John Woo's Thriller 'Manhunt' Is Messy, Incoherent And Has Too Many Pigeons

Manhunt (TBA)

Starring Zhang Hanyu, Masaharu Fukuyama, Ha Ji-Won

Directed by John Woo

Hongkong legend John Woo’s first contemporary action flick produced in Asia (since 1992’s Hardboiled) is a colossal facepalm. The Pan-Asian production — a remake of a 1976 Ken Takakura–starring thriller of the same name — sees a corporate lawyer (Zhang Hanyu) and a tough cop (Masaharu Fukuyama) entangled in the shady dealings of a pharmaceutical company.

The enervating story is credited to seven writers, and you can tell: It’s overcooked and messy, packed with cringe-inducing dialogue (a large part of the script is in English, which felt like it was written using Google Translate) and scattershot backstories (there’s a puzzling subplot involving two female assassins, played by Ha Ji-Won and Angeles Woo, John’s daughter, that belongs in another movie).

Even the action sequences are disappointing; more confusing than exciting, they are copies of copies of the director’s best works. Come to think of it, did John Woo really make this? So whoever made this, who are you and what have you done to the real John Woo? By the way, there are too many pigeons in this movie. (**)