Even if he has never really been able to return to his great heyday since the turn of the millennium, the case is clear – probably not only for the author of this article: John Woo is the best action director of all time! He already proved this impressively during his stay in Hong Kong, where he was responsible for films such as ‘Hard Boiled’, ‘The Killer’ and ‘Bullet In The Head’ – and later also with the thriller by Jean-Claude Van Damme . “Harte Targets” and the ultimate 90s action classic “Face/Off – In the Body of the Enemy”. Can he match the power of his previous hits with his new work? About that now the first trailer for “Silent Night – Silent Revenge“ Outlets.
“Silent Night” will be released in German cinemas on December 14, 2023. While local distributors often fail to bring international productions to Germany at the right timing, Woo fans don’t have to worry in this case. His cool Christmas actor comes to German cinemas just two weeks after the American release – and therefore just in time for Christmas.
“Silent Night”: the full action – without any dialogue
The title of the film not only refers to the time of year in which the film is set, but also to the main character played by Joel Kinnaman. The Swedish-American actor, known for ‘RoboCop’ and ‘The Suicide Squad’, plays a father in ‘Silent Night’ who goes on a revenge tour through the underworld to avenge his son – and doesn’t say a word. So remains. And the first trailer now also reveals why this is the case…
Opposite (where the trailer was shown exclusively for the first time), director John Woo revealed that the biggest challenge with “Silent Night” was telling the story without words and solely through images. It’s about making the audience accept the story, be moved by it and make them feel like nothing is missing here.
Classic John Woo action – with “John Wick” help
After Woo’s last film ‘Self Defense’ (available exclusively on Netflix) looked more like a film by a Woo imitator, ‘Silent Night’ also distinguishes itself stylistically from his great classics at first glance. But ultimately times change – and so does the cinema.
The longer the trailer goes on, the clearer it becomes that Woo hasn’t forgotten his skills, can still celebrate action in a more-is-more way and also create images that burn into your memory. – not least with the help of drastic spikes of violence, with which Woo bridges the gap between brutal action and dazzling carnage. If the whole thing reminds you of anything, it’s probably the “John Wick” series. And not without reason.
Because Behind ‘Silent Night’ are ‘John Wick’ studio Lionsgate and the producers of the successful franchise with Keanu Reeves. And not only do they know exactly what they have in Joel Kinnaman, they also launched his “The Informer” a few years ago — before he did “99 percent of all his stunts” himself on “Silent Night,” according to Woo. The team also has a lot of action experience outside of the ‘Wick’ saga.
Besides, even the film’s cast wanted to make sure some classic Woo action happened here. For example, the director recalls how Kinnaman’s co-star Scott Mescudi aka Kid Cudi (“X”) came to the set and made it clear, “All I want is John Woo action.” When asked by the filmmaker, he explained Wow what that was all about: “Shooting with two guns.” What he would get in the end…