From Hong Kong to Paris With Love.
I want to make an important distinction that while “The Killer” with Michael Fassbender is on Facebook, Peacock has “The Killer,” which is John Woo’s American remake of his Hong Kong movie from 1989. Now before I sense the new version, I had to see the original to compare and contrast. I did the same last week with both the good and bad versions of “The Crow.”
The original “Killer” was about a mob hitman, played by Chow Yun-fat, whose actions have taken the sights of a beautiful nightclub singer, and must make things right by doing one last job to pay for her cornea operation. And the cop pursuing him must reluctantly join forces with him to take down a bigger criminal. If you haven’t seen the original, then I don’t want to spoil much for you. I can tell you, however, that it was riveting and fresh. It basically reflects that not every movie has a happy ending, that it can reflect on life.
If you have only heard of this new version, then I would suggest you see the 1989 version, and compare and contrast how Woo presents both films. He presents the dialogue, camera angles, and performances with different lights. And while this version is behind the original, there are still aspects that remind you of that film, while taking new angles to it with the screenplay co-written by Brian Hegeland (“L.A. Confidential,” “Mystic River”). And after you give it a chance, you’ll find it really entertaining.
In this new version, set in Paris, the hitman is a woman named Zee (Nathalie Emmanuel), who loves her pet fish Why, looks stylish in black, is very good with fake IDs, and uses her charms, attitude, and samurai sword to take care of the bad guys. Her Irish boss Finn (Sam Worthington), who works for the crime lord Jules Gobert (Eric Cantona), dislikes the fact that she spared the life of a young American singer named Jean Clark (Diana Silver), who loses her sight, as a result of Zee’s actions.
Jean also happens to be the lover of the drug dealer Coco (Hugo Diego Garcia), whom the French detective Sey (Omar Sey) shoots and kills. And when Finn has his thugs try to finish the girl’s death, Zee comes to her rescue.
The detective is so good at his profession, that he’s able to read between the lines of one of Zee’s fake last names Noone as “NO ONE.” And he’s also persistent enough to break the rules to try to track down Gobert, whom he connects to a recent case of stolen heron.
Woo’s last film was “Silent Night,” which starred Joel Kinnaman as a man who lost his voice and family on the same Christmas Eve, and vows his revenge on their killers. It was practically dialogue free, and had a sense of style and danger, although it didn’t connect with audiences. But with his new take on “The Killer,” he handles it with less indulgence and more style. Yes, some actions sequences look ridiculous, but other scenes deliver with the right bullets, leads (Emmanuel and Sy stealing the spotlight with charisma), and energy.
As I began to watch this remake, I was almost cynical, because of my experience with last week’s dreadful reboot of “The Crow.” But Woo knows how to honor his own movie and remind us of his classic, and he seems to know a distinction between foreign films and American blockbusters, even though this is streaming on Peacock. I’m still pretty sure that he’s trying to cater to American audiences in certain aspects which I can sense a mile away, but I’m also sure he’s trying to avoid the cynicism of it all. What can I say? I loved the original, and I had fun with this one. I hope I’m making a distinction here. Oui Oui.
Streaming on Peacock
