Venice 2025: First Reactions to Park Chan-wook’s NO OTHER CHOICE

The Venice Film Festival continues today, and reactions to some of the highly anticipated world premieres are hitting social media.

NO OTHER CHOICE is a black comedy thriller directed by Park Chan-wook that is based on the novel The Ax by Donald Westlake. It stars Lee Byung-hun, Son Ye-jin, Park Hee-soon, Lee Sung-min, Yeom Hye-ran and Cha Seung-won.

In the film, a Korean man engages in a desperate hunt for new employment after being fired from a position he has held for 25 years.

No Other Choice had its world premiere in the main competition of the 82nd Venice International Film Festival and will arrive in US theaters via NEON in the Fall.

Here are the first reactions our of Venice:

#Venice: Lee Byung-hun plays a family man who feels lost after losing his job, and will kill whoever it takes to restore his self-identity.

Read our review for Park Chan-wook's "No Other Choice": https://t.co/nKKXOKmpV2 pic.twitter.com/Jk8JaWZws8
— IndieWire (@IndieWire) August 29, 2025

'No Other Choice' Review: Park Chan-wook's Dazzling Murder Comedy is a Masterclass in Controlled Chaos https://t.co/l4ILk4vni0
— Variety (@Variety) August 29, 2025

‘No Other Choice’ Venice review: Park Chan-wook’s economic satire is a darkly comic treat says @wendyide #Venezia82 https://t.co/pm8k5XRVQv
— Screen International (@Screendaily) August 29, 2025

'No Other Choice' Review: Park Chan-wook's Jet Black Comedy Reminds Us Why He’s One of the Best in the Game [B+] Venice https://t.co/7JbePRSJs2
— Erik Anderson (@awards_watch) August 29, 2025

Chan-wook's #NoOtherChoice unnerves w/ slow-brewing tension & releases in macabre shock & gut-busting hysteria.
An unhinged descent into despair as the male ego is shattered & challenged & did Lee Byung-hun get the assignment.
Mysterious, hilarious, an absolute treat of cinema. pic.twitter.com/J2ODMKN38n
— Ren Geekness (@RenGeekness) August 29, 2025

#Venezia82 📽️ Park Chan-wook is back with another masterpiece! 😇 Starring Lee Byung-hun! Read our Venice review of "No Other Choice" here! 🤩 👇https://t.co/g8Y807T18t
— CinemaForever.net | Films don't end here! (@CinemaForever) August 29, 2025

No Other Choice: loved Park Chan-wook's bleakly hilarious capitalism satire about an unemployed guy who's so desperate for a job that he starts murdering the other candidates. a little Parasite, a little Looney Tunes, and then a big gut punch.

my review: https://t.co/nQmveVCM1S pic.twitter.com/a0RejoRQEN
— david ehrlich (@davidehrlich) August 29, 2025

‘No Other Choice’ Review: Lee Byung-Hun Shows An Anarchic Flair For Slapstick In Park Chan-wook’s ... https://t.co/2PiD9iYPjE
— Deadline (@DEADLINE) August 29, 2025

'No Other Choice' Review: Park Chan-wook's Black Comedy Is Really Black and Really Comic https://t.co/qkKxTMvjib
— TheWrap (@TheWrap) August 29, 2025

‘No Other Choice’ Review: Park Chan-Wook Draws Blood and Belly Laughs in Black Comedy About Layoffs [Venice] https://t.co/YlRnh6MUs5 pic.twitter.com/OMu2AT9OT5
— The Playlist (@ThePlaylistNews) August 29, 2025

“hilarious, heartfelt, and horrifying in equal measure, No Other Choice leaves you with simply that. No other choice than to catch Park Chan-wook’s latest magnum opus”

Read my #NoOtherChoice review from #Venezia82 https://t.co/Gq46c19MrB
— Dallas King (@DallasKing1138) August 29, 2025

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