Oldboy Director and Squid Game Star Just Scored a Perfect 100% on Rotten Tomatoes With Their New Dark Comedy Thriller

Park Chan-wook went quiet after 2022's Decision to Leave. He is not quiet anymore. His new film, No Other Choice, just rolled out of Venice riding a perfect Rotten Tomatoes score and that shiny Certified Fresh badge. It is very Park: funny in a way that makes you wince, humane in a way that sneaks up on you, and yes, soaked in blood.

The quick status update

No Other Choice is Park's first feature since Decision to Leave and it premiered at the Venice Film Festival in August. Since then, it has been sitting at 100% on Rotten Tomatoes and is officially Certified Fresh.

What it is

Lee Byung-hun, aka the Front Man from Netflix's Squid Game, leads the film as Man-su, a longtime paper company employee who gets abruptly laid off. He goes after a job at a rival firm, gets rejected in humiliating fashion, and snaps. From there, he starts taking out his would-be competition. Park blends his Vengeance Trilogy instincts with black comedy and social satire, so the carnage comes with a mean streak of humor and a point of view about work, status, and the corporate meat grinder.

What critics are saying

'No Other Choice isn't just Park's funniest film, but his most humane, too - and that's quite something for a comedy as violent as this one.'

- BBC

• Variety is basically making the case that Park might be the most elegant director working right now, and this movie is more evidence for the pile.
• Screen Daily says it's very funny, but also a sharp, empathetic look at long-term unemployment and the casual cruelty built into corporate life.
• IndieWire notes the movie stays sympathetic to Man-su without actually asking you to root for him, and credits Lee Byung-hun's stretchable, oddly tender performance for keeping Park's tragicomic tone on balance.

Release timing

No Other Choice opened in South Korea in September. There's no international release date yet. As soon as that lands, I will yell about it here.