Today’s quick review: The Replacement Killers. Hitman John Lee (Chow Yun-Fat) owes three jobs to Terence Wei (Kenneth Tsang), a Chinatown mob boss. But when he refuses to go through with his last hit, Mr. Wei threatens to kill John’s family in China in retaliation. John seeks the help of forger Meg Coburn (Mira Sorvino) to get out of the country and save his family. But to do so, he’ll first have to deal with Wei’s hired killers back in the States.
The Replacement Killers is an action movie about a penitent hitman and his fight to save his family. The Replacement Killers features large amounts of high-octane action as John Lee tests his gun skills against Mr. Wei’s thugs, as well as two special hires (Til Schweiger and Danny Trejo) sent to finish Lee off. The movie has a simple premise and a linear plot, but its fast-paced action should be enough to satisfy fans of the genre.
The Replacement Killers sticks to the basics but handles them well. The film has little in the way of plot and no more than the bare minimum of character development. John and Meg are adequate heroes but not particularly deep or memorable. Rather than character or story, The Replacement Killers spends its time on noisy, gun-toting action that makes up for in energy what it lacks in finesse. The film is style over substance, and unabashedly so.
Give The Replacement Killers a shot when you’re in the mood for some decent popcorn action that doesn’t bother with much else. The film won’t have much to offer viewers who want something memorable, unpredictable, or humorous. But it does carve out a niche for itself as a serviceable action movie that delivers just what it promises.
For an even more over-the-top action movie in the same tradition, try Face/Off. For another action movie starring Chow Yun-Fat, try Bulletproof Monk. For another story about a penitent assassin, try The Mechanic or Bangkok Dangerous. For an action movie with cleaner execution and more style, try John Wick.
6.1 out of 10 on IMDB. I give it a 6.5 for plenty of gunplay but little story to back it up.