Following the brilliantly retarded (yet still awful), “Face/Off,” Hong Kong action maestro John Woo continued to sully his reputation making terrible after terrible Hollywood movies, culminating in the atrocious (and ironically accurately titled) “Paycheck,” in 2003. Now the once respected action auteur is looking to make his return to the States, following a return (retreat?) home to make the imminent “Red Cliff,” and the forthcoming “Jianyu Jianghu” with Michelle Yeoh (perhaps he just needed to take a bath to get all the Tinstletown sell-out grime out of his hair).
Movieline talked to the dove-loving director, who revealed that he still wants to remake Jean-Pierre Melville’s “Le Samourai” — though he did say the project was on hold a few weeks ago — which Woo paid heavy tribute to with his classic “The Killer.” Melville seems to be back in vogue at the moment — we reported a few days back about a possible Johnnie To remake of “Le Cercle Rouge,” and it makes sense for Woo to get on board, even if it does seem like familiar territory.
The more intriguing prospect is the other film he’s set to do — a period drama focusing on the relationship between Marco Polo and Kublai Khan. Woo told Movieline that, “It’s one of my favorite stories.” The 13th century adventurer was a Venetian who was one of the first people to write extensively about his travels through Asia, writings that were commissioned by Kublai Khan, the leader of the Mongol Empire. We’d like nothing more than for Woo to return to form — “Red Cliff,” by all accounts, is his best film in over a decade, so we may see a reemergence from the action master.
Fingers crossed.
What is this about "Face/Off" being awful?