As an avid fan of Hong Kong cinema, I'm never been overly happy or excited when one of my heroes makes a move to Hollywood. I've always had this thing were I believe the big fat US execs are drumming their fingers together thinking of ways to knock this foreign film maker down a peg or two, especially if they generally make better pictures than most Hollywood directors!
Which a lot of them do.
When John Woo, who made quite possibly some of the finest films in not just HK cinema history, but overall, got his big break in Hollywood with Hard Target, I knew this would be the beginning of the end for him.
Jumping on to Broken Arrow, and along with Face Off, these seemed to be the final passing moments of a cinematic master...
Long gone were the wow factors such as Hard Boiled, The Killer, and Bullet In The Head, had given us. Now, Hollywood were pounding the crap out of Mr. Woo to spit out what we know as typical Hollywood blockbusters, most of which work on a visual level but are a flop to both their studios and their fans!
The first problem that hit me with Broken Arrow, was the over-rated John Travolta. This odd looking man overacts his way through this flick with pure cheese as his guide dog, that lends itself to a cartoon like bad guy for the duration.
Slater actually comes across quite well, and handles the action scenes enjoyably which shows. The park ranger was okay. She wasn't anything exciting, but got stuck into her role which impressed. I for one, would have put Cynthia Rothrock in her place that would have lent itself for more hard action scenes and some kick ass moments.
Overall, Broken Arrow does pass the time enjoyably enough. I'm used to real John Woo movies, and in this we get a few moments that hark back to that. My husband was yelling and jumping quite a bit with certain close calls of action, scenes of terror and such, but I had yet to get overly excited much like when I watch A Better Tomorrow or any of his other classics.
Its almost like Hollywood refused to let Woo bring what he does best to the table. They say action, yes by all means, but the brotherhood and drama of his own films is what really screams Woo and we don't really see that in his Hollywood junk.
Broken Arrow is fun. Its not perfect fun, but it does have its moments!
Which a lot of them do.
When John Woo, who made quite possibly some of the finest films in not just HK cinema history, but overall, got his big break in Hollywood with Hard Target, I knew this would be the beginning of the end for him.
Jumping on to Broken Arrow, and along with Face Off, these seemed to be the final passing moments of a cinematic master...
Long gone were the wow factors such as Hard Boiled, The Killer, and Bullet In The Head, had given us. Now, Hollywood were pounding the crap out of Mr. Woo to spit out what we know as typical Hollywood blockbusters, most of which work on a visual level but are a flop to both their studios and their fans!
The first problem that hit me with Broken Arrow, was the over-rated John Travolta. This odd looking man overacts his way through this flick with pure cheese as his guide dog, that lends itself to a cartoon like bad guy for the duration.
Slater actually comes across quite well, and handles the action scenes enjoyably which shows. The park ranger was okay. She wasn't anything exciting, but got stuck into her role which impressed. I for one, would have put Cynthia Rothrock in her place that would have lent itself for more hard action scenes and some kick ass moments.
Overall, Broken Arrow does pass the time enjoyably enough. I'm used to real John Woo movies, and in this we get a few moments that hark back to that. My husband was yelling and jumping quite a bit with certain close calls of action, scenes of terror and such, but I had yet to get overly excited much like when I watch A Better Tomorrow or any of his other classics.
Its almost like Hollywood refused to let Woo bring what he does best to the table. They say action, yes by all means, but the brotherhood and drama of his own films is what really screams Woo and we don't really see that in his Hollywood junk.
Broken Arrow is fun. Its not perfect fun, but it does have its moments!