The Replacement Killers - 1998

Columbia Pictures, Brillstein-Grey Entertainment, WCG Entertainment Productions

Directed by Antoine Fuqua

Cast:

• John Lee – Chow Yun-Fat
• Meg Coburn – Mira Sorvino
• Stan “Zeedo” Zedkov – Micheal Rooker
• Terence Wei – Kenneth Tsang
• Micheal Kogan – Jurgen Prochnow
• Ryker – Til Schweiger
• Collins – Danny Trejo
• Loco – Clifton Collins Jr.
• Hunt – Carlos Gomez

Story: An assassin strolls calmly and purposefully into a crowded club. He walks up to the VIP area, past the guards, and places a single 9mm cartridge with a Chinese character etched into the case on a table. The man behind the table looks up from his line of cocaine and begins to reach for his gun, but by the time he begins to pull it out, the assassin has killed him and his guards and male companions in quick, merciless succession. Cut to a surveillance of a boat approaching the harbor. A well dressed Chinese man is sampling a random taste of a shipment of cocaine when all the police in the world swarm in on him. The man tries to get away, but when he is wounded and trapped, aims at the police officer who is trying not to kill him. The detective is forced to kill the son of a powerful crime lord who enforces his power by killing the families of his opponents. The assassin, who is also trapped to the crime lord under threat of harm to his family, is given a final assignment. “After this, your obligation to me is over.” All he has to do is assassinate the seven year old son of the detective who killed his son. When the assassin cannot complete his task, he becomes the hunted, and must choose between his own safety and the fate of a seven year old boy.

Review: Low angle shots, slow motion scenes, and a host of well chosen techniques show why Antoine Fuqua has become a force of nature in the film industry. The film combines elements of Blade Runner with a dark, gritty plot and a no-nonsense dialogue that keeps you riveted to the screen. The influence of Ridley Scott and John Woo are evident, and the resulting picture stands out as an epic in crime stories. Chow Yun-Fat, a star in the orient and a cult favorite in the US, is John Lee, an unwilling but able assassin bound by duty and honor to his boss, played elegantly by Kenneth Tsang. Mira Sorvino is the hard, independent woman working on the fringe of the law, but careful not to get involved in the business of criminals. Jurgen Prochnow is the trusted right hand man of Mr. Wei (Tsang). Of particular note is Clifton Collins Jr as the street thug who turns informant. Micheal Rooker and Carlos Gomez work well together as the detectives looking to bring down the killers, and both Schweiger and Trejo convince you they are the people your mother warned you about. The action is non-stop, the plot logical and plausible, and the overall effect will draw you into the film sitting on the edge of your seat. Lots of violence, lots of language, not for the kiddies. If you like a fast paced action film with gritty, visceral action, this is it.