Story of movie The Replacement Killers :
The Replacement Killers is a 1998 American action film directed by Antoine Fuqua in his feature film directorial debut, and starring Chow Yun-fat, Mira Sorvino, Michael Rooker and Kenneth Tsang. The film was released in the United States on February 6, 1998. The storyline was conceived from a screenplay written by Ken Sanzel. Veteran action director John Woo co-produced and choreographed the action sequences. The film is set in modern-day Los Angeles and follows an emotionally disillusioned assassin who is forced to settle a violent vendetta for a ruthless crime boss. The film marks the American acting debut for Chow, as his previous film credits included Hong Kong action cinema only.
| The Replacement Killers | |
|---|---|
Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Antoine Fuqua |
| Produced by | Bernie Brillstein Brad Grey |
| Written by | Ken Sanzel |
| Starring |
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| Music by | Harry Gregson-Williams |
| Cinematography | Peter Lyons Collister |
| Edited by | Jay Cassidy |
Production company | Brillstein-Grey Entertainment WCG Entertainment Productions |
| Distributed by | Columbia Pictures |
Release date |
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Running time | 87 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English Cantonese |
| Budget | $30 million |
| Box office | $19.2 million |
The film was a co-production between the motion picture studios of Columbia Pictures, Brillstein-Grey Entertainment, and WCG Entertainment Productions. Theatrically, it was commercially distributed by Columbia Pictures, while the Sony Pictures Entertainment division released the film in the video rental market. The Replacement Killers explores assassination, violence and the influence of triads in modern society. The film score was orchestrated by Harry Gregson-Williams; the soundtrack was released by the Varèse Sarabande music label on March 10, 1998.
The Replacement Killers premiered in theaters nationwide in the United States on February 6, 1998 grossing $19,204,929 in domestic ticket receipts. The film was screened at 1,936 theaters during its widest release in cinemas. Taking into account its $30 million budget costs, the film was considered a disappointing box office flop. The film's critical response did not fare better either. Preceding its initial screening to the public, it was generally met with mixed to negative reviews. The widescreen DVD edition of the film featured scene selections, a featurette, and interviews among other highlights, and was released in the United States on July 1, 1998.
Screenplay
During an orchestrated drug bust at a marine loading dock, Detective Stan Zedkov (Michael Rooker) kills Triad lieutenant Peter Wei (Yau-Gene Chan). Looking to exact revenge for his son's death, crime boss Terence Wei (Kenneth Tsang) sends for professional assassin John Lee (Chow Yun-fat). Paying off an old debt, Lee has already killed two targets for Wei, and the crime boss tells him that this third and final job will settle the obligation. However, Lee's conscience prevents him from completing his final assignment: to murder Zedkov's seven-year-old son Stevie (Andrew J. Marton) before the detective's eyes. Realizing that his actions will result in retaliation against his mother and sister, Lee prepares to return to China, enlisting the help of old friend Alan Chan, a monk in a local Buddhist temple, to make arrangements to have his family moved to a secure location. Infuriated by Lee's disobedience, Wei orders his head lieutenant, Michael Kogan (Jürgen Prochnow), to lead the hunt for Lee, and has his people in China begin the search for Lee's family.
No longer able to use the Triad network to get out of the country, Lee searches for alternative means outside Wei's sphere of influence, and looks to skilled forger Meg Coburn (Mira Sorvino) for a new passport. Before she can finish the job, Wei's men storm her office, destroying the computerized tools of her trade in the ensuing shootout. Lee escapes; Coburn is picked up by the police, unsuccessfully interrogated by Zedkov, and released as bait so the detective can see who comes after her. Meanwhile, Wei hires skilled out-of-town replacement killers to take over the hunt for Lee and the Zedkov contract.
Lee finds Coburn when she returns to her destroyed office. Having been made aware that the Triads are involved, Coburn wants out, but Lee forces her to finish her original task of creating a forged passport. Traveling with Coburn, with the two replacement killers, Ryker (Til Schweiger) and Collins (Danny Trejo), in pursuit, Lee gets pictures from a photo booth and phones Alan, who offers the use of his passport. When Lee arrives at the temple, he discovers that Alan has been tortured to the point of death. Alan tells Lee that his family was moved to Canton—but he told his torturers they were in Shanghai. Lee has little more than 24 hours before his family is found. The monk gives Lee his passport before dying in his arms.
Holed up in a hotel, Coburn finishes altering Allan's passport for Lee. The two exchange stories, and Coburn becomes sympathetic to Lee. Feeling compelled to stop the killing of Zedkov's son before leaving the country, Lee forces one of Wei's men to reveal the plan, which is to kill Stevie while he and his father are at a cartoon festival in a movie theater. Lee and Coburn, who insists on helping, arrive barely in time to prevent Ryker and Collins from killing the boy, and Ryker is killed in the subsequent gunfight. Concerned that Lee and Coburn will make their way back to Wei's base of operations, the crime boss makes plans to flee the country and hunt down Lee's mother and sister himself. However, when two guards open the main gate for Wei and his entourage to leave in a limo, Lee is just outside and launches a two-handed handgun assault. Coburn surfaces moments later, driving a truck through the melee, incapacitating Wei's Kogan, and later killing him. When Collins fires from a high perch on Lee and Coburn, Lee soon outflanks him, killing him from behind. Finally, Lee corners Wei on a fire escape platform. Though both men have emptied their guns, Lee is first to reload. Wei promises Lee that the boy and Lee's family will still die, but Lee replies, "Not in your lifetime," and kills him. Though Zedkov arrives before Lee and Coburn can get away, he lets them go, taking only their guns. Coburn reluctantly bids goodbye to Lee at the airport, presenting him with one last gift, passports for his mother and sister.
- Chow Yun-fat as John Lee
- Mira Sorvino as Meg Coburn
- Michael Rooker as Stan 'Zeedo' Zedkov
- Kenneth Tsang as Terence Wei
- Jürgen Prochnow as Michael Kogan
- Til Schweiger as Ryker
- Danny Trejo as Collins
- Clifton Collins, Jr. as Loco
- Carlos Gomez as Hunt
- Frank Medrano as Rawlins
- Carlos Leon as Romero
- Leo Lee as Lam
- Patrick Kilpatrick as Pryce
- Randall Duk Kim as Alan Chan
- Andrew J. Marton as Stevie
- Sydney Coberly as Sara
Filming
Production for the film began on February 10, 1997 in downtown Los Angeles. The first shoot was set in the historic Mayan Theater, refurbished as a trendy nightclub and cast with hundreds of extras for the film's opening scene. The eight-story, nearly condemned Giant Penny building in the middle of LA served as the location for a police station interior, a hotel room, and Meg Coburn's office. A chaotic gunfight was filmed amid the spray, brushes, and hoses of Joe's Car Wash, also in LA. A Chinatown-like streetscape of damp, narrow alleys and blinking red neon lights was created for the night-time finale, where Yun-Fat shot off 546 rounds of two-fisted shooting; the repetitive action left his hands blistered and shaking. More gunplay took place in a video arcade replicated at the original Lawry's California Center (now the Los Angeles River Center and Gardens), just north of downtown LA. Lee's tranquil Buddhist temple was fashioned under this same roof.
Director Fuqua stressed to his team that the aim was to design a "Taxi Driver for the 1990s". In addition to physical training, Mira Sorvino, who had never handled a gun prior to this film, took weapons training to prepare for her role. Sorvino, who majored in Asian studies at Harvard, speaks Mandarin, and lived for eight months (1988–89) in Beijing, where she studied Chinese, taught English, and saw Chinese films, including Hong Kong action films, felt The Replacement Killers brought her a step closer to her goal of making a film in Mandarin and working with a Chinese director. Prior to the start of filming, Sorvino had blown out her voice from screaming in reshoots of Mimic; Fuqua liked the effect and asked her to keep it, which required Sorvino to yell prior to each day's shoots to burn out her voice.
Soundtrack
The original motion picture score was composed by Harry Gregson-Williams. Alan Meyerson mixed the sound elements for the chorus, while Richard Whitfield edited the film's music. The soundtrack for the film was released on March 10, 1998 by the Varèse Sarabande music label. In an interview with Hideo Kojima, he stated it was the film's soundtrack that lead him to hire Harry to work on the soundtrack of Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty.
| The Replacement Killers: Original Motion Picture Score | |
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| Film score by Harry Gregson-Williams | |
| Released | 3/10/1998 |
| Length | 36:17 |
| Label | Varèse Sarabande |
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