The Replacement Killers (1998)

A troubled hitman 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 hitman.

Director:

Antoine Fuqua

Writer:

Ken Sanzel

Stars:

Yun-Fat Chow, Mira Sorvino, Michael Rooker

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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

Storyline

John Lee is the best hitman money can buy. But when John refuses to kill because of the seven year-old son of his target, John's bosses send someone after John to kill him and then take his place in the ring of hitmen. John then teams up with Meg Coburn to help him escape these "Replacement Killers."

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Plot Keywords:

hitman | sniper rifle | passport | forger | police | 

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Taglines:

Kill or be replaced.

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Genres:

Action | Crime | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong violence and for language

Did You Know?

Trivia

During production, Columbia Pictures felt that Antoine Fuqua was struggling to deliver suitable material, and ordered a studio executive to be present during most of the filming to ensure that their money was being well spent. This angered Fuqua, and made things tense between him and Columbia. Debra Hill, a veteran producer, was called in by Columbia to cool things down. Chow Yun-Fat stood by Fuqua the whole time, and told the producers to trust him and his vision. The troubles didn't end after the production wrapped. When Fuqua delivered his initial cut, Columbia began testing the film. Test audiences struggled with the notion of a less-than-pure hero, and the bi-racial relationship between Chow Yun-Fat and Mira Sorvino. They also had issues with most of the other characters' backstories, so Columbia called in action editor Richard Francis Bruce to tighten up the film. All romantic elements between Chow and Sorvino were removed, along with most of the characters' motivations.

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Goofs

In the scene where Meg is holding a gun to John's head you see the position of her thumb changing throughout shots.

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Quotes

Meg Coburn: Hostage etiquette: kidnapper pays the incidentals.

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Alternate Versions

Available in an extended version on DVD and Blu-ray.

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Connections

Featured in Artbound: That Far Corner: Frank Lloyd Wright in Los Angeles (2018)

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Soundtracks

Keep Hope Alive
Written by Ken Jordan and Scott Kirkland
Performed by The Crystal Method
Courtesy of Outpost Recordings
Under license from Universal Music Special Markets

User Reviews

Very good Hong Kong stylised action movie Excellent

Very entertaining movie however too short and lacks just a small bit of background story yet still mind blowing action.

Although its too Americanised and also the influence of a music video director as main director takes away a small bit.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Cantonese

Release Date:

6 February 1998 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Replacement Killers

Filming Locations:

Union Station - 800 N. Alameda Street, Downtown, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$30,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$8,046,553, 8 February 1998

Gross USA:

$19,204,929

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$19,204,929

Company Credits

Production Co:

Columbia Pictures, Brillstein-Grey Entertainment, WCG Entertainment Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

87 min 96 min (extended cut)

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital SDDS (8 channels)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1