For all its wordiness, it does all seem worth it when Woo unleashes one of his classic, super-stylish action set pieces - mists roll, doves fly and operatic music swells on the soundtrack as characters go mano a mano in slo-mo, two-handed gun fu.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Feb 13, 2025

Much like a schlock villain’s final stand, Woo’s loose remake of The Killer puts up more of a fight than you’d expect before inevitably falling to truisms. Just as crime doesn’t pay, you can’t shoot the same bullet twice.

| Original Score: C- | Oct 25, 2024

[Nathalie Emmanuel] has some chops. She has some chops and handles the weapons well.

| Sep 16, 2024

It's good that it's not just a remake, but it loses a lot of the emotional weight of the original.

| Sep 16, 2024

John Woo’s “The Killer” feels uncomfortably like a parody of a John Woo movie. All the trademarks of the Woo style are there, but they feel forced and phony. Even kinda silly.

| Original Score: C | Sep 14, 2024

Whether or not it’s as good as the original is beside the point; it’s worth the price of admission alone to watch one of global cinema’s most significant living masters work within the strange new streaming normal and still pull out something of value.

| Sep 11, 2024

This slick and stylish remake comes off as a somewhat misguided experiment that offers an unintentional reminder of the enduring influence of the original.

| Sep 6, 2024

Although it faces challenges in adapting to contemporary times, the film captures the audience's attention with an agile pace and meticulously choreographed action sequences. [Full review in Spanish]

| Original Score: 7/10 | Sep 4, 2024

The Killer implements judo into the gunplay in a way that feels indebted to the John Wick franchise, and the action doesn’t just feel like a rehash of Woo’s greatest hits.

| Sep 3, 2024

It adds enough freshness to keep this from being a retread. And it provides Woo with new inspiration to do what he does best – create proudly violent and stylishly over-the-top action that leaves fans like me giddy.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Sep 3, 2024

Among the most crucial new changes that Woo has introduced to the movie is to essentially transform it from a story of redemption into a story of rebirth.

| Aug 31, 2024

It’s a pity he isn’t the filmmaker he once was and that he doesn’t take the chances he used to.

| Original Score: C | Aug 30, 2024

When it's cool, play it hot:: John Woo turns seventy-eight in September, and "[the] highly entertaining remake of his violent, lyrical 1989 masterpiece, shows that the Hong Kong-born writer-director is still a vital filmmaker.

| Original Score: 7/10 | Aug 29, 2024

But taken on its own, this is a great watch.

| Aug 28, 2024

For a straight-to-streaming title, this movie still looks better and has cooler action than more expensive blockbusters that have arrived recently. It’s also much more fun to watch than Woo’s return to American films with Silent Night this past winter.

| Original Score: 7/10 | Aug 28, 2024

It has no soul or style, and creates no sense of chemistry between lead actors Omar Sy and Nathalie Emmanuel. They try their best to fill the movie's dead air with charm and anguish. Unfortunately, their best isn't enough.

| Original Score: 5/10 | Aug 27, 2024

It’s the palpable, playful chemistry between Emmanuel and Sy that finally gives this version of The Killer a reason to exist. Their rapport is a little bit sexy, witty and plenty world-weary. Every time they reunite, the film crackles back to life.

| Original Score: 6/10 | Aug 27, 2024

Part of the problem here is that Emmanuel just isn’t an interesting enough performer to sell the strong, silent cipher that Zee needs to be.

| Original Score: 2/4 | Aug 27, 2024

The style and action of this seems a bit outdated, but kudos for placing Nathalie Emmanuel front and center.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Aug 27, 2024

Woo doesn’t disappoint.

| Aug 26, 2024