The Replacement Killers (1998)

Lack of good storyline.

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

Story: It's very simple but honestly that is fine.

When the son of Triad leader Terence Wei is killed by Detective Stan Zedkov he is determined to get revenge so sends his best hit-man, John Lee, to kill Zedkov's young son. John has the boy in his sights but can't pull the trigger. He is now in trouble; having failed Wei he wants to get back to China so he can protect his family from Wei's inevitable revenge. To do that he needs fake documents so goes to see forger Meg Coburn. Wei's men aren't far behind and the two of them end up on the run together. As they run Wei brings in even more killers.This might not be as thrilling as some of the films Chow Yun-Fat made in Hong Kong with director John Woo but it is still pretty good. Chow Yun-Fat is the epitome of cool managing to make his character sympathetic even though it is clear he is a hired killer; the fact that English isn't his first language isn't a problem. Mira Sorvino does a fine job as Meg Coburn; she might not look like an action star but she pulls it off impressively. The action is exciting with lots of shootouts; it is filmed stylishly without appearing too over-the-top… at least within the context of an action move. The story is pretty simple; which to my mind was a good thing; who wants to waste time on a complicated plot that needs lots of exposition when the film is all about the next shootout! Director Antoine Fuqua does a fine job creating what feels like a Hong Kong action film in Hollywood. Overall I wouldn't say this is a must see but if you want action it is worth checking out… and if you enjoy this check out some of Chow Yun-Fat's other films such as 'The Killer' or 'Hard Boiled'.

The Replacement Killers (1998): Dir: Antoine Fuqua / Cast: Chow Yun-Fat, Mira Sorvino, Michael Rooker, Kenneth Tsang, Jurgen Prochnow: Mindless action film where villains are required to miss their targets while the heroes hit dead on. Replacement killers have nothing to do with anything. It regards Chow Yun-Fat who is sent to kill a cop who put away his boss's son. The cop had no choice but upon showing up at the funeral the father voices his hate. Yun-Fat spares the cop's son and meets Mira Sorvino who concocts an I.D. card until her residence becomes plastered with bullet holes. Lame and predictable with director Antoine Fuqua handling the action, which may be the only ambitious element of the film. Yun-Fat rises above the material playing a guy who can express mercy to those unable to defend themselves such as the boy he is ordered to target. Sorvino is hardly involved and exists mainly as a possible love interest. Michael Rooker as the cop is placed in a difficult position but will realize that Yun-Fat is not against him. Kenneth Tsang plays the true villain whining over losses. The action is fast and furious but the screenplay is dull and full of familiarity. The third act is basically one huge violent blow out where the good guys triumph and the bad guys wish they had signed on to a better film. Well made action farce that needs more than just the killers replaced. Score: 2 / 10

I went into this movie expecting heaps of action and I was a little disappointed but if there was any more then there would not have been a reasonable plot. The Replacement Killers is a mix between Hong Kong Cinema and Hollywood. The ending is good but still very Hollywood though the action and the story in a sense is very Hong Kong. The main character, John Lee, is a hired killer that has a special weapon, and that is the hand gun. He doesn't run round with machine guns blowing away villains, nor does he jump into a martial arts extravaganza, but just relies upon his pistols. Thus there are a lot of gunfights in this movie as the police and a criminal organisation try to put down this rogue killer.John Lee is a professional assassin who has been blackmailed by a criminal organisation to kill people for them. The son of the boss, Mr Weing, is killed in a drug bust and Mr Weing decides that he wants the son of the cop who killed his son dead. This is an eye for an eye mentality. The problem arises when John Lee discovers that the person he has to kill is a seven year old boy. Thus he refuses to do the job, angers Mr Weing and is hunted down to be punished.This movie is about style and pride in one's job. John Lee is a killer but there is a line he does not cross. He only kills those that he has been paid to kill and those who are trying to kill him. He is not ruthless, which Mr Weing considers to be a flaw, and will not kill innocent bystanders nor will he kill children. One gets the impression that John Lee did not want to start killing anyway.There are a number of similarities between the Replacement Killers and the Killer. The Killer is far better than the Replacement Killers could ever think of being because Replacement Killers has been dragged down by the Hollywood dream world where as the Killer has no such restriction. One big difference we can see between the two movies is that John Lee is much more in control of his situation. Jeff was continuously on the run and in the end the fight came to him. John Lee began on the run but then took the fight to his enemies and defeated them. Victory was fleeting in the Killer, but victory was absolute in the Replacement Killers.

I remember my dad renting "The Replacement Killers" sometime around 1999 or 2000 from blockbuster for me and him to watch. I was very young at the time and I did not remember a thing about the movie. I watched this movie today on netflix. Chow Yun-Fat plays John Lee, a contract killer working for Terence Wei, a ruthless Chinese mafia boss. John baulks at an assignment requiring him to kill the seven-year son of a cop; Wei sends other killers after the cop and his son, and after John to punish him for his disobedience. John seeks a false passport from forger and petty criminal Meg Coburn (played with grit and street-smarts by Mira Sorvino) to return to China to protect his mother and sister from Wei's revenge. John ends up kidnapping Meg while trying to stay one step ahead of Wei's thugs and the police. I thought this film was fairly decent the acting was pretty good, the camera angles were good, decent action and not a bad soundtrack to go with it. About the action there were no physical fights, just a lot of nonstop gun fights. I'm not really a fan of Chow Yun-Fat but his performance in this film was pretty good, but i wish he had more dialogue.