3 Short Paragraphs (Or Not): The Killer

2024, John Woo (The Killer) -- Amazon

John Woo remaking his own movie 35 years later. I didn't have that on my nostalgia Bingo card. 

The original The Killer was one of those groundbreaking movies for us, introducing us to the Hong Kong stylized action movie world, which we saw multiple times in rep theatres. I cannot remember if the interactive one, where audience members ran around with cap guns diving sideways, shooting each other, or it was something we envisioned when The Mayfair in Ottawa started doing more and more movies with audience interaction. I am going to go with "it really happened".

This was also peak That Guy time when I was exposing myself to as much cinematic experience as I could, fully immersed in everything the world could offer me, from big Hollywood blockbusters in big chain theatres to re-runs and small foreign films in the aging rep theatres of whatever city I was living in at the time. Of all the elements of That Guy I would like to return to, I think that enjoyable experience, without judgement of quality and relevance is what I would like.

The plot is the same. A skilled hitman is tasked with taking everyone out during a job, and that meant EVERYONE, even the young woman she accidentally blinds, a seemingly innocent bystander. But everyone meant everyone, so our new Killer, Zee (Natalie Emmanuel, Game of Thrones), is now running afoul of her handler Finn (Sam Worthington, 9 Bullets) and the client who hired them.

Zee sees herself in the young woman she saved, a lost young thing taken advantage of by the men around her, in a world she pretends to not know. The woman Jenn (Diana Silvers, Space Force) is more mixed up in it than she initially claims but once Zee has decided she is to be saved, nothing will change her mind.

Emmanuel is incredibly thrilling and sexy as Zee, mirroring the impeccably dressed white-suited Chow Yun-Fat from the original (I know, I know, the white suit is just one scene, but its what I remember) but also bringing more to the role. You can see in her actions, her pauses, that she has become tired of her role as killer. knowing more and more each day (or at least finally acknowledging it) she was manipulated into the position. She is also not happy she sees a replacement already in the wings.

Running along after her, as the investigating cop, who more wants to her bosses than her, is Sey (Omar Sy, Intouchables), the Parisian cop who is not only attracted to her (who wouldn't be) but also intent on ending her killing spree, as he is just A Good Cop.

If the movie falls a little its in its desire to recreate the memorable gun fight in the church scene, pigeons/doves flapping everywhere, sideways dives and spins, bullets and bad guys coming at them from all angles. There were too many times when I thought, "Uhh you didn't really have to dive dramatically to shoot that guy from that angle." I think Woo was trying to balance making a new version of his movie but also fearing he would be frowned upon if he didn't recreate some key elements.