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Yun-Fat Chow, Mira Sorvino, Michael Rooker, Jürgen Prochnow, Kenneth Tsang ... see more see more... , Til Schweiger , Danny Trejo , Clifton Collins Jr. , Randall Duk Kim , Carlos Gomez , Mario Roberts

Music video and TV commercials director Antoine Fuqua made his feature directorial debut with this action thriller starring Hong Kong superstar Chow Yun-Fat. Chinese immigrant John Lee (Yun-Fat) has a... read more read more... violent past as a professional killer. It brings him only remorse, but it makes him the ideal assassin. In exchange for his family's safety, Lee is forced to take a job with a powerful underworld figure, Asian crime kingpin Terence Wei (Kenneth Tsang), who wants Lee to settle a deadly vendetta against police detective Stan Zedlov (Michael Rooker) by killing Zedlov's seven-year-old son. At the last minute, with the boy in his sights, Lee chooses to face Wei's vengeance rather than go through with the killing. In addition to making Lee a target, the decision also endangers his mother and sister back in Shanghai. Planning a return to China, he visits document forger Meg Coburn (Mira Sorvino) to get a phony passport, but they are interrupted by Wei's army of killers, and a lengthy chase and gun battle is set in motion. Director Fuqua stressed to his team that the aim was to design a "Taxi Driver for the 1990s," with production beginning February 10, 1997 in downtown Los Angeles, and the first shoot at the historic Mayan Theater, refurbished into the trendy nightclub for the film's stylish opening scene with hundreds of extras carousing while Lee guns down Romero (Carlos Leon) at close range. The eight-story, nearly condemned Giant Penny building in the heart of L.A. served as locations for a police station interior, a hotel room, and Meg Coburn's office, and a chaotic gunfight was filmed amid the spray, brushes, and hoses of Joe's Car Wash in LA. The art department transformed one area into a Chinatown-like streetscape of damp, narrow alleys, and blinking red neon lights, site of a night filming where Yun-Fat shot off 546 rounds with two guns, one in each hand, while the repetitive action left his hands blistered and shaking. More gunplay was at a video arcade replicated at the original Lawry's center just north of downtown L.A., and Lee's tranquil Buddhist temple was fashioned under this same roof. In addition to physical training, Mira Sorvino, who had never handled a gun prior to this film, took weapons training to prepare for her role. Sorvino majored in Asian studies at Harvard, speaks Mandarin, and lived for eight months (1988-89) in Beijing, where she studied Chinese, taught English, and saw Chinese films, including Hong Kong action films. She felt The Replacement Killers brought her a step closer to her goal of making a film in Mandarin and working with a Chinese director. ~ Bhob Stewart, Rovi

Flixster Users

50% liked it

33,479 ratings

Critics

38% liked it

32 critics

R, 1 hr. 27 min.

Directed by: Antoine Fuqua

Release Date: February 6, 1998

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DVD Release Date: March 6, 2001

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Stats: 859 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (859)

  • allan913
    March 24, 2011
    allan913
    A blistering, stylish, explosive and undeniably cool groove of an action movie. Director, Antoine Fuqua does here what Director, John Woo has done delivering plenty of excitement and energy. A hard-boiled action-thriller fueled with amazing gun-battles and a riveting performance ... read moreby Chow Yun-Fat. An unforgettable adrenaline-rush from start to finish. An unstoppable and wickedly entertaining action-packed flick that delivers the goods.
  • garyX
    September 18, 2009
    garyX
    When a hired assassin fails to kill the young son of a detective for a ruthless drug runner, he and a hapless forger are hunted by his replacements. In this, Chow Yun Fat's Hollywood debut, he revisits his familiar assassin with honour character in a fairly standard action thrill... read moreer. There's very little imagination or originality on display; the script does little more than contrive ways to keep our hero and the girl together while extras in bad suits with machine guns chase them around. Having said that, there's very little actually WRONG with it either. Chow is as charismatic as ever, Mira Sorvino is knuckle-bitingly cute and the set pieces are reasonably well handled. It avoids schmaltz and lame love scenes and at less than 90 minutes is wise enough to not outstay its welcome. Brainless yes, but the charisma of its star raises it (slightly) above the bog standard and its far from the worse US debut an Asian action star has had to endure.
  • Deano78
    June 20, 2009
    Deano78
    A very cool stylized action film with plenty of shoot outs and a good cast. If you missed this it's well worth a watch.
  • DragonEyeMorrison
    May 21, 2007
    DragonEyeMorrison
    This and that movie with Marky Mark just shows one thing clear: Hollywood has no idea how to pull out an action flick, or a crime drama, like HK.
  • sanjurosamurai
    January 22, 2007
    sanjurosamurai
    love me some mira
  • stuartb1234
    January 9, 2007
    stuartb1234
    Excellent action/thriller - very underated
  • mjgildea
    November 26, 2006
    mjgildea
    I remember it being pretty weak.
  • deano
    October 10, 2006
    deano
    Cool explosive action in Chow Yun-Fat's debut Hollywood movie.
  • kpn666
    September 25, 2006
    kpn666
    Superbly entertaining with a great story - very rare flick! The gun action scenes r amazing!
    Chow Yun Fat is John Lee, the contract killer with a conscience - and when he refuses to carry out his last task, he then becomes a target himself. Mira Sorvino is the master forger, cr... read moreeating false identites for the right price. When she becomes involved with John's troubles, they both realise that they must listen to their conscience, and rather than run, they must stay and fight.
    A clear cut action thriller well above most action movies. This is highly enjoyable - the introductory scene begins with an explosion of violence! :-)
  • husky10000years
    April 4, 2008
    husky10000years
    Cool explosive action in Chow Yun-Fat's debut Hollywood movie. Mira Sorvino did much better role in this movie. Good acting, likeable characters and good imagining.

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Critic Reviews

Cole Smithey
May 19, 2009
Cole Smithey, ColeSmithey.com

The John Woo school of the ballet of bullets gets a full dose of Sam Peckinpah under the steady hand of director Antoine Fuqua's finely framed tale of revenge. Full Review

Jeffrey M. Anderson
April 27, 2006
Jeffrey M. Anderson, Combustible Celluloid

An unworthy vehicle for a great star like Chow Yun-fat. Full Review

Philip Martin
January 29, 2005
Philip Martin, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

The Replacement Killers is not a very good film, but it is impossible to deny that it has a certain beauty. Full Review

Brian Mckay
March 19, 2003
Brian Mckay, eFilmCritic.com

Will serve as a suitable replacement when [Chow Yun Fat's] better films are already rented out for the weekend. Full Review

Scott Weinberg
July 27, 2002
Scott Weinberg, DVD Clinic

Style over substance all the way, but at least it's not boring. Full Review

Bill Chambers
March 8, 2002
Bill Chambers, Film Freak Central

The most dispiriting thing about The Replacement Killers is that it proves Chow [Yun-Fat]'s charisma repressible. Full Review

David N. Butterworth
January 1, 2000
David N. Butterworth, rec.arts.movies.reviews

Unfortunately, The Replacement Killers isn't a film by John Woo. Full Review

Carlo Cavagna
January 1, 2000
Carlo Cavagna, AboutFilm.com

One cannot accuse Killers of possessing a kernel of intelligence, but it's still a stylish action film. Full Review

Frank Ochieng
January 1, 2000
Frank Ochieng, rec.arts.movies.reviews

A fair action thriller is offered here but what a difference this movie would make from merely being fair to that of being a fist-full-of-frenzied fun. A mild recommendation at best.

Michael Dequina
January 1, 2000
Michael Dequina, TheMovieReport.com

The ever-charismatic Chow will certainly have no trouble winning new fans with his English language debut. Full Review

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The Replacement Killers Trivia

  • chow yun fat plays a chinesse hitman and mira sorvino is gonna make him a fake passport name the movie  Answer »
  • name the actor or actress who starred in the following movies, The Corruptor,Anna and the King, The Replacement Killers, and Bulletproof Monk?  Answer »
  • In The Replacement Killers, what did John Lee(Chow Yun-Fat go to see Meg Coburn(Mira Sorvino) about?  Answer »
  • Which of these films was Chow Yun-Fat's first attempt to break into the US market?  Answer »
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