Uh. Oh.  The Killer Remake

Reader Comments

1. kenixfan 10/09/2007 @ 1:48pm

   Up to the level of The Departed?

   Hmm, well, speaking as former rabid Scorsese fan, I can say that I thought Departed wildly overrated.  Especially so when compared to the tighter Infernal Affairs.

   Departed to me seemed like DePalma trying to be Scorsese.

   But remakes are never very good anyway are they?

   I can’t think of any that worked very well and this will only fail I’m sure.

2. Kurt Halfyard 10/09/2007 @ 1:52pm

   THE DEPARTED was far from perfect, but as remakes go, it is one of the better films.  Still prefer I.A. but Scorcese gave his particular brand of local colour to his remake which made for some good cinema.

   Actually, may sound like blasphemy, but I think Gore Verbinski’s version of RINGU has many elements that are superior to the original (which I saw first).  The Climactic scene with the TV was not as good, but many others (and some pacing issues) were far superior (particularly the added bit with the horse on the ferry).

3. sonny gaunt 10/09/2007 @ 4:41pm

   I don’t see the characters’ relationships transferring to a US film. It would be great if it works out but I have strong doubts.

4. justinslot 10/09/2007 @ 8:35pm

   Well—at least it’s John H. Lee and not his brother Roy.

5. Bench2020 10/10/2007 @ 1:33am

   About 10 years ago, a remake was in the pipeline with Walter Hill directing and Richard Gere to star. Hill’s script is bouncing around the internet still I think.

6. sarkoffagus 10/10/2007 @ 5:37am

   Some remakes are okay. I liked the DAWN OF THE DEAD and HILLS HAVE EYES remakes. THE KILLER might be okay, but there are some movies that honestly can’t be remade, and I think OLDBOY is a good example.

7. John D. Moore 10/10/2007 @ 10:09am

   Ick.  THE KILLER comes from a very specific time and place.  That time is nearly twenty years ago and that place is pre-handover Hong Kong.  Also, its author is by necessity John Woo.  The story itself isn’t all that special; it’s how Woo handles it, in his gloriously hammy, ham-fisted way.  Any remake could only be attempting to emulate something that was very peculiar and doesn’t fit into the current cultural landscape either in Hong Kong or the US.  John Woo himself couldn’t make this film today.

8. M@rc 10/10/2007 @ 11:01am

   Wan’t this already remade and called The Replacement Killers?

9. sonny gaunt 10/10/2007 @ 6:04pm

   No but Donnie Yen’s Ballestic Kiss was okay. Just added the hand-to-hand combat. Speaking of BK a new restored copy would be sweet. But John D. Moore summed it up excellently.

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