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In Chow You-Fat's American debut, The Replacement Killers, he plays an Chinese assassin named John Lee, who is ordered to kill the son of police detective Stan Zedkov (Michael Rooker) by his Triad boss, Terence Wei (Kenneth Tsang). If Lee completes the mission, he is guaranteed his debt will have been paid to the gangster, and his family will therefore remain safe in the future. However, Lee suddenly develops a conscience when looking down the sight of his gun when stalking his latest victim and ends up failing his assignment.

Mr Wei, understandably, is not happy, and hires two "replacement killers" (one of which is the excellent Danny Trejo) to finish the job and eliminate his new enemy. Fearing for his family's safety, Lee contacts a local passport forger named Meg Coburn (sexy Mira Sorvino) for some Chinese documents so that he will be able to return to China and protect them.

In most places, The Replacement Killers has the look and feel of a John Woo movie with its flashy visuals, thumping soundtrack and bullet-driven storyboard, with director Antoine Fuqua opting mainly for style over suspense. It does have some cool moments, particularly when Yun-Fat gets the opportunity to exercise his itchy trigger finger after a delightful ballet-spin and withdrawal of his weapon from his beneath the tails of his blazer.

What it really lacks, though, is screen chemistry between Yun-Fat and Sorvino. This is particularly evident on the Extended Cut DVD, where the restored footage tries so hard to establish a bond between the two main characters, but instead deteriorates the otherwise kinetic pacing of the film and makes the whole experience seem very boring and frustrating.

The Replacement Killers isn't great, especially when compared to Chow Yun-Fat's previous pairings with legendary director John Woo (Hard Boiled, The Killer), but it does have some decent moments -- most notably when the guns are fully blazing. Luckily, we have these inventions called DVD players now where we can skip through the unimportant dribble and get straight to the action. How convenient.

(Other notable extras on the 2004 DVD release of The Replacement Killers include two featurettes: "Chow Yun-Fat Goes Hollywood" and "Where The Action Is".)

(C) Andy Carrington, 2009.