John Woo may not be nearly so prolific as in his heyday, making two films in less than one year notable. “Notable” if, like me, you thought Silent Night was an absolute blast, even something of a reinvention for the man who’s done more than anybody to invent contemporary action cinema. That I am somewhat lonely in this stance does little favor for The Killer, a title that suggests one needs to adjust their computer screen if not for the fact that Woo has indeed remade one of his most essential films. Nor is its relegation to straight-to-Peacock streaming doing much confidence, but a first trailer ahead of its August 23 debut highlights certain action beats a cut above its current brethren.
In what seems (more than its gender-swapping) a slight rejigging of the 1989 feature’s plot, here’s an official synopsis for the script by Brian Helgeland, Josh Campbell, and Matt Stuecken: “Nathalie Emmanuel (The Fast Saga, Game of Thrones) as Zee, a mysterious and infamous assassin known, and feared, in the Parisian underworld as the Queen of the Dead. Zee, a mysterious and infamous assassin known, and feared, in the Parisian underworld as the Queen of the Dead. But when, during an assignment from her shadowy mentor and handler (Avatar’s Sam Worthington), Zee refuses to kill a blinded young woman (Diana Silvers; Ma, Booksmart) in a Paris nightclub, the decision will disintegrate Zee’s alliances, attract the attention of a savvy police investigator (Golden Globe nominee Omar Sy; Jurassic World franchise, Lupin), and plunge her into a sinister criminal conspiracy that will set her on a collision course with her own past.”
Find preview below: