'Manhunt' Trailer: Action Maestro John Woo Returns To High Octane Thrills

Buckle up everyone because John Woo is back making action movies. After more than a decade of making historical epics, Woo is tackling a remake of the iconic 1976 Japanese film, “Manhunt.”

The story follows a Chinese lawyer who, after being framed for robbery, murder, and rape, teams up with a Japanese detective to catch and avenge the real culprits. Woo has described it as going back to his original style. He said, “it’s exciting because it’s nice to get back to the action! Actually, there’s a lot more besides the action; it’s a very romantic, human story.”

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After the original film’s star and Woo’s favorite actor, Ken Takakura, passed away, Woo decided to dedicated his film to the legendary performer. When asked why he wanted to make “Manhunt,” Woo said, “[Takakura] has influenced a lot of my films. I like him so much. He is such an influential actor… I was looking for material to make a film to commemorate [him], and [Media Asia chief] Peter Lam called me and asked me to remake ‘Manhunt.’ I was very excited.”

The film made its world premiere out of competition at the Venice International Film Festival last year to mixed reviews. However, many praised the production design and Woo’s complex and fun action sequences.

The iconic Chinese director has been making films since the late sixties and been cited as a major influence on the action-thriller genre. Woo’s legacy was seen onscreen long before he first arrived in America for 1993’s “Hard Target” starring Jean-Claude Van Damme – most notably, “The Killer” (1989) and “Hard Boiled” (1992). His signatures (the impossibly cool hero leaping through slo-mo violence with guns blazing in both hands) have been imitated by everyone from Quentin Tarantino to Steven Spielberg. “Hard Target” actually marked the first major Hollywood film made by a Chinese director. His other forays into American action movies include the John Travolta and Nicolas Cage classic “Face/Off” and “Mission: Impossible 2.

“Manhunt” premieres on Netflix on May 4.