UPDATE: So I finally watched The Killer (2024) and for the life of me, I still can’t understand why Woo would want to remake his own film. It feels like a very rushed product that has shoddy direction on almost every level. The invigorating cinematography of the original is missing. Instead, it feels like one of those cheaply made, mediocre action movies that Netflix seems to release straight to streaming every few weeks.

BEFORE: A few years ago it was announced that John Woo would remake his best film, the 1989 action classic “The Killer”. That couldn’t be. Why would Woo want to tinker with perfection? The film at the time production began last year in Paris …

The French remake, starring Nathalie Emmanuel and Omar Sy, is now actually available to stream on Peacock. There is no theatrical release. Reviews have been mixed so far; 57% at Rotten Tomatoes And 59 on Metacritic.

It’s not the first time that a filmmaker has decided to remake his own film in another language. The most prominent example that always comes to mind is Michael Haneke’s remake of Funny Games 20 years later with English-speaking actors.

I’m not entirely sure how close Woo’s 2024 “The Killer” will be to the original, I won’t be watching it until tonight, but it seems to have a fairly similar plot to the original; a hitman who takes on another job to pay for the operation of a singer he accidentally blinded. The script for the remake is by Oscar winner Brian Helgeland (“LA Confidential,” “Mystic River”)

Last year, Woo released Silent Night, an action-packed story shot without dialogue and told purely visually, with only music accompanying the drama. It wasn’t necessarily the action comeback that Woo fans were expecting, but some shades of his former self were seen in this film.

One of the best and most successful action directors of the 80s and 90s, Woo made his name with Hong Kong classics such as “The Killer,” “Hard Boiled” and “A Better Tomorrow.” Then Hollywood came along in the early 90s and the results were very mixed; his best film was 1997’s “Face/Off,” but he had huge flops with “Mission: Impossible II,” “Windtalkers” and “Paycheck.”

Woo has spent the last twenty years or so working primarily in Asian cinema, releasing only three films during that time, including 2008’s “Red Cliff.”