October 1998

The Replacement Killers
Reviewed by Roger Kanno
DVD Format

Overall Enjoyment:
Picture Quality:
Sound Quality:
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Starring Chow Yun-Fat, Mira Sorvino, Jurgen Prochnow

Directed by Antoine Fuqua

Theatrical Release: 1998
DVD Release: 1998
Dolby Digital 5.1
Widescreen and Full Screen

So there’s this guy by the name of Chow Yun-Fat. He is supposed to be some kind of "international action star," meaning that no one outside of Asia has ever heard of him. OK, John Woo’s fans may have seen him in movies like Hard Boiled and The Killer, but other than that he is virtually unknown in North America. Chow Yun-Fat's first US film is the John Woo-produced, The Replacement Killers. Directed by Antoine Fuqua, The Replacement Killers borrows heavily from the John Woo school of filmmaking -- slow-motion shootouts and explosions, high body counts, and plenty of two-fisted, gun-slinging action. It is classic Woo-style action.

The plot is simple. Chow's character, John Lee, is an assassin who refuses to go through with a particularly distasteful job for Mr. Wei, a powerful Chinese crime boss. Wei hires replacements to finish the job and take care of Lee. Although this movie has a lot more character development than your average shoot-'em-up action flick, don’t look for anything profound here. This ain't no Ang Lee film. Just sit back and enjoy the ride.

Chow Yun-Fat's performance carries the film. Chow's character is always cool, professional, and business-like, even when he kills a dozen guys with six different handguns. He doesn’t say much, but then again he doesn't have to. Chow Yun-Fat exudes charisma and bad-ass attitude whether he is smoking a cigarette or unloading two Berettas into the head and torso of some punk.

Having Academy Award-winning actress Mira Sorvino as a co-star doesn’t hurt either. First-time director Fuqua (of Coolio's "Gangsta's Paradise" video fame) does an excellent job of keeping the action moving along and giving the movie a slick, polished look. He also pays homage to the all-out, over-the-top style of action that has made Chow Yun-Fat and John Woo cinematic legends in Asia.

The video transfer, while not up to the standards of the very best, is good. Interior shots are sometimes a bit dark and soft with flesh tones having a slight reddish hue. Overall the video quality ranges from good to excellent. The soundtrack features plenty of deep bass and an expansive musical score which is well recorded. The use of the surrounds is subtle, but effective. This results in an enveloping soundfield. Dialogue is also natural and well integrated with the rest of the soundtrack.

The supplementary material consists of the theatrical trailer and a short featurette which includes interviews with Chow Yun-Fat, Mira Sorvino, and Antoine Fuqua, but provides little insight into the film. The supplements are definitely not a selling point for this disc.

However, there is one principal reason to get this DVD -- Chow Yun-Fat. You can sense it in the first scene when a shadowy Chow makes his way across the crowded dance floor of a night club to confront a table of gangsters. His face is not clearly visible throughout the entire scene, then suddenly there is an extreme close up of his eyes and it is evident by his icy glare that he means business. Every once in a while someone comes along who redefines coolness in the movies. Chow Yun-Fat may be that guy. He has been doing it in Hong Kong for over a decade, and he is now poised to do it in Hollywood. Watch this movie, and watch out for Chow Yun-Fat.

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