Oldboy and Battle Royale Remakes ?

Christian Bale the villain in Spike Lee’s Oldboy remake?

After filming Chirstopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight Rises, actor Christian Bale has no other projects lined up, although Variety is reporting he is looking at a few projects, including playing the villain in Spike Lee’s Oldboy remake. This remains unofficial, as it feels very speculative, but Bale hasn’t played a challenging “villain” since American Psycho.

Who needs another Oldboy?

Josh Brolin has just joined the 'Oldboy' remake, but we're still left with two big questions. Does anybody want to see a Hollywood take on the dark Korean thriller? And does another version need to exist at all?

We can't complain too much about Brolin signing up for the lead role. We're big fans of his and he has a decent track record. Earlier this year he excelled in 'True Grit', and was the best thing in Oliver Stone's 'Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps'.

He also starred in some of the best films of the last decade, including 'No Country For Old Men' and 'Milk'. We can buy him more than anyone else as the man seeking revenge in 'Oldboy', but there are still major concerns around the film.

The 2003 original was directed by Park Chan-Wook. It saw the main character emerge after a hellish fifteen years confined in a room to seek bloody revenge on his captors. And we mean BLOODY. The hammer/hallway scene is considered one of the best, and most violent sequences of the last decade. How can something so visceral and original have the same impact in a remake?

Another scene, involving the consumption of a live octopus, is equally controversial. Will Brolin have the guts for it? And will animal rights watchdogs even allow it?

Current rumours suggest Christian Bale will be joining the project as the villain of the piece. There is no denying that the prospect of two heavyweights like Bale and Brolin facing-off on screen has huge appeal. But there is still the problem of director Spike Lee, who comes loaded with issues.

In 2008, Dreamworks had lined up Steven Spielberg and Will Smith for the remake but interest in the project soon cooled. The reaction to Smith was particularly negative, and although the casting news this time around remains generally positive, the director chosen is something of a puzzler.

Lee can make good films, although his recent track record has been patchy at best, but his style does not suit the slowly paced build-up of the original. The bursts of ultra-violence were cleverly created for maximum impact, and we struggle to see how Lee will convey the tone and atmosphere created by Park.

The obvious choice would have been Park himself. If audiences really do need an English language version of the film, and we're not convinced they do, then why not let the original auteur have a go? This makes even more sense when you consider the fact that Park Chan-Wook also wrote the screenplay for 'Oldboy'.

'Oldboy' is scheduled to begin filming in March 2012, and we anticipate much more controversy before then.