After years in the wild, director John Woo has returned to shooting training, and while his purpose is rarely the same as before, it’s worth remembering that, at least on screen, aim has never been the issue. the gaze, the frowning gaze, running, jumping, somersaulting, gliding and staring. In Woo’s world, guns kill people, but gunfire kills the public.
Last year’s silent “Silent Night” saw the Hong Kong legend looking to make himself heard by the American public, but it didn’t go as planned. Now he’s returning to one of his iconic epics, 1989’s “The Killer,” with Paris-level storytelling (co-written by Oscar-winning Brian Helgeland for “L. A. Confidential”), a foreign cast that includes French superstar Omar Sy and a direct stream on Peacock. Watching it at home probably won’t update the experience of watching Woo’s iconic action lollapaloozas in a theater. But if you watched this summer’s Paris Games on Peacock, you could say that this is just another decisive circle: in shooting, what else?– for an esteemed cinematographic Olympian. It is a silver medal worthy of the name.
By the way, it’s not Sy who plays the role of Chow Yun-fat. It’s Nathalie Emmanuel, former star of “Game of Thrones,” a gender shift that may no longer seem new but is helping us reimagine what’s at stake. . Emmanuel has a laid-back charm that doesn’t betray the cruelty of the role. Dubbed the queen of the dead in the Parisian underworld (and the homebody who loves crossword puzzles and her guppy puppy), Zee, Emmanuel’s British transplant, delivers hard blows. – the “they deserve it” type – for his mentor Finn (Sam Worthington with an Irish accent), who works for a fearsome gangster (Eric Cantona).
But at a concert to eliminate a gang of bad guys in a nightclub, a young American singer (Diana Silvers) is blinded. Feeling remorseful, Zee leaves her alive, then her bosses reprimand him not to end her too.
When she goes to the hospital in disguise to finish the job, she thinks twice and decides to save the singer. But this puts Zee in the crosshairs of a committed cop (the charismatic Sy) who is investigating a missing drug shipment and believes there is more to tell. He looks like a confident killer with a protective look and an outdoor lawman, the rules seeking the fact, locate friendly and not unusual terrain, which in Woo’s signature visual signage means guns fired face to face but firing to everyone. other. is aimed at ending the genuine threat. (This is supposed to be a hearing loss of mutual trust that will later be forgiven).
Old school Woo hides. There are pigeons. The music is not great at all. And remembering that we wouldn’t have franchises as memorable as “John Wick” or “The Transporter” without Woo’s chaos is what provides a sweet nostalgia to this inferior but fun remake.
On the negative side of the balance there are two understandable responses to fashionable cinema: the monotony of virtual cinematography and the artificiality of CGI bloodshed, neither of which can compare with the epic firecracker paintings of films past. and this is what genuine celluloid can do for the masses. Crazy drama in slow motion.
But on the plus side, Woo hasn’t lost any of his love for the practical bravery of elaborate and ridiculous stunts, nor his knack for camera movements and editing that complement the choreography. He may have toned down some of his more sentimental and tragic impulses, but he definitely indulges in the climax of the fight in a desecrated church, which is magnificently insane, but also, laughingly, a person deprived of the intimacy that makes action cinema so good. We deserve to create.
Is it commendable that, 35 years later, having been lulled by the kinetics of artificial superheroes, Woo’s hype logo now feels more grounded? Decide for yourself, when you see a master, not so much to try to surpass a veteran, but to earn a modestly catchy encore. If we’re being honest, I hope he leaves “Hard-Boiled” alone.
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