main character is a woman, demonstrating that women-focused stories in action can be excellent when done right. At the same time, its core story follows several tropes and themes of Oldboy, which are more conventional to the genre as a whole. Look at Peacock Stream

Conclusion:

If Oldboy left you stunned, these movies will keep you on the edge of your seat. Whether it’s the mind-bending plots, psychological depth, or brutal revenge stories, each film on this list brings something unique to the table.

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