The Crime: A forgotten memory is pivotal in the motivations behind the capture and torture of Oh Dae-Su, an alcoholic Korean family man. When he was a teen, Dae-su witnessed fellow student Woo-jin having sexual relations with his sister. His discovery soon becomes a rampant, tragedy-baiting school rumour.
The Revenge: Essentially, Woo-jin locks Dae-su in a hotel room for 15 years, then programmes him so that when he meets a young woman who is in fact his grown-up daughter, he falls head over heels in love with her. Ick.
The Awesome: Oh Dae-Su turns out to be anything but a weak old man by the time he escapes imprisonment, handing out smackdowns like they’re buy one get one free. Then there’s that amazingly twisted punishment. Shudder.
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Comments
DonisFun
Jan 17th 2011, 8:05
Where's Dead Mans Shoes?!?!
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BobbyTwoTimes
Jan 17th 2011, 10:54
"He may be a pre-A-Team Liam Neeson best known as the ‘mourning one’ from Love Actually" What the??? Are you saying that Neeson was an unknown until he did the bleedin A-Team?? What about Oskar Schindler? Darkman? Rob Roy? Priest Vallon? Michael Collins? Ras Al-Ghul? Qui Gon Jinn for christs sake!!!?? Neeson had been a leading man in Hollywood for nearly 20yrs before he did Taken. He's worked with some of the best directors in the business and to say that anyone with Schindlers List, Star Wars AND Batman Begins on their CV is unknown is ridiculous. Poor research TF!
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ChrisWootton
Jan 17th 2011, 11:21
I'd have gone with "The Horseman" over Taken. Great central performance and incredibly violent
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ChrisWootton
Jan 17th 2011, 11:21
I'd have gone with "The Horseman" over Taken. Great central performance and incredibly violent
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Jeffbiscuits
Jan 17th 2011, 11:46
Yeah I think Liam Neeson is a bit better known for The Phantom Menace and Schindler's List than for Love Actually.
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Jeffbiscuits
Jan 17th 2011, 11:46
Yeah I think Liam Neeson is a bit better known for The Phantom Menace and Schindler's List than for Love Actually.
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youngnedyoung
Jan 17th 2011, 12:54
Have to agree with the above - where is Dead Man's Shoes, one of the best British revenge thrillers ever. Paddy Considine is plain scary and the drug scene is one of the most trippy pieces of filmmaking ever made!
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Jrdnsans1792
Jan 17th 2011, 13:01
I also have to agree, Dead Man's shoes should be on this list.
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Jrdnsans1792
Jan 17th 2011, 13:01
I also have to agree, Dead Man's shoes should be on this list.
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Hadouken76
Jan 17th 2011, 13:46
Robocop? Point Blank or remake Payback? Where is the king of revenge films... Clint Eastwood? High Plains Drifter, Outlaw Josey Wales, Unforgiven
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Frankie88
Jan 17th 2011, 14:11
Notable mentions: The Crow, The Limey, A Better Tomorrow, Gangs of New York, Lucky Number Slevin, Law-Adibing Citizen, Munich, Payback, The Sleepers, It's a Bittersweet Life (?)
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Jeffbiscuits
Jan 17th 2011, 15:31
Commando and Friday the 13th...
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ashleyrhys
Jan 17th 2011, 17:50
Yes, Memento!
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Senver
Jan 18th 2011, 12:38
Billy Myers from Scream, really?? not to be pedantic for pedantry's sake, but for a film magazine you get a lot of things wrong that you should know. It's Billy Loomis.
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Hadouken76
Jan 18th 2011, 18:56
Praise for a Micheal Winner film? Must have taken a few baths
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joestein96
Jan 18th 2011, 23:38
Once Upon A Time in America was Leone's masterpiece and that's exactly what he thought until it was butchered by the American Studio.
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joestein96
Jan 18th 2011, 23:41
and just because Goodfellas had elements of revenge in it doesnt make it a so-called 'revenge-flick'
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ddamaged
Jan 19th 2011, 15:43
Henry Fonda starred in Once Upon a Time in the West, not Henry Ford. Henry was anti-Semetic founder of the Ford Motor Corp. Is there anyone doing ANY fact-checking at Total Film?
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magicdan
Jan 28th 2011, 18:41
How about Harry Brown, awesome film of revenge!
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ohodges1982
Jan 31st 2011, 17:25
point blank/ payback defiantely, great revenge films.
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