‘Manhunt’ Trailer: John Woo Returns to His Roots With an Action Extravaganza

It has been way too long since John Woo made a John Woo movie. You know what a John Woo movie is; it’s a film featuring cops and criminals who blur the line between good and evil. At some point in the movie, they shoot at each other in slow motion while doves fly all around them. Then they do that again for 140 minutes.

Woo’s time in Hollywood essentially ended with 2003’s Paycheck, and though he returned to China to make films there (including the two-part historical war film Red Cliff) he really hasn’t returned to making John Woo films. Thankfully, at long last, here is Manhunt, which makes its North American premiere next month at the Toronto International Film Festival. And we also have TIFF to thank for uploading the awesome trailer for the movie. Look at it! Doves! People sliding on things in slow motion! Oh my god, it’s so beautiful.

Here’s their plot synopsis:

Action maestro John Woo returns to the mold of his classic The Killer with this remake of a classic 1970s Japanese thriller, about an innocent man who sets out to clear his name after his is framed for robbery and rape.

TIFF’s website gives more details; a Chinese lawyer wakes up one morning in bed next to a dead co-worker with a knife in his hands. He goes on the run to clear his name, leading to a chase that involves “corruption, cruelty, and a pair of seemingly invincible female assassins.” (!!!)

So it’s John Woo’s The Fugitive? I will take all the tickets, please. It doesn’t look like the film has a U.S. distributor yet, but I am going to try to see this one at TIFF and bring back a full report.