KineticSeoul
So this is Antoine Fuqua's directorial debut and it's obvious he is a fan of Hong Kong action cinema. And he did the best he could to emulate John Woo's style of action and gunplay or gun-fu. And the results are pretty darn cool, especially for a movie from the 90's. He even hired Chow Yun-Fat as an assassin working for the Chinese mafia. This is a very short action movie, but it's full of cool and stylish gun-fu action while taking on that cinematic flare. So if you want to watch a short but pretty good emulation of John Woo's action movies this might be worth the watch for you.7/10
Wizard-8
I first saw this movie when it played in theaters eighteen years ago, and I remember my reaction to it was the equivalent of a shrug of one's shoulders. But I decided to give it another chance since I had the opportunity to watch the longer cut of the movie on Blu-ray. My reaction to the movie this time was just the same as last time. I'm not sure why Chow Yun-Fat picked this movie to be his American debut. Maybe because action director John Woo was one of the producers. Whatever the reasons may be, Chow all the same looks very uncomfortable here. He doesn't manage to generate any chemistry with his co-star Mira Sorvino. It's not just the fact that the movie chickens out and prevents his character and Sorvino's from falling in love, but that ALL the characters in the movie are thin and lacking depth. That may not concern viewers who are simply looking for action, but the movie doesn't deliver in that department as well. While the guy who provided the abundant supply of bloody squibs probably comfortably retired after this movie, the action isn't well directed or edited - it comes across for the most part as simply flat and lacking the flair of action found in Chow's Hong Kong movies. I admit the movie isn't really boring, but it's very forgettable all the same. If you are hungry for Chow, stick with his Hong Kong efforts instead.
Tristan James
A mindless action movie, from a mindless action director Antione Fuqua, this being his second directorial debut. Those who are fans of Chow-Yun Fat and the Hong Cong action genre will be more than able to enjoy this more than decent American interpretation of the energetic direction of John Woo. However, those not familiar with the genre, (which is considered most people), will have trouble toning in to this action thriller due to the lack of a fully constructed plot.Now that I have written my critic consensus on the movie itself, I will give my personal opinion on this extremely underrated American take on most John Woo Hong Cong Action flicks. Personally, this movie doesn't have many problems in terms of an action movie, it is just overlooked due to its motivation of the story that leads to the action. Performance wise, I had never seen Mira Sorvino is any other films, but her performance was satisfactory due to her smart remarks and corniness, she also has great chemistry down the line with Chow-Yun Fat's character. I also happen to be a fan of Chow-Yun Fat, who in most cases, gives his best performances in Hong Cong action flicks, but this performance is not to be overlooked, as he might not say much, but in this case letting the handgun do most of the talking is just fine with me. My final thoughts of the film is that it is much worth seeing due that all Chow-Yun Fats masterpieces are made in China. Personally, I would say just make an exception, you more than likely will not be disappointed, and if it does, it was worth the try.
carbuff
Saw this way back when, but it hasn't aged well and now just seems kind of mediocre rather than gripping. The cinematography is crisp and stylish and the acting is solid, but the plot is actually wisp thin and the casual ultra-violence is really heavy, which has lost some of its appeal to me as I have aged. With age and wisdom it's clear now that this film is mostly fluff and little substance, but I was a lot shallower way back when, and either I just didn't notice or didn't care. This is basically a simplistic high-body count, high-voltage, action movie in which it's pointless to count the bullets, especially given that firearm magazines don't seem to be constrained by reality. If that's what you're looking for you won't feel like you've wasted your time watching this, but I doubt you'll be left feeling that you've just experienced a cinematic masterpiece either. It is what it is, which in my book is now only slightly above average for a movie of this type.
AD
