Manhunt

Considering John Woo's output over the last 20 years, this is not a bad action film for his return. But I do not think this is an invitation for him to have a late career resurgence in the action genre. It has all of the Woo action elements; shootouts, doves, dual-handed Beretta 92Fs, flying sparks, suited heroes, and lots of blood, which is cool, and it is a good homage to a better time when films like this were accepted into action movie folklore (they even say "for a better tomorrow" in the closing scene). But Manhunt feels off as a John Woo film. I'd rather just put on The Killer if I want to see all the attributes of an 80s Hong Kong actioner. Nothing has evolved with Woo. Maybe his brand of action had a best-before date. The acting is also pretty terrible from all involved, especially Masaharu Fukuyama as he stumbles along speaking English. It is not just the acting that is terrible. Woo also has an obsession with camera techniques and cross-fades and flashbacks, all (at least the way he uses them) making the finished product come across as a 90s DTV flick. The stinky acting is kind of expected when you have average actors even in their native tongue switching between Japanese, Mandarin, and English, which is why I wish Woo's return to action was anchored by a proper star. Zhang Hanyu is no Tony Leung, and Fukuyama is no Chow Yun-Fat.

C