The Replacement Killers (1998)

User Rating:

5.8/10   

Director:

Antoine Fuqua

Writer (WGA):

Ken Sanzel (written by)

Release Date:

6 February 1998 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Crime | Thriller

Tagline:

Kill or be replaced.

Plot:

Failing to kill anymore because of his conscience, a troubled hit-man seeks aid from a forger to help him get papers to China. However, the drug-lord has hired replacements to finish the job and kill the hit-man.

Plot Keywords:

Martial Arts | Shootout | Lasersight | Police | Vengeance

Cast

Yun-Fat Chow	...	John Lee (as Chow Yun-Fat)
Mira Sorvino	...	Meg Coburn
Michael Rooker	...	Stan 'Zeedo' Zedkov
Kenneth Tsang	...	Terence Wei
Jürgen Prochnow	...	Michael Kogan (as Jurgen Prochnow)
Til Schweiger	...	Ryker
Danny Trejo	...	Collins
Clifton Collins Jr.	...	Loco (as Clifton Gonzalez Gonzalez)
Carlos Gómez	...	Hunt (as Carlos Gomez)
Frank Medrano	...	Rawlins
Leo Lee	...	Lam
Patrick Kilpatrick	...	Pryce
Randall Duk Kim	...	Alan Chan
Andrew J. Marton	...	Stevie
Sydney Coberly	...	Sara

Also Known As:

Asesinos de reemplazo (Spain) [es]
Assassinos Substitutos (Portugal) [pt]
Costretti ad uccidere (Italy) [it]
Elitni morilci (Slovenia) [sl]
Gyilkosok gyilkosa (Hungary) [hu]
Refus de tuer (Canada: French title) [fr]
The Replacement Killers - Die Ersatzkiller (Germany) [de]
The replacement killers (Els substituts) (Spain: Catalan title) [ca]
Un tueur pour cible (France) [fr]

MPAA:

Rated R for strong violence and for language.

Runtime:

87 min | USA:98 min (extended version)

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Cantonese

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital | SDDS (8 channels)

Certification:

New Zealand:R18 | Argentina:13 | Peru:14 | France:-12 | USA:Unrated (extended version) | Finland:K-16 (VHS) (1998) | Finland:K-18 (35 mm) (1998) | Iceland:16 | Malaysia:18SG | Philippines:R-18 | Australia:MA | Belgium:KNT | Canada:18A | Germany:18 | Netherlands:16 | Norway:18 | Portugal:M/16 | Singapore:PG | South Korea:18 | Sweden:15 | Switzerland:16 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:16 (canton of Vaud) | UK:18 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Ennis-Brown House - 2655 Glendower Avenue, Los Feliz, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Brillstein-Grey Entertainment

Trivia:

Also the first American film for Til Schweiger who already was a major movie star in his native Germany at the time. Number of words his character, one of the titular replacement killers, speaks: Zero.

Goofs:

Factual errors: When John Lee is about shoot his mark (the son of Stan 'Zeedo' Zedkov), the scope cover on the front of the scope is not the correct type of cover. Typically, the red buttoned scope cover is used at the rear side of the scope. Butler Creek makes these type of scope covers and the red buttoned one's are designated as "rear scope cover".

Quotes:

Meg Coburn: So you didn't want to kill a kid. Welcome to the human race.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in All the Rage (1999)

Soundtrack:

33

An excellent movie that I've enjoyed through many viewings

I suppose this is actually a B movie, but there's something about this movie that keeps me coming back to see it again every few months. Maybe it's the rather unique (for Hollywood, anyway) relationship between Meg and John. I mean, they don't even so much as kiss each other and barely touch at all! But I think they make the screen sizzle, nonetheless.

I must admit I love the action in this movie, too. Every once in a while I wonder how a small time forger learned to fight and shoot like she does, but then I blissfully ignore it and just enjoy the movie.

Great action scenes, wonderful relationship development and great acting by Mira and Yun-Fat Chow make this a movie I'm sure I'll see many more times.