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The Replacement Killers (1998) More at IMDbPro »

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147 reviews in total

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24 out of 28 people found the following review useful:
An excellent movie that I've enjoyed through many viewings, 26 February 2002

Author: Mitche

I suppose this is actually a B movie, but there's something about this movie that keeps me coming back to see it again every few months. Maybe it's the rather unique (for Hollywood, anyway) relationship between Meg and John. I mean, they don't even so much as kiss each other and barely touch at all! But I think they make the screen sizzle, nonetheless.

I must admit I love the action in this movie, too. Every once in a while I wonder how a small time forger learned to fight and shoot like she does, but then I blissfully ignore it and just enjoy the movie.

Great action scenes, wonderful relationship development and great acting by Mira and Yun-Fat Chow make this a movie I'm sure I'll see many more times.

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18 out of 23 people found the following review useful:
Hits the center of the bulls-eye with hair-raising accuracy., 17 April 2002

Author: mhasheider from Sauk City, Wisconsin

Wild and absolutely menacing thriller involving Chow Yun-Fat (in his American film debut) as John Lee, a quiet yet resourceful hit-man who along with a sarcastic forger, Meg Coburn (Mira Sorvino), become involved when Lee refuses to take out someone close to a cop (Michael Rooker), who shot and killed his mobster boss' drug-dealing son during a drug bust and in the process, Coburn and Lee are also targeted by his superiors.

It's a brilliant debut for Yun-Fat and director Antoine Fuqua ("Bait", "Training Day"), both of whom show their skills with such respect. Some of the shoot-outs that take place in some areas that you wouldn't even think of (car wash, alley, movie theater, etc.). Plus, the cinematographer Peter Lyons Collister and composer Harry Gregson-Williams excell in making the movie even more entertaining. The scenery has a very colorful and artistic look to it and the music doesn't get too loud. I think of the movie as "Lethal Weapon" made like in the style of John Woo, who is one of the film's producers.

"The Replacement Killers" certainly hits the center of the bulls-eye with hair-raising accuracy.

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9 out of 10 people found the following review useful:
Chow Yun-Fat brings ultra-cool to Hollywood, 3 August 2005

Author: latymer14 from Detroit, MI

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

Some may call this film "derivative" but many HK productions are about revenge and/or organized crime. While it may not be as kinetic as other CYF films like Hardboiled or The Killer, it also lacks the campy moments found in those films. In this respect, CYF's performance is slightly superior to his HK work because he is required to be far more subtle than some of his more over-the-top roles. Heresy, i know, but what many people might see as the film's vices could be considered virtues: less action and fewer lines of dialog allow a more authentic emotional story to develop and CYF to do more actual acting. The opening sequence is brilliant as pure cinema and must be seen. The relationship between John Lee and Meg Coburn is unique in this genre in that it's basically a buddy situation with romantic undertones; it is one of the best things about the film. (It's such a cliché when characters just hop into bed 10 minutes after meeting.) Highly recommended.

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19 out of 30 people found the following review useful:
This is superb Hong Kong action stuff !!!, 21 December 1999

Author: incubus-4 from Belgium

Wow, this movie just blew me away !!! I am a fan of the John Woo type of action movies and I must say that even he was just one of the executive producers, his mark is all over this movie!!!

The result is very good : Nicely paced action sequences, more story and emotions than in your average Hong Kong action movie (But not as much story development as in an American production, but in this genre this just isn't needed that much, it would just slow down the pace), well acted , you kinda start feeling sympathetic for the leads and you'll certainly hate these villains. This is a thrill ride from beginning till the end. And this is where I have my only point of criticism : The movie is way to short !!! 80 minutes and the credits start to roll!!! You'll almost start to beg for more... I'll best describe this movie as a cross between "Face-Off" and "The professional" from director Luc Besson. A must-see for every action movie lover.

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10 out of 13 people found the following review useful:
FAT'S THE WAY I LIKE IT!, 5 April 2000
Author: ALAN MOUNT from CARDIFF, WALES

This Hollywood debut for Hong Kong superstar Chow Yun Fat does no disgrace to the image of the cool as ice heroic persona established in his Chinese movies.He is not asked to do much here other than engage in long and protracted but beautifully filmed gunfights which he performs with consummate ease and establishes a persona which should serve him well in subsequent projects.A memo however to stupid British movie critics who called this a kung fu movie and referred to Mr.Fat as a martial arts star.There is no kung fu to speak of in this movie and the star is not famed for his skills in this field.Maybe British critics did not even bother to see this movie but just pretended they did assuming that it was a chop-socky flick.I wouldn't put it past them.

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8 out of 11 people found the following review useful:
Watch this movie for it's action, you'll enjoy it more., 15 February 2001
Author: cbenavidez from Arizona

Those of you who desire a deep, thought provoking, plot. One which leaves you asking questions, after the movie is done. Well, guess what? This is not the movie for you. However, if you are seeking a high intensity, past paced, exciting, action-packed, drama, stay tuned because the ride has just begun. This is the second time I have watched this movie. I watched it when it first came out and then again just last night. I can't help it but Chow Yun-fat is definitely the Sean Connery of our eastern brothers.

I will admit that this movie is not for everyone. Then again, you can't make everyone happy all of the time. You can make some people happy some of the time. This movie made it's money's worth, so apparently it made most people happy most of the time.

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12 out of 20 people found the following review useful:
THE REPLACEMENT KILLERS (1998), 24 June 1999
Author: Sean Finnigan (punctate@hotmail.com) from Saskatoon

Tarance Wei son is killed by a detective, so he decides to hire John Lee to kill the detective's son. John can't do the job and figures his family will be in danger. He attempts to get to China and meets up with Meg. The two become partners in this action packed movie. The movie has a lot of style but there isn't real strong substance. The action scenes are quite good and there are funny scenes throughout the movie and the final action scene was done quite well. I give this movie 3/5. Rated PA

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4 out of 5 people found the following review useful:
Unbelievable - you bet. Lots of Gun Action - Yes, Siree (may contain spoilers), 29 April 2005

Author: tenpercent from Midwest - USA

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

I gave this 5 out of 10 stars because it is probably par for the course, as far as fast-paced action films go.

The problem was that's pretty much all this film has going for it - endless shooting. There are some wonderfully filmed and choreographed scenes of holding or firing a gun, frequently two guns, one in each hand. There are scenes of firing handguns while running, while falling, while driving a car, while sliding along the ground and swinging in mid-air.

Yun Chow Fat plays John Lee, who has been ordered to take out a policeman who caused the death of drug lord, Mr. Wei's son. When John Lee fails to do so, he knows he's in big trouble with Mr. Wei. John Lee needs to get out of the country and fast, as well as another reason we later learn, for why he is anxious to get back to China.

He is given the name of a woman called Meg who can get him a fake passport in a hurry, played by the beautiful Mira Sorvino.

The replacement killers are after all of them--John Lee, Meg and the cop's son. That's it. That's the plot.

Quite frankly I was very disappointed at no romance or love making between John Lee and Mira Sorvino - what a waste of two gorgeous looking people.

This could have been a much better film then it was, with a bit more depth to John & Meg's characters, some meaningful dialog between them and a romance.

Much of the shooting is completely outside the boundaries of reality --as the hit men generally seem to do these killings in very public and crowded places like nightclubs and theaters.

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4 out of 5 people found the following review useful:
A Chow fan, 7 March 2001

Author: Ishallwearpurple from Heartland, USA

I bought the video only because I wanted to see Chow in his other American films after seeing him in Anna And The King. I have now watched it many times. He is the most magnetic presence on screen I have seen in a long time. I am not a shoot um up fan but I can just zap through most of that and watch the characterization develop between the two main people and they are very good. I wanted to know more about both of them and that is the only criticism I have, since I know that this was made for action fans and those who like non stop guns blazing away. For me, I wanted to know about John and Meg. But that would have been another film. Just for Chow and Sorvino, I give it a 7 of 10.

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2 out of 2 people found the following review useful:
Forgettable action thriller., 12 September 2008

Author: Paul Andrews (poolandrews@hotmail.com) from UK

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

The Replacement Killers starts late one night during a drugs bust on the dock's, cop Stan 'Zeedo' Zedkov (Michael Rooker) shoots Chinese smuggler Peter Wei (Yau-Gene Chan) in self defence but Peter's father & crime-lord Terence Wei (Kenneth Tsang) is rather upset about his son being killed by a cop & orders John Lee (Chow Yun-Fat) to kill the cop's seven year old boy in revenge. John cannot bring himself to do it though which also upsets Terence Wei & John is soon added to his hit list, John needs to get out of the US & back to China & hires forger Meg Coburn (Mira Sorvino) to knock him up some fake papers. However before she completes them Wei's men catch up with her & John, after a shoot-out John & Meg are left stranded on the run from Wei's men & influence as he wants them both dead at any cost...

Directed by Antoine Fuqua I personally think that The Replacement Killers is a very shallow & forgettable HK action style US action thriller that I didn't like when I saw it in the cinema back in '98 & still didn't like it when I saw it again last night. The Replacement Killers is yet another one of those films available in more than one version, there's the common theatrical cut which was widely released & then there's the 'Extended Cut' (interestingly not known or advertised as a 'Director's Cut' anywhere) which runs for around ten minutes longer give or take a couple of minutes & I will be basing my comments on the ordinary theatrical cut which is the only version I have ever seen. The plot is very thin, it contains all the hallmarks of a John Woo Hong Kong action flick dealing with themes likes trust, betrayal, honour, family, loss & revenge but The Replacement Killers is a very shallow & forgettable US attempt at copying that distinctive John Woo action style. The character's are paper thin (although to be fair to it the 'Extended Cut' apparently has more development), the dialogue is sparse & almost minimal & the actual action scenes are surprisingly poor & lacklustre. Virtually every action sequence in The Replacement Killers is the same as the last with constant shoot-outs between bad guy's who can't shoot straight & good guy's who rarely ever waste a bullet. It becomes very tiresome & I found it pretty tedious too, I just thought it was a poor story with poor repetitive action scenes & overall I am really struggling to say anything particularly positive about this film.

Apart from a shot up car & an exploding van at the end every action scene in The Replacement Killers feels exactly like the last with lots of people shooting at each other. OK sure the locations change but various people jumping over things, sliding across the floor & dodging bullets are essentially exactly the same from one scene to another. I usually like the big budget brainless Hollywood action films & find them very entertaining but this I just couldn't get involved with or get into at all. Although the shoot-outs are well choreographed they are fairly flat & repetitive in my opinion. The film tries to be very cool with lots of dance music, stylish cinematography that keeps the camera moving & darting about & there's lots of posturing & posing as various character's wear the latest sunglasses, carry & shoot using two guns instead of one & dress in sharp suits but there's absolutely no substance to go with the style.

According to the IMDb this had a budget of about $30,000,000 which amazes me, I can't really see where all that money went at all. There are no big Hollywood stars, not much in the way of action & I don't understand why this cost so much to make. Shot in Los Angeles in California. The acting is alright but no-one is given too much to do, this was Chow-Yun Fat's US feature film debut, Sorvino is OK while Michael Rooker is wasted in nothing more than a cameo.

The Replacement Killers is a Hong Kong style action thriller that I thought was actually pretty poor all round, a really shallow & dull plot along with some repetitive action scenes kill it for me.

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