The Replacement Killers

1998 "Kill or be replaced."
6.1| 1h27m| R| en| More Info
Released: 06 February 1998 Released
Producted By: Columbia Pictures
Country: United States of America
Budget: 0
Revenue: 0
Official Website:
Info

Hired assassin John Lee is asked by Chinatown crime boss Terence Wei to murder the young son of policeman Stan Zedkov. Lee has the boy in his sights, but his conscience gets the better of him, and he spares the child's life. Afraid that Wei will take revenge on his family in China, Lee seeks out expert forger Meg Coburn to obtain the passport he needs to get out of the country, but a band of replacement killers is soon on his trail.

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Director

Antoine Fuqua

Production Companies

Columbia Pictures

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The Replacement Killers Audience Reviews

AniInterview Sorry, this movie sucks
Lucybespro It is a performances centric movie
Aneesa Wardle The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.
Zandra The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.
NateWatchesCoolMovies Antoine Fuqua's The Replacement Killers is one of the most stylish and visually synergistic action flicks ever made. It's like John Woo meets John Wick, and seriously has some cool to it. Chow Yun Fat, that effortless, laid back badass, plays lethal hit-man John Lee, who suffers a crisis of conscience at the worst professional crossroads. When Detective Stan Zedkov (Michael Rooker adds to the noirish feel) kills the son of powerful Chinese crime boss Terence Wei (Kenneth Tsang), he and his family are marked for death by the syndicate. Lee is employed to take out his young son, but holds back in the last moment, making a split second decision to defy Wei, take a rogue's path and create a huge problem for everyone involved. Now, Wei has replacement killer after not only Lee, but Zedkov again and anyone unlucky enough to get in the way. Lee teams up with sexy identity forger Meg Coburn (love me some Mira Sorvino) and the two evade bullets, bombs and multiple murderous assassins all in the highest of style. Chow is the perfect action hero, with a mournful like ability and stoic streak that's never too serious and always punctuated by his baleful sense of humour. Plus the guy can make bloody magic with two handguns in a career of epic stunt work that is almost as big a feat as that of the characters he plays. Sorvino also has a downbeat energy, adorable self deprecation and tough chick sarcasm that she masquerades with to hide the bruised girl beneath. They are a wonderful team, and I like that the film never outright forced any romance, but rather let the performances subtly suggest it via the absence in the script. Rooker holds up his end with endearing toughness, especially when forced to work alongside Lee and Meg to save their asses, a perfect character arc that he really sells.Jurgen Prochnow is deadly and devilish as Michael Kogan, the only German mercenary I know of that works for a Chinese crime syndicate lol. Danny Trejo and Til Schweiger are hilariously over the top as two silent monster assassins, leather clad death angels hired by Wei to hunt our heroes. The action really steps it up into comic book mode when they show up. Keep any eye out for Frank Medrano, Patrick Kilpatrick and a young Clifton Collins Jr as a street vato named 'Loco'. Epic cast, unmatched visual style, an action gold mine.
dworldeater The Replacement Killers is not only the US debut of Chow Yun Fat, but also the first film project for director Antoine Fuqua. Before his masterpiece Training Day, Fuqua was known for Coolio's "Gangsta's Paradise" video and this film. Heavily influenced by John Woo's The Killer. The Replacement Killers is a very stylized, sharp looking and well acted action film. Of course, there is only one John Woo and this film is not nearly as good or as intense as his best work. Though somewhat restrained by comparison, The Replacement Killers is a solid action film in its own right and has an excellent cast. Chow Yun Fat, Mira Sorvino, Michael Rooker, Jurgen Prochnow, Kenneth Tsang and Danny Trejo all give incredible performances that elevate the material beyond that of standard action fare. The film looks great and the shootouts are abundant and high quality as well. In today's world this sort of film is nearly extinct. For what it is(straight up action), The Replacement Killers is well done and much better than most of the action films coming out recently.
George Clarke I'm a huge fan of CYF - for almost 30 years now. His on-screen persona is just the finest and he is one of the best actors out there!But with other HK stars transfers to Hollywood - where the big wigs all claim that they know what is best - I was quite concerned for his debut.Replacement Killers actually plays quite well!Still carrying that 90's look, we are treated to 85 minutes of stylish Hong Kong wanna-be shoot outs and angles that sometimes overdoes the John Woo homages - some of which are pretty good, some that just ended up quite slow.Regardless, it was a great introduction to the US audience for HK's coolest actor, and an enjoyable film nonetheless!
FlashCallahan John Lee owes a debt to Mr. Wei, a Notorious LA drug-lord. When a cop kills Wei's son during a drug bust, Wei instructs Lee to kill the cop's seven- year old son while they are at play. Lee can't pull the trigger, and he knows Wei will punish him by going after Lee's mother and sister in Shanghai. To reach them fast, Lee needs a hot passport. He seeks out Meg Coburn, an expert in counterfeit ID.But Wei's men are already on Lee's trail, and they must fight them off, evade the cops, face the titular hit men imported to finish Lee's job.....If the film were about The Replacement Killers, then it would have starred Trejo and Schweiger, sounds more intriguing. But that would be if it was made now, and the film would have sounded a lot like a romantic comedy if it were called John and Meg.But to get maximum enjoyment from this movie, you really need to take Chows earlier movies he did with John Woo, because if you go into this expecting something like that, you will find that you will dislike it a lot.Its a big explosion of a film, light on plot and narrative, huge on big, loud set pieces, wonderful mid nineties techno soundtrack, and very clunky dialogue.And its a lot of fun, Fuqua gives the audience very little time to breath between set pieces, and Chow is as cocky as you'd expect him to be, and you will forget Sorvino won an Oscar two years prior to this.All In all, a big dumb, loud summer action film, very cool to look at and to listen to, but it will rot your brain if watched lots and lots of times.