There was a time last year and in the beginning of this year that I thought all films out of Asia were nothing but pure brilliance. Do I still feel that way? Well, not really. “Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance” is the second film in the “Revenge” Trilogy which began with “Oldboy”. “Oldboy” was a great film and there is no doubt about that, however “Sympathy For Mr. Vengeance” is far from the greatness that “Oldboy” was.
My problem with this film is the pacing, I felt that the story dragged on for way too long and that it took forever for the script to get straight to the point. The story is a pretty simple revenge story. It’s about a young factory worker named Ryu, whom has recently quit art school in order to look after his sister, who is dying a slow, agonizing death for want of a kidney. When a doctor tells Ryu that he is an unsuitable donor and that the chances of finding one is slim, Ryu turns to the black market. But the old lady who runs an underground organ ring cheats him, taking both his life savings and his kidney and leaving him without the kidney she promised in exchange. Ryu’s girlfriend, a Raggedy-Ann leftist named YOUNGMIN (BAE Doona), urges Ryu to kidnap the four-year-old daughter of industrialist owner PARK DONG-JIN (SONG Kang-ho), who recently laid off Ryu and many other workers from his factory. Ryu agrees, but just as the plan is on the verge of success, Ryu’s sister discovers what Ryu and Youngmin have been up to, and kills herself in despair. Compounding the tragedy, Ryu loses track of his little illicit charge during a visit to his childhood haunts, and she drowns in the river Ryu and his sister played in as kids. Dong-jin’s deep grief quickly turns to rage and he embarks on an implacable quest for vengeance. At the same time, Ryu goes after the organ traders, knowing that if they had come through, none of the tragic occurrences would ever have happened. Bound by their common sense of loss and deep-seated anger, the two are on a collision course of revenge.
So anyway you get the jist of the story. Sounds pretty cool, but like I said, it’s slowly paced. However if you look at the film from an artistic point of view, the movie is very well directed and shot. The production value is beautiful and the artistic merit of the film make it great eye candy. Also the acting is pretty good as well. However all that great eye candy could not keep me from avoiding the slow pace of the film and for that I can’t really say it was the most enjoyable film I’ve ever seen.
So overall, if you liked “Oldboy” you might enjoy this film, however I personally was turned off by the script, but not the artistic merit this film had to offer. Some hardcore Asian Cinema fans might fall head over heels for it, but as for me, I just thought it was a balance between a well made film with a slow plot.
– Horror Bob
- Interview with J.R. Bookwalter - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Andrew J. Rausch - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Rick Popko and Dan West - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Director Stevan Mena (Malevolence) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Screenwriter Jeffery Reddick (Day of the Dead 2007) - January 22, 2015
- Teleconference interview with Mick Garris (Masters of Horror) - January 22, 2015
- A Day at the Morgue with Corri English (Unrest) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Writer/Director Nacho Cerda (The Abandoned, Aftermath) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Actress Thora Birch (Dark Corners, The Hole, American Beauty) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Actor Jason Behr, Plus Skinwalkers Press Coverage - January 22, 2015
