Chandler’s Trailers: “The Replacement Killers” (1998)

The Replacement Killers”   (1998)  While, in theory,  imitation may be the sincerest form of flattery, in the world of cinema it is more often a sign of the slavish pursuit of capitalizing on what has been proven lucrative by way of popular reception. Even a whiff of originality in a financially successful film is bound to be quickly consigned to the wasteland of premature irrelevance by a tidal wave of mercenary reproduction which in the unfortunate but inevitable evolutionary backhand of increasing cinematic mimeography leads successive efforts to even greater timidity (or sloth thereof) of formula, or in certain cases, an exaggeration of style leading to unseemly aesthetic caricature (the Italian spaghetti western, or, in a more apropos example, the Hong Kong action thriller). In the case of Antoine Fuqua’s “The Replacement Killers” the mimicry is boldly and professionally executed, but it is an example of wasted craftsmanship on a film which extends a hyperactive energy to the most insignificant gesture which can be used to propel any scene along, yet remain entirely bereft of meaning. 

To read the complete review, click the following link to:  https://chandlerswainreviews.wordpress.com/chandlers-trailers-short-bits-for-emerging-cinephiles-and-a-better-america/