With a reinterpretation of The Killer, John Woo brings another action star into the spotlight

It’s not unusual for a director to remake one of his greatest works. But it’s rare that it works as well as John Woo’s remake of his classic action-killer The Killer.

Michael Haneke tried it with his English-language remake of his disturbing meta-slasher from 1997. Funny games. Olivier Assayas recently reissued his 1996 masterpiece Irma Vep into a fascinating but largely less successful HBO show. But with Woo’s new version of The Killerwhich was released on Peacock in late August, the godfather of the heroic bloodshed genre shows that he’s still got it, both as a technical master of the genre and as a creator of new action stars.

Woo returned to Hollywood for the first time in 20 years with his revenge thriller 2023 silent Nightin which a mute protagonist faces off against a violent gang. While the silent ploy and relentless bleakness of the narrative kept the film from being a runaway success, Woo’s control of the action sequences – how they look, sound and feel – remained unparalleled. Even as a diehard fan of the original The KillerI was excited at the prospect of returning to a more familiar Woo setting with promising new actors in the iconic roles.

As the experts quickly pointed out, The Killer (2024) does not reach the Everest-like heights of The Killer (1989) – the original is one of the most sophisticated, atmospheric films of all time and was part of a series of excellent collaborations between Woo and action star Chow Yun-fat that brought them both to worldwide fame. Trying to match the original killer Blow for blow like Haneke with Funny games would be a mistake, even for a master like Woo. Instead, Woo uses the basic framework of the narrative and characters to create a new experience that feels like a return to his dual-gun, dovecote days—but with a fresh new twist on the plot.

It is also almost impossible to watch the original film. 1989 The Killer is not available for digital rental or streaming anywhere; the Criterion Collection version is out of print; the last physical copy released in the States was a 2010 DVD on the Weinstein Company’s Dragon Dynasty label. Woo wanted to release 4K restorations of some of his Hong Kong classics, including The KillerBut says he can not because he does not have the licensing rights.

Like the original film, this version of The Killer follows a hitman who is unhappy with his life. When they accidentally blind a young nightclub singer during a shootout, the chance encounter creates a protective relationship between the killer and the singer, which leads to an unlikely alliance between the killer and a police detective. All of these notes are the same, but with a new setting in Paris and new faces – Nathalie Emmanuel (game of Thrones‘ Missandei) is the assassin who is now called Zee. Omar Sy (lupine) is the detective Sey. And Diana Silvers (Space Force) is the young singer Jenn.

As you’d expect from a John Woo film, the action sequences are excellent: car chases, hospital shootouts, sword fights, hard stunts, the whole Woo experience. They feel appropriately dangerous, have a big scope for a streaming film, and are a breath of fresh air after the green-screen-heavy action sequences of many modern blockbusters. In one sequence, a car flips onto its side after colliding with another car, then rolls into a motorcyclist who has fallen off his bike in anticipation of the impact. The impact between the rolling car and the stuntman is so real that I wondered if it was a planned part of the shot or an accidental rollover of the car. But ultimately, it doesn’t matter—the effect is heartbreaking and emotional, and I immediately rewound to watch the stunt again.

The shootouts are exciting and balletic, with great sound design and interruptions of the shots, which is also a strength of silent Night. The loud bangs harmonize well with the dramatic, atmospheric score by composer Marco Beltrami, which, like the film, balances romance and suspense with nuances of classical orchestration and jazz. And the film Look great, even though it’s a direct-to-stream production: the colors glow, the city of Paris buzzes with life, and the way Woo moves his camera to follow and enhance the action is unparalleled.

But perhaps the greatest gift of the new killer is the birth of an action star. Emmanuel has shone in previous supporting roles in action-centric universes: game of Thronesthe Fast and Furious movies, Army of Thieves — but with The Killershe finally has the chance to be a real action heroine. And she makes the most of it.

The fight choreography uses Emmanuel’s dance background to great effect – Woo aptly described her moves as “elegant.” She does many of her own stunts in the film. As she told EW, “The way John Woo likes to shoot allows us to do as much of it ourselves as possible because of the way he moves his camera. Often times he’s shooting a lot of things and switching between a lot of things, so it has to be pretty hands-on. […] I love using my body in this way in storytelling.” Seeing Emmanuel do violent jumps and flips in the middle of a fight, only to have the camera focus on her face so you know she actually did that is the exciting stuff that great action movies are made of.

The film’s first extended action sequence involves both gunplay and hand-to-hand combat, as Zee uses swords and pistols to take out a group of thugs in a nightclub. She arrives at the club in a chic black outfit – scarf, fedora and long black coat – and feels more than a little like a modern version of the original. The Killer Influence of Alain Delon in Jean-Pierre Melville’s classic The samurai. Zee is immediately captivated by Jenn’s sad ballad about “living in the here and now,” which Emmanuel subtly communicates to her with the slightest movement of her eyes. It’s a brief respite for a character who otherwise constantly scans the rooms, planning intense violence.

In a standout moment in a later sequence, Emmanuel floats gracefully through the air, dispatching enemies with two pistols in a desecrated church while pigeons fly around them. If that isn’t John Woo, I don’t know what is. But Woo isn’t content to just rely on his old classics – The Killer incorporates judo into the gunfights in a way that seems indebted to the John Wick franchise, and the action doesn’t just feel like a rehash of Woo’s greatest hits.

Emmanuel shines as Zee beyond the action. The role calls on her to play many different versions of Zee in her relationships with other characters, and she delivers them with layered expression and emotional subtlety. With her manipulative handler Finn (Sam Worthington), she is completely withdrawn and robotic – a tool that can be used for violence. With singer Jenn, she is tender and protective, like a gentle lover or big sister. With Sy’s charming detective, she is a playful flirt and rival. It’s not an imitation of Chow’s ultra-cool portrayal in the 1989 film, but her own take on the contradictory killer archetype, and the result is a delight. There can never be another Chow Yun-Fat, or any other. The Killer (1989). But The Killer (2024) has made it clear: There will never be a second Nathalie Emmanuel.

Strangely enough The Killer (2024) is now the third year in a row that a film called “The Killer” is one of my favorites of the year, after David Fincher’s unconventional thriller from 2023 and Choi Jae-hoon’s action fun from 2022. Although none of them can keep up with John Woo’s original, The Killerone of the best and coolest movies of all time, they are all still worthy additions to the genre and title.

John Woos 2024 The Killer is now streaming on Peacock.