Chow Yun-Fat might not be a name known as well to those of us living in North America, at least not before the 2003 hit Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. In his native China he has been a superstar for some time, redefining the martial arts film. Today he’s almost as well known here. The Replacement Killers was his first Western film. It’s one of those moments in cinema history where many audiences left without really knowing what to make of it all. I remember the first time that I saw the film, and I still don’t know how to quite describe it. The simple explanation is that it’s a typical Asian tough guy film like we’ve seen from Jackie Chan for about 20 years now, but The Replacement Killers isn’t really a martial arts film. Chow is using heavy firepower far more than he does his hand and foot skills. It is certainly an action film. You’ll get plenty of explosions, chases, and fights to keep the adrenalin pumping for the entire runtime. Still, even the action defies what is usually expected from such a film. There’s plenty of stylish camera work and use of slow motion to keep the viewer a little on edge, and maybe that’s what kept me from completely enjoying the film.
John Lee (Chow) is a hired killer for a Chinese mob figure. He’s cold and calculating, as we learn from the start. He’s very casual and unemotional as he takes out his intended target along with anyone who might care to get in his way. It’s his second contract, however, that reveals the man underneath the killer. His boss, Terence Wei (Tsang) is in a feud with a headstrong detective, Stan Zedkov (Rooker). Zedkov shot his son in self defense, and Wei wants revenge. Wei doesn’t want Lee to kill the detective. Instead he wants to inflict a more exact revenge, and the contract is on Zedkov’s young son. Lee refuses to carry out the killing on the young boy, and so now is to be hunted himself. A force of “replacements” are sent after Lee. While trying to acquire forged passports from a local document forger, Meg Coburn (Sorvino) he’s pinned down by Wei’s killers and is forced to flee with Meg firmly in tow. She convinces him that it is not enough to refuse to kill the boy but that he must do what he can to prevent the replacements from finishing the job. All the while he is worried that Wei will take his revenge out on his own family back in China. Most of the film alternates between quiet moments between Coburn and Lee and his regular interactions with Wei’s hired killers. It doesn’t help that Zedkov doesn’t understand that Lee’s trying to protect his son, but instead sees him as part of the Wei problem, one to be eliminated.
Chow Yun-Fat does an admirable job under trying circumstances. His uneasiness with English is not as evident in the character of John Lee as one might expect. Sorvino is truly outstanding in this film. She manages to hold her own in a world that is just loaded with testasterone. In fact, I found some of Lee’s scenes with Sorvino to be wonderfully emotional and real. Those are truly the only genuine moments in the film. The rest is stylized graphic novel action that makes no pretenses toward realism, instead opting to purely entertain. That might be why the film never achieved the mainstream success that was likely expected. The supporting cast was also quite good when they were given any real acting to do. Michael Rooker has played these kinds of parts before and so blends into the role effortlessly. His final interaction with Chow and Sorvino at the film’s climax is a beautiful payoff for all three actors. Unfortunately the Asian actors were relegated to either stereotypical roles or so over the top that they were just as unlikley to be taken seriously. The “relacement killers” themselves were so outrageous that any pretense toward a grittily realistic film is quickly out the window. If these guys are professional killers, the only reason they haven’t been caught is because of brute firepower. They apparently lack any skills of stealth and subtlety. Of course, it’s those outragious characters mowing down everything in front of them that many look to this film to see. If you liked the climactic showdown in the original Matrix film, you will likely love this film. It seems that a very large portion of this entire movie is a replay of that moment.
Video
The Replacement Killers is presented in its original aspect ratio of 2.40:1. You get a clean and sharp 1080p image using an AVC/MPEG-4 codec. The film is often quite dark and so relies heavily on a strong black level that does deliver the shadow detail needed to capture the action. With this HD transfer I was a little disappointed to discover some hints of compression artifact. I’m not saying it’s very overt or even all that noticable. I just was surprised that I encountered it at all here. There’s a considerable level of grain that I suspect was intended. There’s a ton of color filtering in this presentation. Often red, blue, or yellow shades will dominate a scene for stylistic purposes, but in none of these instances does it take away from the detail or sharpness of the image. In normal lighting flesh tones are mostly natural. There is a stark contrast in a couple of daytime exterior fights where there appears to be too much light and detail is suddenly washed away. The film delivers a solid 30 mbps bit rate throughout.
Audio
The PCM lossless 5.1 track is a constant stimulation of your senses. The fights incorporate an aggressive use of ambient that will leave bullets flying all around you. There’s good solid response from the sub most of the time, and through all of this action you’ll hear the dialog clearly every time. That’s no small matter when you consider the volume of things going on and the fact that Chow speaks quite softly most of the time. The sound will fill your theater not only with volume but with a full dynamic range of audio delights. This is a top notch audio presentation.
Special Features
Chow Yun-Fat Goes Hollywood: This is a Chow love-fest with everyone from cast to producers just raving on for 20 minutes about how “cool” it was to be on set with the star. There are plenty of clips, including a nice one where Chow talks about learning to handle the guns. There’s an interesting story about a cat’s head, an offer one couldn’t refuse.
Where The Action Is: This is a typical 10 minute behind the scenes feature that touches mostly on director Antoine Fugua’s philosophy about making the film. There’s a lot of wasted time on overlap from the previous piece and on providing an unnecessary synopsis of the film.
Final Thoughts
The Replacement Killers is a very entertaining film that even has some nice emotional moments, but don’t expect a lot of depth in the plot here. It’s a visually stimulating exercise that works well in the HD format. I don’t think it broke any new ground as many appear to believe. We’ve seen all of this before, and for Chow, he’s becoming more known to American audiences now. His role in the latest Pirates Of The Caribbean film seems to solidify his place in Western cinema. He’s still doing Hong Kong films and enjoys continued success in that market. I think he’ll end up in more American roles like The Replacement Killers. He doesn’t seem to be tempted yet by the money and power that Hollywood has to offer. Do you really think anyone, no matter how humble, could stand up to that kind of temptation? “I didn’t think so.”
