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We have taken some photos of "The Replacement Killers". They represent actual movie quality.

• Not a patch on Fat in HK films of the same genre but a passable action movie posted on 25 Jun 2005

  When police officer Zedkov kills the son of Chinese crime lord Terence Wei he becomes a target of professional hitman John Lee. However when faced with having to kill Zedkov's seven year old son, Lee backs out and prepares to flee the wrath of Wei. Going to Meg Coburn for a passport is the setting for an ambush where Lee and Meg escape together, both targets of Wei's
  associates. The stakes are upped when replacement hitmen are brought in to kill Meg, Zedkov's son and Lee.Already a global star due to the iconic films and choreographed violence of John Woo films, Chow Yun Fat came to America, had English lessons and was put in a film that copies the formulae that had made him a huge success.
  The plot here is similar to that of The Killer, in that a hitman is crossed by his employers with the end result being gun fights a plenty. However the themes running through that film are absent here and noise and action replaces them. That doesn't mean that the film isn't good, but rather than be different it feels like an average retread of the Hong Kong formula.The action scenes are good without being great, lacking the flair of his HK work. Partly this can be put at Fuqua's door. Even with Woo as executive producer Fuqua can match the master for this sort of stuff. They are exciting but where in the same way that Woo's first US film (Hard Target) felt like it was watered down, so too does this film feel like HK action done for a teenage American audience.Fat is an excellent actor of great range but this film seems scared to have him do anything beyond diving around with guns. His English dialogue is limited to a few lines at a time and any more detailed scenes are carried in subtitles. However in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon Fat could not speak mandarin and had to learn his lines phonetically – he can speak English here so why not trust him enough to speak it. Sorvino is OK but her character is a little bit of a cliché and is a tough chick side kick at best. Rooker is alright but lacks screen time or a character to speak of. Likewise Prochnow is just a bad guy sidekick with little to do.In HK Fat had great roles in ultra-stylish violent ballets with Woo. In his first American film he has a standard American actioner which owes a lot to HK but never reaches the impact of those films at their best. Worst than that he is not allowed to act beyond limited dialogue and gun play. Is this film bad? No, it is just quite average for anyone who has seen any of the Woo/Fat collaborations from HK although for an American action film this is pretty good value for 85 minutes.

• Auspicious Western Debut for Chow Yun Fat posted on 27 Apr 2005

  Chow Yun Fat does not miss a beat in his American film debut. He has the same cool magnetism here that was on display in his Hong Kong films. "The Replacement Killers" plays like a homage to the Hong Kong action films with the benefit of having it's shining light in the leading role. The film that this most reminded me of was "The Killer" except here the character is nobler and is less ambiguous. It would appear that the makers of this film did not think Western audiences would accept a protagonist with gray areas. That quibble aside the film is slick hard-nosed entertainment. Mira Sorvino aquits herself well as Fat's unwitting sidekick. If this film serves a purpose it may attract interest in Fat's Hong Kong output.

• I don't think they had a script! posted on 23 Apr 2005

  Shoot-outs, cool-looking Actors and a story that you can write down in less than a minute make this movie a total disappointment. Yun-Fat and Sorvino should use their talents better than pseudo-acting in this Videoclip. The only good thing about 'REPLACEMENT KILLERS' is, that Schweiger doesn't say a word.2/10

• Nothing special, but great fun.
  posted on 21 Apr 2005

  It's obvious that Antoine Fuqua's previous experience includes music video--every shot in this film is beautiful, from the way Chow Yun-Fat's coat floats around him as he plugs away at the bad guys to how Mira Sorvino's hair falls around her face. Even the sprays of blood from wounded gunshot victims are gorgeous. That's one reason to see this film.

  Another is Chow Yun-Fat himself. The paper-thin plot and stale dialogue don't give him much to work with, but he makes the most of it--and he's a talented enough actor to raise this movie from mediocre to fairly good. Mira Sorvino is fun too, as a tough-talking forger who becomes a semi-willing sidekick.

  But if you're expecting something on the level of Chow's Hong Kong films, keep waiting. This ain't it.

• Yawn! posted on 21 Apr 2005

  How un-exciting can this story get? Let's see, an assassin who refuses to kill gets a price on his head. The level of energy in the action sequences, Chow Yun Fat's characteristic intensity, and an original script are lacking in his first U.S. film.

  I would recommend Chow Yun Fat's other films: City on Fire, God of Gamblers, A Better Tommorrow, Hard Boiled, Once a Thief, The Corrupter and others.

• Not Enough Gunfights posted on 06 Mar 2005

  This movie, despite what you think it may be about, is really about gunfights. There are more gun battles in this film than there were in the Civil War. Pistols capable of shooting dozens of rounds without reloading, criminals who could not hit their target (even wounding it) despite blazing away with - oh let's say - a billion rounds of ammunition, and a hero that is capable of killing them by the dozens. Did you know that you cannot be shot if you drop and roll? Yes, it's true, the gangster shootout version of duck and cover during an atomic attack. Drop and roll deflects all bullets headed your way. So, if you like gunfights with automatic and semi-automatic weapons, and the only reason your life has meaning is to see gunfights with automatic and semi-automatic weapons, then this, believe me, is the movie for you.

• For the intelligence of the view. posted on 13 Feb 2005

  It is not the sound of machine guns that one has to love to enjoy "The Replacement Killers." It is the elegance of violence. The visuals that transform each scene into an exciting, impossible romp through the ability to survive. Talented choreography with the added difficulty of a constant grasp of a piece of iron in hand. Far beyond any filming of this genre that I have seen in a while. Not for those who can't live without fine dialogue, but then again, while watching this movie, who needs it and who cares.

• Action films aren't SUPPOSED to be boring, are they? posted on 13 Feb 2005

  Sheesh! Chow Yun-Fat has the silky charm and coiled rage of a tiger, and Mira Sorvino has great legs, but they are both wasted in this dull, Hong Kong action flick-wannabe. The film, about a hitman (Yun-Fat) who refuses to kill a young boy and becomes hunted by mercenaries, is the cinematic equivalent of a fast-food restaurant's neon sign. Flashy and colourful, noisy and shallow, "The Replacement Killers" is never as cool or as exciting as it could have been.There's one great sequence - a shoot-out in a car wash - and any film with Michael Rooker in it isn't completely worthless. Most of the film, though, is a cluster of pedestrian action scenes centred around a group of characters with no depth. Sorvino is on autopilot as the brash, hard-as-nails chick; the villains are instantly forgettable; and Yun-Fat only gets to glower.To tell you the truth, I have no desire to write any more about this movie.
  Having never seen an actual Hong Kong action movie, I can only guess they're better than "The Replacement Killers." In any case, you'd be better off renting one of those.

• Good stuff posted on 04 Feb 2005

  When the son of a powerful underworld boss, Mr. Wei, is killed in a police raid he swears vengeance. John Lee is the hit-man assigned with the task to carry out the hit, but despite a successful career as a contract killer he finds himself unable to pull the trigger. Even more upset, Wei sends in a duo of ruthless assassins, the replacement killers of the title, to kill both John and carry out his assignment.This is the first feature length film for a successful music video director so it probably doesn't look so hot, but don't be fooled: this is one terrific action movie. Antoine Fuqua serves up a very assured and stylish direction while keeping the film going at an exciting pace. The shootouts are spectacular and are among the most furious seen outside of Hong Kong cinema. The film's performances are also strong and while the action makes the film exciting, they make the film involving.The film is not to high on the originality scale as Chow Yun-Fat has played the self-conscious hit-man going against a ruthless underworld many times and the screenplay is for the most part predictable, but as an action movie it works very well. 8/10Rated R for intense violence, and profanity

• Artistic violence posted on 15 Nov 2004

  Those who focus on the violence and "character development" aspects of this movie miss what I consider to be the central strength and intent of "Replacement Killers" - its style and artistic ex- pression.I usually pass on what I consider to be violent action flicks, but this one made me stop and look past the violence to the contextual richness of the way in which this one was filmed.I'd like to see more from this director.

• Gun Fu ballet at its finest posted on 07 Nov 2004

  I didn't expect much from this movie. I enjoyed Chow-Yun Fat in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon but wasn't all that familiar with his other work. I expected a movie more in the vein of Jet Li's films... which is to say, not very good but with excellent martial arts acrobatics.
  
  Fat's not really the martial arts kind of guy, though. He's a Gun Fu type, capable of firing two pistols while sailing through the air. And in this film, he's John Lee, an expert assassin who balks at retaliating against a cop, Stan Zedkov (Michael Rooker).
  
  
  The plot is interesting: John performed two other successful assassination attempts, but he has a mother and sister who will die if he doesn't complete the third. When he realizes the third job requires him to kill Zedkov's son, he disobeys the crime boss' (Terence Wei, played by Kenneth Tsang) orders. The only way John's family will survive is if he kills Wei before the crime boss gives the order.
  
  So suddenly, the bad guy becomes the good guy. The director (Antoine Fuqua) wisely realized that watching Fat shoot people gets boring after awhile. So he cast Mira Sorvino as Meg Coburn, an expert forger who creates passports. John gets embroiled with Meg when Wei's thugs show up at her apartment to kill them both.
  
  Sorvino's character is a curiosity as much as she is a sidekick. She can have her kneecap busted and recover in minutes. She can cap a bad guy with a perfect headshot. And yet she can't seem to actually wear any clothes correctly. Her dresses are always partially zipped up or unbuttoned. I'm not complaining, mind you. It's just that Meg comes off more as a walking distraction as opposed to a character that's integral to the plot.
  
  There's some implication that a romance might be burgeoning between the white girl and the Asian guy, but the film doesn't have the guts to go there (shades of Romeo Must Die). The most we get is a hug and a stroke of the cheek.
  
  The rest of the film is people shooting other people. About midway through the movie, Wei hires the bad guys that give the film its moniker: replacement killers. These killers (Til Schweiger and Danny Trejo) are supposed to be really mean and nasty, but their only distinguishing character is that they have more powerful weapons than everybody else. And dress better.
  
  These days, it's difficult to show that a character is an expert killer with firearms. It's one thing to throw a knife and skewer someone at 50 paces in the throat. It's another to pull off a successful headshot in a film when everybody, including the cute chick, kills everybody else with one shot. Danny Trejo in Desperado was a scary bounty hunter with mad knife throwing skillz; Danny Trejo in Replacement Killers is just a guy with a big rifle.
  
  What makes the movie worth watching is Fuqua's direction. He knows what he's doing and he does it well. Music is well timed and appropriate (scored by Harry Gregson Williams), even during an exchange of gunfire. There are inventive and acrobatic shots of Fat diving, rolling, shooting, and sliding. If it weren't so spattered with blood, the choreography might be considered beautiful.
  
  Replacement Killers makes no excuses for what it is. That doesn't make it a great film either. But I enjoyed it for what it was: Gun Fu ballet at its finest.

• Chow-Yun-Fat hits America, and every bad guy in the Way! posted on 08 Sep 2004

  Hired assassin refuses last assignment, new assassins hired tokill him! Chow's coming to America as an action star. Tons ofbullets flying, bodies falling! Movie speeds along like a violet music video! Chow-Yun-Fat is at his Hong Kong Best, Excutive Producer John Woo!

• hoping for a better tomorrow (4/10) posted on 08 Aug 2004

  Not the american debut for Chow Yun Fat that fans would've hoped for but still a half-decent flick. I thought Sorvino was pretty good in it too. Its way too cliched and dramatic for its own good but you can do a lot worse. Fuqua's style is quite distinct, I loved the use of color in this film. Good soundtrack too, watch out for the brilliant opening sequence that uses 'keep hope alive' by the crystal method - that was worth the price of admission!

• Bottom of the heap posted on 27 Jul 2004

  Lousy, worthless, dull, stupid, meaningless, insipid, weak, childish, wasted.... there are many ways to label this movie. But the most important one is: meaningless. This film has absolutely no point whatsoever - at least not an intelligible one. I feel like I've seen most of the action a million times, there is NOTHING special about it, and there are lots of films where the action is a hell of a lot niftier and cooler. And with that said, this film becomes really, really, really bad.It wouldn't have gained publicity at all if there weren't the possibility to slap a "John Woo"-label on it, and the lengths one has to go to, to actually see anything worthwhile in this film makes one wonder: is there a special place some movie directors go as pilgrims to learn How To Make John Woo Flicks or is this just another piece of trash that should've stayed on paper? If this Woo-school really is, well then this film sure is a freshman's job.

• Vastly Underrated posted on 24 Jul 2004

  Okay, so its not "The Killer." Its a fast-paced movie with little story but great action and plenty of style. Its not up to the standards of the Chow/Woo collaborations that came out of Hong Kong in the late 80s and early 90s, but its still great fun."The Replacement Killers," a story of an assassin with a conscience (yes, we've seen this before) was my introduction to Chow Yun-Fat and Heroic Bloodshed-style cinema in general. I must say that when I first saw it I was blown away. The action sequences, though paltry compared to those in, say, "Hard-Boiled," appear hyper-kinetic and downright innovative as presented in American cinema. And Mr.Chow is cool personified. Furthermore, even with limited dialogue (he's still learning the language people!) its clear that the man can act. He conveys much more emotion and presence with his eyes alone than many actors do with all the dialogue in the world. We see his tortured soul when he peers through the scope of his sniper rifle, wrestling with his decision to do the right thing, and we know he means business by his dark brooding glances in the night club. We see his guilt when he sees his reflection in the mirror. Then there's Mira Sorvino, an amazingly beautiful and talented actress, who's obviously having fun here, and looks as good as ever as she guns down the villains. A very good supporting cast also plays its roles expertly.Antoine Fuqua is not the greatest director ever. But he knows style, and the film is one of the most visually and stylisticly impressive action movies I have ever seen outside of Hong Kong. Furthermore, while the story is weak, the dilemma that John Lee faces is a real one, and the decision he makes is heroic. We all hopes he saves his family, and kills as many bad guys in as cool a way possible along the way. In this way the movie engages the audience and works in doing what it set out to do: be a very cool action piece, with bullets and sunglasses standing in for plot and dialogue. It works far better than, say, "The Corruptor" which repeatedly seemed to forget it was an action movie. "The Replacement Killers" never does, and it delivers on its own premise. If you don't like that premise, fine, don't watch it. But it does succeed at what it tries to do. Conclusion: TRK is a good and under-appreciated movie, 7.5/10. It is a fine introduction to Chow and the genre; after this move on to "The Killer," "A Better Tomorrow" and "Hard-Boiled," all of which combine action with story and characterization in a way you have never seen or imagined in American cinema.

• Great action! posted on 22 Jul 2004

  Good chemistry between Mira & Chow Yun Fat. They should have made the two assassins that go after Fat smarter. They looked tough but they sure didn't act that smart.

• Ciao, Baby! posted on 10 Jul 2004

  Chow Yun-Fat, who made a career out of action packed Hong Kong violence flicks, takes a turn in his first American-made action adventure. The results are uneven but entertaining.
  
  Chow plays a contract killer who has an attack of conscience. Unable to target a child, he attempts to flee both his assignment and the men sent to kill him (and his target) with the help of Mira Sorvino, certified tough chick and passport counterfeiter.
  
  
  Chow is a bit too decent for an assassin. Sorvino plays her hard-edged role well (thanks in part no doubt to her North Jersey Italian roots), but she is too much the soft doe-eyed lovely to be absolutely convincing when she brandishes a Glock Nine-Millimeter.
  
  
  Still, it's a fun movie, full of action, color and movement. A bit cartoonish, as much of this genre is, THE REPLACEMENT KILLERS is a fine way to spend a couple of hours on a Sunday night.

• throws believability way out the window posted on 06 Jul 2004

  wow.if you like relentless fast and furious action and stunts that completely throw any semblance of believability out the window,this is your movie.if you're really good at suspending your disbelief,you 'll probably like this movie.personally, think there's only so much the human mind can accept,and for me,this movie far exceeds that limit.as in another movie i reviewed,it would have been better if the characters were all dressed in matching red capes and blue underwear.i also think more bullets were used in this movie than were actually even made.again,that's not to say that this is a bad movie.it's just that it could have been so much better.after awhile,when moviegoers are bombarded by wall to wall action and stunts that defy reality,they become desensitized and are no longer impressed with such things.people are smarter than filmmakers and studios think they are.anyway,i give "The replacement Killers" a 6/10

• John Woo - NO :: Mira Sorvino - YES posted on 30 Jun 2004

  One of the best sequences is when an 'innocent' blond soccer mom in a SUV gets caught and the cross-fire. They spend a little extra time showing her being blown away, which for 1998 is a bold statement against SUV drivers. Props.Plot: CYF is a indentured hitman caught in a wicked contract with a Chinese mob boss. He decides to gain morality towards the last mark and creates a rumble with the mob. Two non-indentured assasins are then hired to finish the job and CYF. Then Mira Sorvino happens.Antoine Fuqua was still a little fresh around the collar when creating this John Woo attempt, but he does a Grade B+ job. He has since then blown us away with 'Trainng Day' truly his cup of tea. However, this movie has many redeeming qualities, one being Mira Sorvino, I have a thing for sexy women with automatics (ugly women, well that's just plain threatening). CYF is a bad ass, always was, always will be. The villans I think destroy this movie, they are too 80's 'Lethal Weapon' type, very shallow, with no character, supposedly just plain evil I guess, but they aren't, they even pull the "Now I'll leave and let my henchmen kill you, and I'll assume that you will be dead." This didn't work for the Joker vs. Batman either.Bottom Line: This is the kind of movie you would find on TBS or TNN but it would be ruined by comercials, so try renting it when you're in the mood for some solid gun play, and a very Sexy Mira Sorvino

• chow yun fat is better with a gun posted on 25 Jun 2004

  i got this on dvd and wow chow yun fat is great especaily in the last scene. if your a big chow yun fat fan see this but do not compare to tiger dragon. chow really plays a good assassin to wow. so if your a chow fan a action fan your just bore one day i say go for it.