John Woo

[Excalibur]

Who's a fan of Woo?

Classsic films of gun fu action, watermelons, birds, and berettas.

Recently watching a doc about the man, he tells about his favorite Beretta pistol and he holds it like any typical movie guy. His finger is not quite on the trigger, but not off it.

[Gunmaster45]

Some people were taught to keep their finger off the trigger by putting their finger up against the inside front of the trigger guard, so maybe that's the safety tecnique he was taught.

I like John Woo films, the gunfights are very cool and artistic, and at least when I see people launched through the air and guns never running out of bullets, I can go, "Well, it's a John Woo film."

As obvious by the new page, I just saw Face/Off and liked it a lot, despite the very bizzare story idea. I also liked Hard Boiled, although both subtitles and dubbing (mind you with Australian accents for people in Hong Kong!) the story was harder to focus on.

One I didn't like was Windtalkers. I don't think a war movie is a place to mess around with artistic action. War movies are Drama films, not action films. But it was okay with gunplay, so I still capped it for the site.

I love John Woo's trademarks, such as Berettas, akimbo firing, diving through the air, diving on banisters, flying doves, reflections, slo-mo, the list goes on.

One thing that does bug me though is that the main protaganist is apparantly the only one who can shoot people in a gunfight effectively, while everyone who allies him is either hopelessly mowed down or the guy has to run around and save everyone. Granted, I think Woo's films are great, that part just tends to bug me.

[Excalibur]

Well Windtalker was more for drama than action. That's what John Woo was trying for, but some John Woo aspect doesnt quite go with ideas like a WWII war movie. I guess it's because I've seen plenty of war movies and another one just doenst raise my eye brow as much. Now when I saw the movie Appleseed Ex Machina produced by John Woo, I was excited for that

[Vangelis]

I might have a go at screencapping the sequel to Hard Boiled sometime, since it's rather unusual for the direct sequel to a movie to be a videogame with the same director.

Woo's visual style is great, but it can get silly at times if it's associated with the wrong actor [cough Tom Cruise cough] and it is pretty obvious that having the main character only reload when it's dramatic and be the only guy who can hit anything is cheating somehow.

[Gunmaster45]

Stranglehold was a good game, although it loses its fun after a couple playthroughs. You'd think in a John Woo game, your guns would holdmore bullets.

[MT2008]

I like John Woo, but the quality of his films does fall off sharply after "Hard Boiled", when he came to the States. "Face/Off" is the only pretty good movie he's made since he went Hollyweird. His original HK films (and, more specifically, the first two "A Better Tomorrow" films, "The Killer", and "Hard Boiled") are really his entire body of classic work, as far as I'm concerned.

BTW, interesting fact: Rock Galotti, the armorer that Woo usually works with in the U.S., has repeatedly offered him the chance to fire a Beretta 92F at the range. And he's turned down the offer repeatedly.

[Vangelis]

Originally Posted by Gunmaster45

Stranglehold was a good game, although it loses its fun after a couple playthroughs. You'd think in a John Woo game, your guns would holdmore bullets.

I think Black is the only game interested in giving the player octuple-stack magazines just because it can.

[k9870]

I like john woo movies, there is definitely style. Some U.S, films do seem recycled though. Some of them i see ive seen in his other films.

[MT2008]

Originally Posted by k9870

I like john woo movies, there is definitely style. Some U.S, films do seem recycled though. Some of them i see ive seen in his other films.

That's the main thing that makes it harder to watch John Woo's HK movies nowadays and appreciate them...a zillion American directors have copied his style and watered it down.

Like in "Desperado" when Antonio Banderas slides backwards across the floor firing his two Ruger P90s...an obvious rip-off of the church scene from "The Killer" when Chow Yun-Fat does the same thing with his twin Berettas/Tauruses.

[Excalibur]

Originally Posted by MT2008

BTW, interesting fact: Rock Galotti, the armorer that Woo usually works with in the U.S., has repeatedly offered him the chance to fire a Beretta 92F at the range. And he's turned down the offer repeatedly.

How strange. You think she he just LOVES the Beretta 92F series, he would have fired one at least once in his life...