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Replacement Killers: SE
Columbia/Tri-Star // R // March 5, 2002
List Price: $24.99 [Buy now and save at Amazon]
The Movie:
I still don't feel positively about Antoine Fuqua's "The Replacement Killers" as either an action film or a first major American feature for Hong Kong action hero Chow Yun-Fat, but I really must say that I've grown to like the movie considerably more than when I first saw it in theaters in 1997. Fuqua has went on to direct a picture with more substance in last year's "Training Day"; "Replacement Killers" certainly gets the style more than right, but it's lacking in much of a story - it's a film that strings together nicely done action sequences, but doesn't leave that much of an impression after it's just-short-of-90 minutes running time.
Chow Yun-Fat stars as John Lee, a hired killer who refuses a contract to kill someone close to a police officer. Afterwards, he knows that he must leave the country and approaches forgery expert Meg Coburn (Mira Sorvino) to get a fake passport. Soon after, they're attacked and generally spend the rest of the movie on the run from the criminals sent by the gangster Lee failed to complete the job for.
Fuqua's previous credit was Coolio's video for the soundtrack of the Bruckheimer-produced "Dangerous Minds". Assisted by cinematographer Peter Lyons Collister, Fuqua's film has that sort of music-video feel, but often appears a bit richer and more atmospheric than most of the similar films from the genre. It's interesting that Collister was chosen for the film and impressive that he was so successful in creating the film's look, given that the cinematographer is mainly known for his work in comedies like Rob Schneider's "Deuce Bigalow" and "The Animal".
I suppose the reason that I'm still a bit dissapointed with this film is that Chow-Yn Fat really is an outstanding actor with remarkable presence and authority; while he does have some solid dramatic moments here and certainly goes through the action scenes wonderfully, he's deserves a more fully-written character, as does co-star Mira Sorvino. While Sorvino hasn't exactly demonstrated great choices in what roles she picks, she plays a tough girl fairly believably. She certainly seems less out-of-place than Briget Fonda in Jet Li's "Kiss of the Dragon".
Overall, "The Replacement Killers" is a debut that certainly shows a gift for style and flash, but lacks the solid screenplay to make it a truly memorable action picture. Fuqua has certainly improved with "Training Day", showing that he can deliver a better balance of style and substance. Hopefully, he'll improve even further as a filmmaker in the future.
The DVD
VIDEO: "The Replacement Killers" is presented by Columbia/Tristar on this new special edition in 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen. All appearances indicate that this is the same anamorphic widescreen transfer as the one that was used on the original edition. Thankfully, the pan & scan version that was included on the original disc has not been included here, though. Sharpness and detail are generally very good; while there are a few slightly softer moments once or twice, the picture almost always appears sharp and well-defined.
Problems are few-and-far-between; a couple of little specks appear on the print used and some light edge enhancement appears, but no pixelation or other flaws are seen. Colors are quite nicely presented, showing off the film's vivid color palette well, with no smearing. Black level remains solid, while flesh tones look accurate. Subtitles are provided in: English, Spanish, French, Portuguse, Chinese, Korean and Thai.
SOUND: "The Replacement Killers" is presented in Dolby Digital 5.1 again on this release. A DTS soundtrack would have been greatly appreciated, but it unfortunately doesn't show up here. The Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack still remains a demo-worthy offering that almost perfectly shows off the film's action sequences in an exciting, enveloping way. Surrounds are put to almost constant use for the music as well as crisp, detailed sound effects that add to the excitement of the film. The music remained crisp and rich, while dialogue came through clearly and cleanly. There's also several instances of strong bass. As with the picture quality, this seems like the same soundtrack as the previous edition. Hopefully, Columbia/Tristar will release a Superbit edition with a DTS soundtrack sometime in the future.
MENUS: While the sub-menus are not animated, Columbia/Tristar has created a terrific main menu that turns some of the scenes from the film into sleek animation.
EXTRAS:
Commentary: This is a commentary from director Antoine Fuqua, who has also recorded a terrific commentary for the upcoming edition of "Training Day". This track is also quite entertaining and informative, as Fuqua side-steps all the problems that are usually associated with commentary tracks, such as spending too much time praising cast and crew or talking about what's currently going on in the scene. The director chats about his career before and after this film as well as how he became involved in this project. There's also some solid stories about the production and insights about filmmaking. A good track.
Also: Two featurettes (one the HBO "Making Of", the other one focusing on Chow-Yun Fat); 5 deleted scenes; an alternate ending; trailers for "The Replacement Killers", "The One" and "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" and filmographies.
Final Thoughts: "The Replacement Killers" remains a stylish and moderately enjoyable feature, but there's areas where it could have been better. Columbia/Tristar's new Special Edition offers what appears to be the same presentation as the previous edition, but the extras are solid.
I still don't feel positively about Antoine Fuqua's "The Replacement Killers" as either an action film or a first major American feature for Hong Kong action hero Chow Yun-Fat, but I really must say that I've grown to like the movie considerably more than when I first saw it in theaters in 1997. Fuqua has went on to direct a picture with more substance in last year's "Training Day"; "Replacement Killers" certainly gets the style more than right, but it's lacking in much of a story - it's a film that strings together nicely done action sequences, but doesn't leave that much of an impression after it's just-short-of-90 minutes running time.
Chow Yun-Fat stars as John Lee, a hired killer who refuses a contract to kill someone close to a police officer. Afterwards, he knows that he must leave the country and approaches forgery expert Meg Coburn (Mira Sorvino) to get a fake passport. Soon after, they're attacked and generally spend the rest of the movie on the run from the criminals sent by the gangster Lee failed to complete the job for.
Fuqua's previous credit was Coolio's video for the soundtrack of the Bruckheimer-produced "Dangerous Minds". Assisted by cinematographer Peter Lyons Collister, Fuqua's film has that sort of music-video feel, but often appears a bit richer and more atmospheric than most of the similar films from the genre. It's interesting that Collister was chosen for the film and impressive that he was so successful in creating the film's look, given that the cinematographer is mainly known for his work in comedies like Rob Schneider's "Deuce Bigalow" and "The Animal".
I suppose the reason that I'm still a bit dissapointed with this film is that Chow-Yn Fat really is an outstanding actor with remarkable presence and authority; while he does have some solid dramatic moments here and certainly goes through the action scenes wonderfully, he's deserves a more fully-written character, as does co-star Mira Sorvino. While Sorvino hasn't exactly demonstrated great choices in what roles she picks, she plays a tough girl fairly believably. She certainly seems less out-of-place than Briget Fonda in Jet Li's "Kiss of the Dragon".
Overall, "The Replacement Killers" is a debut that certainly shows a gift for style and flash, but lacks the solid screenplay to make it a truly memorable action picture. Fuqua has certainly improved with "Training Day", showing that he can deliver a better balance of style and substance. Hopefully, he'll improve even further as a filmmaker in the future.
The DVD
VIDEO: "The Replacement Killers" is presented by Columbia/Tristar on this new special edition in 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen. All appearances indicate that this is the same anamorphic widescreen transfer as the one that was used on the original edition. Thankfully, the pan & scan version that was included on the original disc has not been included here, though. Sharpness and detail are generally very good; while there are a few slightly softer moments once or twice, the picture almost always appears sharp and well-defined.
Problems are few-and-far-between; a couple of little specks appear on the print used and some light edge enhancement appears, but no pixelation or other flaws are seen. Colors are quite nicely presented, showing off the film's vivid color palette well, with no smearing. Black level remains solid, while flesh tones look accurate. Subtitles are provided in: English, Spanish, French, Portuguse, Chinese, Korean and Thai.
SOUND: "The Replacement Killers" is presented in Dolby Digital 5.1 again on this release. A DTS soundtrack would have been greatly appreciated, but it unfortunately doesn't show up here. The Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack still remains a demo-worthy offering that almost perfectly shows off the film's action sequences in an exciting, enveloping way. Surrounds are put to almost constant use for the music as well as crisp, detailed sound effects that add to the excitement of the film. The music remained crisp and rich, while dialogue came through clearly and cleanly. There's also several instances of strong bass. As with the picture quality, this seems like the same soundtrack as the previous edition. Hopefully, Columbia/Tristar will release a Superbit edition with a DTS soundtrack sometime in the future.
MENUS: While the sub-menus are not animated, Columbia/Tristar has created a terrific main menu that turns some of the scenes from the film into sleek animation.
EXTRAS:
Commentary: This is a commentary from director Antoine Fuqua, who has also recorded a terrific commentary for the upcoming edition of "Training Day". This track is also quite entertaining and informative, as Fuqua side-steps all the problems that are usually associated with commentary tracks, such as spending too much time praising cast and crew or talking about what's currently going on in the scene. The director chats about his career before and after this film as well as how he became involved in this project. There's also some solid stories about the production and insights about filmmaking. A good track.
Also: Two featurettes (one the HBO "Making Of", the other one focusing on Chow-Yun Fat); 5 deleted scenes; an alternate ending; trailers for "The Replacement Killers", "The One" and "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" and filmographies.
Final Thoughts: "The Replacement Killers" remains a stylish and moderately enjoyable feature, but there's areas where it could have been better. Columbia/Tristar's new Special Edition offers what appears to be the same presentation as the previous edition, but the extras are solid.
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