No Other Choice

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1:49

No Other Choice

R

Jan 2026

2h 19m

Comedy

Mystery & Thriller

Crime

Drama

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

97%

Tomatometer

223 Reviews

93%

Popcornmeter

500+ Verified Ratings

When a man is abruptly laid off by the paper company where he has worked tirelessly for many years, he grows increasingly desperate in his hunt.

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Critics Consensus

Directed with pristine precision by Park Chan-wook, No Other Choice is a wickedly clever takedown of the corporate rat race that finds a perfect avatar in Lee Byung-Hun's skillfully hapless performance.

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Audience Says

Deliciously dark and sharply comedic, this finely acted Park Chan-wook mystery leaves you No Other Choice but to love it.

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Mark Kermode

Kermode and Mayo's Take (YouTube)

Jan 26

I thought it was genuinely remarkable.

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Tara Brady

Irish Times

Jan 22

3/5

...the mise-en-scene is meticulous, the violence intermittently darkly comic, but the effect is tonally various and curiously blunted.

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Robbie Collin

Daily Telegraph (UK)

Jan 22

4/5

It’s tense, absurd, desperate and daft, all at once: seldom have so many contradictory tones been so gainfully employed.

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Javier Ocaña

El Pais (Spain)

3d

The brilliance of the mise-en-scène, the rapture provoked by its vibrant colors...make No Other Choice one of the most unique contributions of recent cinema...[Full review in Spanish]

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Randy Meeks

Espinof

3d

4/5

'No Other Choice' blends comedy with drama and social commentary, and far from faltering in its overwhelming ambition, it does so with clinical precision, a characteristic of the genius who directs it. [Full review in Spanish]

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Rubén Romero Santos

Cinemanía (Spain)

6d

4/5

In explaining how unfettered capitalism can drive us to criminal madness, Park focuses on the causes, on how work is inextricably linked to a stupid understanding of masculinity. [Full review in Spanish]

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Nathan L

2d

Great cinematography and acting, but I don't feel like it fully warranted a view on the big screen. It's not a story full of action and driven by revenge like Oldboy, or one that plays off of shock value and absurdity like Bong Joon Ho's directed works, although some of the comedic moments do have the same charm. The main character's struggles can be best described as "reasonable crashouts" in the face of life-changing uncertainty, though only if you subtract the targeted murders he commits, and you witness his moral folly and mental unraveling turn him into the cold, uncaring person he despised and had unemployed him in the first place. The ending leaves you unfulfilled when the protagonist gets what he wanted (a job), and while it's not a bad way to end the story, the diegetic feelings of simultaneous disappointment and satisfaction unfortunately stay with you as you leave the theater. If the film had a greater focus on familial or spousal fidelity like Oppenheimer or Killers of the Flower Moon did, which it easily could have done, it would seem more compelling, but I guess being billed as a comedy could not let it be too serious. Overall, it was still very entertaining I just think the good critical reception somewhat oversold it, which usually happens for more pretentious films that general audiences would conversely dislike.

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Craig

5d

What a great film !! Beautifully shot !

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Ben W

6d

Very good film, but felt a bit lackluster and didn’t always feel the truly dark emotions that the main character must’ve felt.

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Monica M

Feb 8

Great twist that I didn’t expect but enjoyed!

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Alice

Feb 7

It wasnt bad but like it felt super long and the ending I feel missed out on keeping the chaos that was presented the whole movie so i like it. This is one of those support movie theaters and film movies so go in knowing it was alright and has a few good laughs

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Abraham Ronel

Feb 6

Plot twist after plot twist. Dark humor. If you liked Parasite, you are going to like this one.

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Park Chan-wook

Director

Lee Byung-hun

Actor

Son Ye-jin

Actor

Park Hee-soon

Actor

Lee Sung-min

Actor

Yeom Hye-ran

Actor

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No Other Choice: Trailer 1

1:49

No Other Choice: Teaser Trailer

0:51

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Synopsis

When a man is abruptly laid off by the paper company where he has worked tirelessly for many years, he grows increasingly desperate in his hunt.

Director: Park Chan-wook
Producer: Park Chan-wook, Jisun Back, Michèle Ray-Gavras, Alexandre Gavras
Screenwriter: Park Chan-wook, Lee Kyoung-mi, Don McKellar, Jahye Lee
Distributor: Neon
Production Co: Moho Film, KG Productions
Rating: R (Some Sexual Content|Language|Violence)
Genre: Comedy, Mystery & Thriller, Crime, Drama
Original Language: Korean
Release Date (Theaters): Jan 16, 2026, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Feb 17, 2026
Box Office (Gross USA): $9.5M
Runtime: 2h 19m
Sound Mix: Dolby Digital
Aspect Ratio: Scope (2.35:1)

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