John Woo Changed Hollywood Action Movies (And We're Never Going Back)

He's back.

John Woo, one of the true maestros of action cinema, has returned to U.S. shores after 20 years to make another Hollywood movie. He left to make movies in Asia after the 2003 dud "Paycheck," but two decades later, he's at the helm of the Christmas-set thriller "Silent Night," starring "For All Mankind" actor Joel Kinnaman. "Those who have been missing Woo's masterful touch on action will likely find plenty to embrace here," /Film's review states, and even if the film never reaches the highs of his previous work, it's exciting to have him back in this mode again at 77 years old.

After all, we're talking about one of the most influential directors of the 20th century, here.

Starting with 1986's "A Better Tomorrow," which catapulted Chow Yun-fat to international superstardom, Woo established himself as one of the most exciting voices in action cinema by blending his unique style of high-octane action with high stakes melodrama: His characters are often concerned with ideas of brotherhood, honor, and moral codes. And his action scenes are truly the stuff of legend. The hospital climax in "Hard Boiled," the church shootout in "The Killer," Chow's character lighting a hundred dollar bill on fire to light his cigarette in "A Better Tomorrow" — these moments are practically holy among action nerds, passed on to younger viewers as a gateway to a world of action filmmaking in which Woo's fingerprints can be clearly seen and felt.

Hollywood took notice, too. Films like "Equilibrium," "The Matrix," "El Mariachi," and of course "John Wick" — all influential in their own ways — wouldn't exist without John Woo. The chain reaction of Chow Yun-fat sliding down a bannister firing two pistols in a tea shop has exploded outward in all directions. It's fair to say that most modern action movies owe him some kind of debt (or at least a strong tip of the cap), and even the video game world took the baton from him and ran with it, with games like Max Payne and Stranglehold cribbing liberally from his cinematic aesthetics.

When Woo is allowed to do his thing, his way, there's nobody better. But when he made the jump over to Hollywood for the first time in the early 1990s, he ran into studio interference and movie stars like Jean-Claude Van Damme who wielded an inordinate amount of power. While some of his Hollywood output ended up being duds, there are several high points: "Face/Off" may be the most ridiculous action film of the entire decade (it's certainly become one of the most beloved); "Broken Arrow" is a goofy good time; "Mission: Impossible II" has its vocal defenders; and even "Hard Target" has a lot of fun stuff in it.

Listen to me and Chris Evangelista talk about all of Woo's Hollywood movies on today's episode of the /Film Daily podcast below:

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