‘Manhunt’ Trailer: John Woo is Back and Sillier Than Ever

John Woo returns to big, loud action filmmaking with Manhunt, which arrives on Netflix this week. It’s a silly yet entertaining thriller that finds the filmmaker embracing his trademarks and delivering a film overflowing with non-stop action. Watch the Manhunt trailer below.

MANHUNT! It’s a film with a title that practically demands to be typed-out in all-caps with an exclamation point. John Woo’s new action film is over-the-top to the extreme. And while the film can’t even come close to his classic films like Hard Boiled, The Killer, and of course, Face/Off, it’s still a lot of fun, and features some killer action sequences. The film is dropping on Netflix this week, and here’s the trailer to prove it.

Manhunt Trailer

And here’s the official synopsis.

Accused of heinous crimes he didn’t commit, a prosecutor sets out on a mission to clear his name.

Short and simple. That synopsis fails to mention there are motorcycle chases, speedboat chases, endless gun fights, and a dance number during the opening credits.

I saw Manhunt at last year’s Toronto International Film Festival, and I enjoyed it…for the most part. Some of the action makes use of CGI, which is a bit disappointing for a John Woo film. And the film is about a half-hour too long. Ultimately, Manhunt feels, at times, like it’s Woo slipping into self-parody mode. During a car chase, for instance, two cars speed towards some crates filled with doves, as if Woo is winking at the audience. As I said in my review:

Woo’s latest film, the Chinese-Hong Kong production Manhunt, is being heralded (by people who are paid to promote the film) as a return to form, supposedly recalling his classics like A Better Tomorrow and The Killer. Well, don’t believe the hype.

That’s not to say Manhunt is a waste of time. Indeed, the film, which debuted at the Toronto International Film Festival on Thursday night to a packed, charged audience, is often so gloriously silly that you can’t help but fall in love with it.

Sort of.

Woo still manages to stage brilliant, exciting action sequences, but they’re sandwiched in between a plot that grows more and more ludicrous with each passing moment. It’s

Manhunt is the type of film best watched with a loud, energetic crowd who will cheer on the action scenes. Which makes the fact that the film is ending up on Netflix kind of a bummer. Oh well, that’s the world we live in now.

Manhunt hits Netflix on May 4, 2018.

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