Hong Kong ambassador and undisputed king of gun-fu cinema. Woo is also one of the few Hong Kong directors who managed to cross over to Hollywood. If you're in the mood for some kick-ass action, Woo has you covered.
Movies
John Woo's gun-fu/heroic bloodshed masterpiece. The balance between the melodrama and action is perfect here (read very little of the former, tons of the latter), the acting talent is tremendous, the action scenes are simply baffling. The second hour is an almost endless barrage of superbly shot and choreographed gun fights, by far one of the best pieces of film in Woo's rich and varied oeuvre. An epic film, even 30 years later.
If you're looking for a quality martial arts epic, look no further because this film has everything to quench your thirst.
A slight improvement over the first film, though there are still some minor annoyances that kept this from the big epic cinema experience it was supposed to be. The fact that the first part (dedicated to deceit and trickery) is by far the best is not a good sign for a film that banks heavily on large-scale warfare. The big battle scenes just aren't interesting enough for their duration. Things improve near the very end, when there's more one-on-one fighting, but the endless deaths of soldiers pierced by arrows and flailing swords get tiresome. The actors are solid though and there are some memorable moments, but it's not best-in-class.Read all
An old favorite of mine. After rewatching Hard Boiled last year I had good hopes for Face/Off, but it seems John Woo's US work is a bit more prone to aging. It's not even the practical effects or the action scenes, but everything in between that pulls the rest of the film down. And since there's quite a bit of that in this 140-minute film, the overall appeal took a small hit. While the premise is cool, it does mean that Cage is forced to play a softer character, whereas Travolta has to strain himself to play a badass criminal. The action scenes are still cool as ever and Cage really fits well into Woo's universe, the rest of the cast is noticeably weaker and fails to bring the cool. The drama in between is also pretty daft. If you'd trim the film down to 90 minutes it could still be a masterpiece, but at 140 minutes there are just too many weaker moments.Read all
The Killer is no doubt one of John Woo's most iconic films. It's the poster child of his bullet ballet aesthetic and the heroic bloodshed niche. The first time I'd watched the film, I did love it quite a bit, but the balance between impressive action and somewhat cheesy drama was already a small issue. Rewatching it now, that certainly hasn't improved. Fat is solid, and the action scenes are still a hoot. It's just that everything that surround it is not that great. The other actors lack charisma, the soundtrack is pretty dim, and the overzealous drama really gets in the way of the action. Woo would further improve his formula, and a film like Hard-Boiled still stands proud today. The Killer, on the other hand, has inevitably lost some of its original shine.Read all
It's interesting how many people don't even realize Woo started out as a strong comedy director. Run Tiger, Run is his final core comedy film, and it feels like Woo felt that his career would be heading in a different direction after this. This high-octane comedy pulls all the stops and fully commits to the chaos that is Hong Kong comedy. The actors don't hold back, the comedy is bonkers and not at all grounded in reality, the pacing is high and the runtime is perfect. It's one of those mad Hong Kong comedies that is loud and energetic, so it's a bit of an acquired taste, but this is one of the funniest films of its time and one of Woo's more interesting films.Read all
Woo becoming very proficient at action cinema. The action choreography isn't his best and some of the stunts may look a little off, but the action is tough as bones and pleasantly crude. This film isn't for the faint of heart, or those who want more fleshed out drama to ground the action scenes. The performances are solid, the bad guy in particular is quite nasty. The pacing is proper and the runtime is short, keeping things concise and to the point. The focus is action, the short drama intermezzos are just there to glue everything together. It's not Woo's best or most refined film, but it is good fun.Read all
John Woo's latest is a rather modest affair, somewhat reminiscent of Ryuhei Kitamura's USA adventures (though sporting a slightly bigger budget). It's a simple genre flick, with few frills and some obvious limitations. Woo manages to rise above some of them, but the film is a little lacking as a whole. The melodrama's pretty kitsch and Kinnaman is a poor choice for a lead actor, especially since he can't speak and has to rely on body language alone. It takes a while before the film gets going, but once the action takes over, it's a decent action flick. The finale stands out, but it's still not up to par with Woo's best work.Read all
Manhunt feels like the remnant of a great film that died on the editing table. It's so incredibly hasty that it's like watching a 105 minute highlight reel. Some wooly English dialogue doesn't help either, luckily Woo still shoots a mean action scene and there's no time to get bored.
Sometimes it's better to end a career on a high. I'm not sure why Woo bothered to remake one of his most popular films for a streaming service, but the result is pretty much what you'd suspect. Some winks to his glorious past, but the film can't hold its own to modern action cinema. Yes, there's a church and some doves. There's also a scene that tips its hat to Jackie Chan's action films of yonder and the naming of the lead character (Z) probably wasn't coincidental either. But that doesn't make for good cinema. The performances are okay and the action scenes are decent, but this is hardly the riveting, dynamic action cinema Woo is known for. Oeuvre filler, nothing more.Read all
A Better Tomorrow II
All the Invisible Children
John Woo doing Chinese opera sounds intriguing, but the result is mostly just grating and tiresome. The film looks nice enough and the romantic plot is sufficient, but the music is ever-present and did get on my nerves after a while. Unless you're a big fan of Chinese opera, or a Woo completist, you might think twice about watching this one.
John Woo took a rather hesitant start to his career, but that is not uncommon for a Hong Kong director. The Dragon Tamers is a basic martial arts film that features one of two decent fight scenes, but fails on pretty much every other level. Woo's signature is also completely absent, but that shouldn't come as a surprise. The plot is nothing special. A righteous martial art students vows to stop a criminal organization from taking over the martial schools in Korea, but before he can make a real difference he needs to be humbled first. If you've seen a couple of these oldskool martial arts flick, you've probably seen this plot a thousand times before. The actors are mediocre and the fight choreographies are tame, especially when you compare them to Shaw Bros films from that time. The drama is very poor and the first half doesn't nearly have enough fight scenes to overcome that. Luckily the ending is quite action-packed, but it's not good enough to save this film.Read all
