Review of The Replacement Killers (1998) by Real G — 19 Dec 2005

Acting - Watch it if you like John Woo movies or watching Chow Yun-Fat bust caps quite frequently. The NRA would be proud. =) That been said, I don't think anybody signed on to this thing thinking the Academy was going to hand them any nominations or anything. (1/2).

Directing - It's easy to say this movie is so horridly stupid (which it is) but when you look at the asthetics and what not (aka try to find something good) you come away with knowing that this was Antoine Fuqua's first major feature following Coolio's "Gangsta's Paradise" video. And there are parts that look like they're from a music video and though John Woo only produces, you can so tell there's some cuts and shots where he whispered into Antoine's ear and said, let me edit this part kid. (1/2).

Writing - The story is pretty run of the mill, but then 99% of blockbusters are. (1/2).

Cinematography - Very MTV-ish at times and very stylishly shot. To the point at times that you just have to laugh. (0/2).

Entertainment Value - For action fans, I'd say there's plenty there. For the rest of the populous, I think watching Chow bust caps without reloading (19 shots in a row in one fight) can get kind of tiring. (1/2).

Overall - 4/10 aka :fresh: :rotten: :rotten: :rotten:

TRIVIA - The Chinese character engraved on Lee's bullets means "death". This movie set the record for the most bullets fired in an American film. It was also Chow Yun-Fat's first American movie.

:up: - The first couple gun fights.

:down: - The last 50 or so.