The Replacement Killers
by Antoine Fuqua
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: J?rgen Prochnow, Kenneth Tsang, Michael Rooker, Mira Sorvino, Yun-Fat ChowDirector: Antoine Fuqua
Brand: Sony
Producer: Bernie Brillstein
Producer: Brad Grey
Producer: Christopher Godsick
Producer: John Woo
Producer: Matthew Baer
Producer: Michael McDonnell
Writer: Ken Sanzel
DVD: 2 Sides, Region Code 1
Audio: English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround; French (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround; Spanish (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround; English (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled); French (Subtitled); Spanish (Dubbed), Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround
Format: AC-3, Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Color, DVD-Video, Full Screen, NTSC, Widescreen
Picture Format: Anamorphic Widescreen, 1.33:1
Running Time: 87 minutes
DVD Release Date: 1998-07-01
Audience Rating: R (Restricted)
Studio: Columbia Pictures
Movie Reviews of The Replacement Killers
Movie Review: Elegant and glamorous
Summary: 5 Stars
Usually, the title of a work is the subject--but not always. "The Replacement Killers" is not a film about replacement killers, but about moral ambiguity, gray area. John Lee (Chow Yun-Fat) is drawn into a moral morass by a Chinese Mafia hold over his family. He must become an assassin to prevent his mother and sister from being killed.
John Lee is brought to the West Coast to kill people, enemies of Mr. Wei, a very powerful drug lord based in the United States with tendrils wrapping in China as well. John's father was an honorable military man before the Cultural Revolution and friend of Mr. Wei. Connections.
When John backs down from his third kill for moral reasons, he has committed "treason" against Mr. Wei and must return to China to protect his family. That's where Meg Coburn (Mira Sorvino) comes in. She is one of the best forgers around. He needs a new passport. When they meet, Wei's hired thugs are right behind. Violence breaks out. That's the back story.
Meanwhile, two real hit men are hired as John's replacement killers. Another reviewer so amusingly describes these men as hit men who actually look like hit men: black leather jackets, black pants, big and muscular bodies and fierce faces, and weapons cases.
Perhaps this will seem strange, but "The Replacement Killers" is an elegant and glamorous film noir. Most of the cinematography is filmed in dark or semi-dark places: her office/apartment area, the car wash, the movie theater, the Buddhist temple, Mr. Wei's business office, alleys and staircases. John's impeccable dress (a suit and tie) and Meg's hip attire speak glamor. Her youthful face, his mid-30's look, hers Caucasian with deep red lipstick and his handsome Asian face make a striking balance for elegance. The background music throughout the film is romantic, laced with Asian mysticism.
Every scene with Wei and the head of his henchmen, Jurgen Prochnow, adds to the striking miasma of corrupted moral values. Just ugliness and sordidness.
Michael Rooker represents a police department that is actually straight and committed to their actual pledges to pursue evil and protect society. As the third party of participants, the police do not back down from the use of arms. Not at any time do all three parties come together for a significant shoot-out. The police always arrive just as the shooting is over. The last big shoot-out between John and Meg and the Chinese Mafia is a battle which stirs the gray area into moral certitude. It's a great scene.
Mira Sorvino is absolutely an essential part of how well this film works. She is no timid woman to be protected. Her part in each scene of violence is crucial. Then gears are whirred and her parting scene with John is dignified yet tender. Amazing.
Most other reviewers love this film. I find the film sophisticated, glamorous, and elegant, not because it is violent, but despite the violence, which is not made glamorous or elegant, just present and sometimes necessary. Moral ambivalence.
Summary of The Replacement Killers
After he betrays a ruthless crime boss a professional hit man becomes the target of an army of killers and fights to survive the most violent shoot-out of his career. Studio: Sony Pictures Home Ent Release Date: 09/27/2005 Starring: Chow Yun-fat Michael Rooker Run time: 88 minutes Rating: R Director: Antoine FuquaThe director of Chow Yun-fat's first Hollywood outing, music-video veteran Antoine Fuqua, seems to be trying to squeeze the charismatic Asian superstar into a conventional American action-hero mold, and the results are dispiriting. Fuqua never lets this high-spirited actor smile, fetishizing him as a gunslinging clotheshorse in a series of garish, scenery-smashing battle scenes. As a paid assassin whose former employers turn against him, Chow enlists the help of an illegal documents specialist played, with surprising grit, by Mira Sorvino, and then spends most of the time fending off squads of killers in mirror shades. The movie is art-directed and photographed fit to kill (even the most routine incidents are eye-gougingly colorful) and edited to a hip-hop beat. It's garishly superficial. The frequent gunplay duels may keep action fans riveted, but they'll hate themselves in the morning. --David Chute
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