Since the world collectively shrugged its shoulders at the news that Spike Lee would be directing a remake of Korean psychological action thriller Oldboy, out this Autumn, news has been pretty scant. But fear not, fans of Western bastardisations of your favourite Asian cinematic classics. Cult film Sympathy For Mr. Vengeance, the first in Park Chan-wook’s Vengeance trilogy (of which Oldboy is the second), has also been snapped up for a remake.
A partnership formed of brothers in arms Silver Reel and Lotus Entertainment, best friends forever, has been charged by the cinematic gods to ride the steed of truth, justice, and remaking Korean films by joining forces with CJ Entertainment and Transformers producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura. This cinematic journey will truly be as good an adventure as Lorenzo’s name would suggest, for what is the art of cinema if not the recording of adventure? Well?
These plans are no modern revelation, however. Plans have been afoot for a few years now; indeed, there has been a screenplay on the circuit since 2010, written by Broken City scribe Brian Tucker. With Broken City having broken hearts and blown minds, the cache that Brian Tucker now surely has in Hollywood might just provide enough force to carry Sympathy For Mr. Vengeance to its inevitable conclusion. Everyone always dies at the end of Korean revenge dramas. Everyone. This probably won’t happen here though.
But what will the film even be about, anyway? Well, it involves black market organ dealing, terrorism, and really awful things involving your achilles tendon. If you want to get an idea about what this future smash hit might be like, there’s a film called Sympathy For Mr. Vengeance available, from 2002. It’s in Korean but it’s still good. The third film in the Vengeance trilogy, Sympathy For Lady Vengeance, is also being remade by the same team. That one’s even better because it has a lady in it.
Are you impressed with this news? Will the production of Sympathy For Mr. Vengeance end well? Is the art of cinema truly the recording of adventure? Share your thoughts below.