The Replacement Killers (1998)

User Rating:

5.8/10   

Director:

Antoine Fuqua

Writer (WGA):

Ken Sanzel (written by)

Release Date:

6 February 1998 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Crime | Drama | Thriller

Tagline:

Kill or be replaced.

Plot:

Failing to kill anymore because of his conscience, a troubled hit-man seeks aid from a forger to help him get papers to China. However, the drug-lord has hired replacements to finish the job and kill the hit-man.

Plot Keywords:

Passport | Replacement | Hitman | Police | Drug Lord

Cast

Yun-Fat Chow	...	John Lee (as Chow Yun-Fat)
Mira Sorvino	...	Meg Coburn
Michael Rooker	...	Stan 'Zeedo' Zedkov
Kenneth Tsang	...	Terence Wei
Jürgen Prochnow	...	Michael Kogan (as Jurgen Prochnow)
Til Schweiger	...	Ryker
Danny Trejo	...	Collins
Clifton Collins Jr.	...	Loco (as Clifton Gonzalez Gonzalez)
Carlos Gómez	...	Hunt (as Carlos Gomez)
Frank Medrano	...	Rawlins
Leo Lee	...	Lam
Patrick Kilpatrick	...	Pryce
Randall Duk Kim	...	Alan Chan
Andrew J. Marton	...	Stevie
Sydney Coberly	...	Sara
Yau-Gene Chan	...	Peter Wei
Carlos Leon	...	Romero
Nicki Micheaux	...	Technician
Max Daniels	...	Smuggler
James Wing Woo	...	Priest
Albert Wong	...	Old Man
Christopher Doyle	...	Thug (as Chris Doyle)
Joe Bucaro III	...	Thug (as Joey Bucaro III)
Robert Apisa	...	Thug (as Bob Apisa)
Norm Compton	...	Thug (as Norm F. Compton)
Cle Shaheed Sloan	...	Banger
Paul Higgins	...	Banger
James Lew	...	Bodyguard
Thomas Rosales Jr.	...	Gangster
Eddie Perez	...	Gangster
Mario Roberts	...	Gangster
Jimmy Ortega	...	Gangster
Richard L. Duran	...	Gangster (as Richard Duran)
David Gene Gibbs	...	Helicopter Pilot
Rodger LaRue	...	Helicopter Pilot
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Steven Garcia	...	Young John (uncredited)
Matthew Hurley	...	Arcade goon (uncredited)
Al Leong	...	Gunman (uncredited)
Rocco Salata	...	Swat Team Member (uncredited)

Directed by
Antoine Fuqua

Writing credits (WGA)
Ken Sanzel		(written by)

Produced by
Matthew Baer	....	executive producer
Bernie Brillstein	....	producer
Terence Chang	....	executive producer
Christopher Godsick	....	executive producer
Brad Grey	....	producer
Michael McDonnell	....	co-producer
John Woo	....	executive producer

Original Music by
Harry Gregson-Williams

Cinematography by
Peter Lyons Collister		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Jay Cassidy

Casting by
Wendy Kurtzman

Production Design by
Naomi Shohan

Art Direction by
David Lazan

Set Decoration by
Evette Knight

Costume Design by
Arianne Phillips

Makeup Department
Katalin Elek	....	makeup artist
Zoltan Elek	....	makeup artist
Ermahn Ospina	....	key hair stylist
Collier Strong	....	makeup artist: Ms. Sorvino & Mr. Chow

Production Management
Jim Dyer	....	unit production manager (as James R. Dyer)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Les Banda	....	second assistant director: second unit
Maria K. Battle	....	second second assistant director
Christopher T. Gerrity	....	first assistant director: second unit
Allan Graf	....	second unit director
Jeff Okabayashi	....	second assistant director
Daniel Orozco	....	dga trainee
Jeffrey Wetzel	....	first assistant director

Art Department
Maike Both	....	buyer
Audrey A. Johnson	....	assistant property master
Kent H. Johnson	....	property master
Kim Larsen-Santini	....	on-set dresser: second unit (as Kim Larsen)
Jefferson Murff	....	lead man
Jim Ondrejko	....	construction coordinator (as Jimmy Ondrejko)
Grant Sawyer	....	on-set dresser
Clare Scarpulla	....	set designer
Jason Bartolone	....	propmaker (uncredited)
Susan A. Burig	....	graphic designer (uncredited)
Daragh Byrne	....	carpenter (uncredited)
James Carson	....	illustrator (uncredited)
Scott Edward Collins	....	set dresser (uncredited)
Serge Genitempo	....	stand-by painter (uncredited)
Thierry Labbe	....	set dresser (uncredited)
Natalie Richards	....	illustrator (uncredited)
Jim Wallis	....	set designer (uncredited)
Ron Yates	....	set designer (uncredited)

Sound Department
Douglas B. Arnold	....	production sound mixer
Christopher Assells	....	sound editor
Karen M. Baker	....	supervising sound editor
Bob Beher	....	foley editor
Steve Birkett	....	boom operator
Todd Egan	....	sound assistant
Nerses Gezalyan	....	foley mixer
Mark Gordon	....	foley editor
Per Hallberg	....	supervising sound editor
Gary A. Hecker	....	foley artist (as Gary Hecker)
Dan Hegeman	....	sound editor
Doug Hemphill	....	sound re-recording mixer
Steve Jablonsky	....	sound recordist
Craig S. Jaeger	....	foley supervisor
Drake Jenevein	....	sound assistant (as Drake Jonovin)
Dennis Johnson	....	sound recordist
Constance A. Kazmer	....	dialogue editor
Mark R. La Pointe	....	dialogue editor (as Mark La Pointe)
Dean G. Manly	....	adr editor (as Dean Manly)
Jennifer L. Mann	....	foley editor
Paul Massey	....	sound re-recording mixer
Joseph A. Mayer	....	adr supervisor (as Joe Mayer)
Philip D. Morrill	....	sound assistant (as Phillip Morrill)
Matt Patterson	....	sound recordist
Gregg Silk	....	sound recordist
Lauren Stephens	....	dialogue editor
Peter Michael Sullivan	....	sound editor
Jeffrey Wilhoit	....	foley artist
Scott Wolf	....	sound editor
Jessy Bender	....	sound utility (uncredited)

Special Effects by
Steven D. Jensen	....	special effects technician
Joe D. Ramsey	....	special effects (as Joe Ramsey)

Visual Effects by
Ivy Agregan	....	digital effects coordinator
Clint Colver	....	compositor: SPI
Carole Cowley	....	digital effects producer
John Decker	....	compositor: SPI
Layne Friedman	....	compositor: SPI
Brian Keeney	....	production manager: SPI
Hal Miles	....	digital artist
Kelley Ray	....	visual effects supervisor
Sam Richards	....	technical designer: SPI
Serge Sretschinsky	....	compositor: SPI
Michelle Steinau	....	high speed compositor: SPI
Anthony Harris	....	visual effects timing coordinator (uncredited)
Vincent Lavares	....	technical assistant supervisor (uncredited)
Paul McGhee	....	film scanning and recording (uncredited)
Michael S. Pryor	....	digital production manager: SPI (uncredited)
Doug Yoshida	....	technical assistant (uncredited)

Stunts
Michael Adams	....	stunts
Sandy Berumen	....	stunts
Jill Brown	....	stunts
Alisa Christensen	....	stunts
Mark De Alessandro	....	stunts
Donna Evans	....	stunts
Mickey Giacomazzi	....	stunts
Tanner Gill	....	stunts
Al Goto	....	stunts
Allan Graf	....	stunt coordinator
Randall Huber	....	stunts
Brian Imada	....	stunts
Jeff Imada	....	stunts
Keii Johnston	....	stunts
Mike Kelly	....	stunts
Henry Kingi	....	stunts (as Henry M. Kingi)
John Koyama	....	stunts
Al Leong	....	stunts
A. Michael Lerner	....	stunts
Clint Lilley	....	stunts
Bob Minor	....	stunts
Tom Morga	....	stunts
Larry Nicholas	....	stunts
Hugh Aodh O'Brien	....	stunts
Carrick O'Quinn	....	stunts
Dennis Scott	....	stunts (as Dennis R. Scott)
Webster Whinery	....	stunts
Tsuyoshi Abe	....	stunts (uncredited)
Jennifer Badger	....	stunt performer (uncredited)
Clay Donahue Fontenot	....	utility stunts (uncredited)
Marian Green	....	stunts (uncredited)
Gary Guercio	....	stunts (uncredited)
Toby Holguin	....	stunts (uncredited)
Sidney S. Liufau	....	stunts (uncredited)
Kent W. Luttrell	....	stunts (uncredited)
Michael Owen	....	stunts (uncredited)
Carl Paoli	....	stunt performer (uncredited)
Pee Wee Piemonte	....	stunts (uncredited)
Shelby Swatek	....	substitute stunt double: Mira Sorvino (uncredited)
Mitch Toles	....	precision driver (uncredited)
Eddie L. Watkins	....	stunts (uncredited)
Lee Whittaker	....	stunts (uncredited)
Scott Workman	....	stunts (uncredited)
Harry Wowchuk	....	stunts (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Stuart Abramson	....	key grip (as Stuart M. Abramson)
Lloyd Ahern II	....	director of photography: second unit
Guy Norman Bee	....	camera operator
Carl Boles	....	chief lighting technician: second unit
Mark Broneau	....	best boy grip: second unit
Ron Cardarelli	....	second grip (as Ronald Cardarelli)
Michael Cassidy	....	second assistant camera: second unit
Don Davidson	....	assistant chief lighting technician (as Donald K. Davidson)
Darrin DeLoach	....	assistant camera
Mark W. Elias	....	key grip: second unit
Shane D. Kelly	....	gaffer
Mark La Bonge	....	camera operator: second unit
Frank Masi	....	still photographer
Peter Mercurio	....	first assistant camera
Sean J. O'Shea	....	second assistant camera: second unit
Thomas J. Ruffner	....	dolly grip
Jorge Sánchez	....	first assistant camera: second unit
Adam Sklena	....	first assistant camera
Todd Slyapich	....	first assistant camera: second unit
John Trapman	....	aerial director of photography
Poly Veitzer	....	second assistant camera
Marc Abramson	....	grip (uncredited)
Mike Bonnaud	....	rigging gaffer (uncredited)
Michael B. Corbett	....	best boy: second unit (uncredited)
Scott Crabbe	....	video operator (uncredited)
Donald D. Davidson	....	electrician (uncredited)
Valeska Difrieri	....	grip (uncredited)
David G. George	....	video assist operator: second unit (uncredited)
Jay M. Huntoon	....	video assist operator: second unit (uncredited)
Luis Moreno	....	electrician (uncredited)
Juan Morse	....	electrician (uncredited)
Michael J. Schwartz	....	electrician (uncredited)

Casting Department
Mindy Johnson	....	casting assistant
Lee A. Miles	....	extras casting (uncredited)
Vanessa Portillo	....	extras casting (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Wendy M. Craig	....	set costumer
Joe McCloskey	....	key costumer
Larry Velasco	....	costume supervisor (as Lawrence Velasco)
Roberta Bilé	....	costumer (uncredited)

Editorial Department
Terry Claborn	....	color timer
Richard Conkling	....	assistant film editor
Peggy Davis	....	first assistant film editor
Mo Henry	....	negative cutter
Andrew Loschin	....	assistant film editor
Edgar Pablos	....	post-production assistant (as Edgar B. Pablos)
Dale Jones	....	avid technician (uncredited)
Eric Rigney	....	avid technician (uncredited)

Music Department
Alan Meyerson	....	score mixer
Ralph Sall	....	music supervisor
Richard Whitfield	....	music editor
Martin Tillman	....	musician: cello (uncredited)

Transportation Department
Rich Bennetti	....	transportation co-captain
Jon Carpenter	....	transportation captain
Shane Greedy	....	transportation co-captain
J. Armin Garza II	....	driver: camera car (uncredited)
Brita McCollough	....	driver (uncredited)
Brenda Ryan	....	driver (uncredited)

Other crew
Suzo Barzman	....	assistant: Ms. Sorvino
Alexandra Close	....	assistant: Mr. McDonnell
Emily Cummins	....	assistant: Mr. Baer
Carline Davis-Dyer	....	script supervisor (as Cariline Davis-Dyer)
Patricia L. DeShields	....	production accountant
Judy Dickerson	....	dialect coach: Mr. Chow Yun-Fat (as Judi Dickerson)
Richard Di Sabatino	....	technical advisor
Susan Ehrhart	....	production assistant
Sherry Gallarneau	....	script supervisor: second unit
Ramiro Adan Gomez	....	production assistant
Jennifer S. Gottlieb	....	production assistant
Mick Gould	....	technical advisor
Paul Guyot	....	assistant: Mr. Chow
Justine Hebron	....	assistant production coordinator
Justine Hebron	....	production secretary
Stephanie Higgins Frey	....	production assistant (as Stephanie Higgins)
Kent H. Johnson	....	armorer
Kristen Kurczak	....	production assistant
Dawn Lambertsen-Kelly	....	assistant: Mr. Fuqua (as Dawn A. Lambertsen)
Kris Fullan Martinez	....	production coordinator
Jim Morris	....	location manager
Hoppy Munz Jr.	....	craft service (as Hoppy Munz)
Claire Raskind	....	unit publicist (as Claire S. Raskind)
Louis Farah	....	set medic (uncredited)
Peter Hansen	....	caterer: pastry chef (uncredited)
Dominique Jaramillo	....	set medic (uncredited)
Robert Lamkin	....	caterer (uncredited)
Michelene Mundo	....	production assistant (uncredited)
Billy Smith	....	key assistant location manager (uncredited)
Jeffrey D. Stevens	....	key medic (uncredited)
Lori Tilkin	....	assistant: Terence Chang (uncredited)
James P. Warren	....	animal trainer (uncredited)
Debi West	....	payroll accountant (uncredited)
John Woo	....	advisor (uncredited)
John Woo	....	technical consultant (uncredited)

Thanks
Richard Francis-Bruce	....	special thanks
Debra Hill	....	special thanks

Production Companies

• Brillstein-Grey Entertainment
• Columbia Pictures Corporation
• WCG Entertainment Productions

Distributors

• Columbia TriStar Film Distributors International (1998) (Argentina) (theatrical)
• Columbia TriStar Films AB (1998) (Sweden) (theatrical)
• Columbia TriStar Films (1998) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• Columbia Pictures
• Columbia TriStar Film (Germany)
• Columbia TriStar Films (France)
• Columbia TriStar (Brazil) (DVD)
• Columbia TriStar (Brazil) (VHS)
• Columbia TriStar (video)
• Egmont Entertainment (1999) (Finland) (VHS)
• Egmont Entertainment (2002) (Finland) (DVD)
• Egmont Film (1998) (Sweden) (VHS)
• LK-TEL (1998) (Argentina) (VHS)
• LK-TEL (2000) (Argentina) (DVD)
• Nelonen (2003) (Finland) (TV)
• Nordisk Film (2002) (Sweden) (DVD)
• Nu Image Films
• Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE)
• Universal Pictures Nordic (2007) (Sweden) (DVD) (Blu-Ray Disc)
• V8 (2001) (Netherlands) (TV)

Special Effects

• Sony Pictures Imageworks (SPI) (visual effects)

Other Companies

• Cinema Research  titles and opticals
• Columbia Records  soundtrack
• In Motion Catering  catering
• Sony Pictures Studios  sound services
• Varèse Sarabande  score album released by

MPAA:

Rated R for strong violence and for language.

Runtime:

87 min | USA:96 min (extended cut)

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Cantonese

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital | SDDS (8 channels)

Certification:

New Zealand:R18 | Argentina:13 | Peru:14 | France:-12 | USA:Unrated (extended version) | Finland:K-16 (VHS) (1998) | Finland:K-18 (35 mm) (1998) | Iceland:16 | Malaysia:18SG | Philippines:R-18 | Australia:MA | Belgium:KNT | Canada:18A | Germany:18 | Netherlands:16 | Norway:18 | Portugal:M/16 | Singapore:PG | South Korea:18 | Sweden:15 | Switzerland:16 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:16 (canton of Vaud) | UK:18 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Ennis-Brown House - 2655 Glendower Avenue, Los Feliz, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Brillstein-Grey Entertainment

Trivia:

The Chinese character engraved on Lee's bullets means "death".

Goofs:

Audio/visual unsynchronized: In the alleyway, when John pulls out a pistol for the third time, he shoots a man on a fire escape, but no report from the gun is heard, nor is a flash seen.

Quotes:

Wei: Do not confuse luck with skill.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in All the Rage (1999)

Soundtrack:

Boom Boom Caw

Hits the center of the bulls-eye with hair-raising accuracy.

Wild and absolutely menacing thriller involving Chow Yun-Fat (in his American film debut) as John Lee, a quiet yet resourceful hit-man who along with a sarcastic forger, Meg Coburn (Mira Sorvino), become involved when Lee refuses to take out someone close to a cop (Michael Rooker), who shot and killed his mobster boss' drug-dealing son during a drug bust and in the process, Coburn and Lee are also targeted by his superiors.

It's a brilliant debut for Yun-Fat and director Antoine Fuqua ("Bait", "Training Day"), both of whom show their skills with such respect. Some of the shoot-outs that take place in some areas that you wouldn't even think of (car wash, alley, movie theater, etc.). Plus, the cinematographer Peter Lyons Collister and composer Harry Gregson-Williams excell in making the movie even more entertaining. The scenery has a very colorful and artistic look to it and the music doesn't get too loud. I think of the movie as "Lethal Weapon" made like in the style of John Woo, who is one of the film's producers.

"The Replacement Killers" certainly hits the center of the bulls-eye with hair-raising accuracy.