This felt to me more like a Ringo Lam film than a John Woo film. There's a bitterness and nihilism to it that I've never seen from John Woo before. Even in his most raw movies like 'Bullet in the Head.' There's still glimmers of hope and romanticism even in the darkest moments. None of that here. Everyone is miserable and everyone dies. It might just be the script, but I could see this being a turning point for Woo as an artist. A lot in the world has changed since his last film six years ago.

@WildFlicks

6 ай бұрын

That’s an interesting thought! Could be both him and the script, which definitely sits in the same realm as something like Death Wish or Death Sentence. The action is definitely closer to the rawness of Lam, which I know he’s said was an intentional choice to make Brian’s journey feel more believable. Though the relationships with his wife and son felt like classic Woo sentimentality to me.

@YorgosL1

5 ай бұрын

Should have develop a bromance between cudi and kinsmen

@davidosako4680

4 ай бұрын

What do you expect to gun down 15 Mexicans and live fuckin special forces and military die from overwhelming numbers so it makes sense that everyone dies in this movie

I agree with your criticisms regarding how the silence felt like a gimmick in places, but I mostly enjoyed it's inclusion; it was a unique perspective regarding how we would normally perceive the characters. And because I was invested in Brian's struggles and downfall into vengeance, I enjoyed the slower pace up until the action sequences.

@WildFlicks

6 ай бұрын

Fair enough! I don’t think it was the slower pace or the silent idea itself that bothered me; I agree that it’s a unique idea, and I applaud Woo and his team for taking the risk. I just found the film repetitive in those scenes. One scene using texts, an emotional breakdown, or training would’ve been effective - three or four of each, back to back, just started to wear me out.

It worked well enough for me ... Although, I have to admit, that if I was to watch this film without knowing who the director was ... I would have never guessed it was a John Woo movie. The action choreography is cool, but I did miss Woo's stylistic flourishes. I missed his poetry and artistry. The modern audiences may scoff at them but it what made John Woo special and unique in a first place. To put it more bluntly ... Give me some doves :) The ending was quite tragic, but I wish it hit harder for me.

I enjoyed it. Not perfect, but I didn't expect perfection. I must say the avalanche of bad reviews perplexes me. Worse comes out every week that gets less criticism.

@WildFlicks

6 ай бұрын

Again, I do think expectations factored heavily into that negativity, from both audiences and critics. On the one hand, I think John Woo fans would almost definitely have a better time with this than people who aren’t familiar, though there are also times where it doesn’t really feel like a John Woo film. I agree that there’s far worse out there in the action genre these days.

@SquabbleBoxHQ

6 ай бұрын

@@WildFlicks wouldn't be surprised, given expectations, if it's reputation improves with time.

@WildFlicks

6 ай бұрын

@SquabbleBoxHQ maybe! The holiday angle will probably lead to rewatches aplenty - I guess we’ll see

Can you do a video on Welcome to the punch? Which is clearly influenced by John woo film's.

I really like it. It's a descend on revenge. How he cannot recover until the point he loses his marriage. The fact he cannot speaks is also a good point of how he was unable of express all his anger and pain. The movie has its failures but to me is a good return of a master of the action movies. Without john woo, there is no matrix, no john wick and many others.

Oh boy John woo the killer remake is next !

@WildFlicks

5 ай бұрын

Very curious to see how that turns out!

I watched the movie few weeks ago and seem can't shake it off my head. The movie don't feel like a typical America revenge movie for me, more like a tragic poem about grief, anger and self-destruction. And the protagonist doesn't feel like hero of the film, more like a villain everyone can sympathize with but aware his action would not bring him peace.