20 Best John Woo Movies
From 'Broken Arrow' to 'Windtalkers', Moviefone counts down the 20 best films of John Woo's groundbreaking career.
Director John Woo on the set of 'The Killer'. Photo: Peacock.
John Woo is considered one of the greatest action directors in cinematic history.
The Hong Kong film director is responsible for such action classics as 'A Better Tomorrow, 'The Killer' and 'Hard Boiled', which all starred Chow Yun-Fat, as well as 'Hard Target' with Jean-Claude Van Damme, 'Broken Arrow' with John Travolta and Christian Slater, 'Mission: Impossible II' with Tom Cruise, and the iconic 'Face/Off', which starred Travolta and Nicolas Cage.
Woo's latest movie, a remake of 'The Killer' starring Nathalie Emmanuel (Fast X) and Omar Sy ('X-Men: Days of Future Past'), will premiere on Peacock beginning August 23rd.
In honor of the new remake, Moviefone is counting down the 20 best movies of John Woo's groundbreaking career, including his latest.
Let's begin!
20. 'Paycheck' (2003)
(L to R) Ben Affleck and Uma Thurman in 'Paycheck'. Photo: Paramount Pictures.
Michael Jennings (Ben Affleck) is a genius who's hired – and paid handsomely – by high-tech firms to work on highly sensitive projects, after which his short-term memory is erased so he's incapable of breaching security. But at the end of a three-year job, he's told he isn't getting a paycheck and instead receives a mysterious envelope. In it are clues he must piece together to find out why he wasn't paid – and why he's now in hot water.
19. 'The Dragon Tamers' (1975)
1975's 'The Dragon Tamers'. Photo: Golden Harvest Company.
Carter Wong plays a young chinese martial arts student who travels to Korea to learn Taekwondo Soon he comes up against a vicious gang who want all the local martial arts schools to join their evil association. But before he can defeat the bad guys he has to learn to master his own strong desire to fight.
The Dragon Tamers
Carter Wong plays a young chinese martial arts student who travels to Korea to learn Taekwondo. Soon he comes up against a vicious gang who want all the local martial... Read the Plot
18. 'Hand of Death' (1976)
1976's 'Hand of Death'. Photo: Golden Harvest.
A young monk must face the Extended Iron Claw technique of a powerful warlord seeking to destroy Shaolin.
17. 'Windtalkers' (2002)
(L to R) Adam Beach and Nicolas Cage in 'Windtalkers'. Photo: MGM.
Joe Enders (Nicolas Cage) is a gung-ho Marine assigned to protect a "windtalker" - one of several Navajo Indians who were used to relay messages during World War II because their spoken language was indecipherable to Japanese code breakers.
16. 'Run Tiger Run' (1985)
Two street urchins meet up with a sad and lonely rich kid. They become friends when the kids shady uncle mistakes them for his nephews.
Run Tiger Run
Two street urchins meet up with a sad and lonely rich kid. They become friends when the kid's shady uncle mistakes them for his nephews. Read the Plot
15. 'Silent Night' (2023
Joel Kinnaman as Godlock in 'Silent Night'. Photo Credit: Carlos Latapi.
From legendary director John Woo and the producer of 'John Wick' comes this gritty revenge tale of a tormented father (Joel Kinnaman) who witnesses his young son die when caught in a gang’s crossfire on Christmas Eve. While recovering from a wound that costs him his voice, he makes vengeance his life’s mission and embarks on a punishing training regimen in order to avenge his son’s death. Full of Woo’s signature style, 'Silent Night' redefines the action genre with visceral, thrill-a-minute storytelling.
14. 'Heroes Shed No Tears' (1986))
1986's 'Heroes Shed No Tears'. Photo: Golden Harvest.
The Thai government hires a group of Chinese mercenaries to capture a powerful drug lord from the Golden Triangle. The mercenaries manage to capture the drug lord, but soon find themselves pursued by his forces, and the forces of a bitter Thai officer. The Chinese mercenaries are vastly outnumbered, and as their numbers begin to dwindle, their desperation pulls them into a corner as their enemies close in on them.
13. 'Red Cliff II' (2009)
2009's 'Red Cliff II'. Photo: Summit Entertainment.
The battle of Red Cliff continues and the alliance between Xu and East Wu is fracturing. With Cao Cao's (Zhang Feng Yi) massive forces on their doorstep, will the kingdoms of Xu and East Wu survive?
12. 'Once a Thief' (1994)
1991's 'Once a Thief'. Photo: Golden Princess Film Production.
Once a Thief
Three orphans grow up to become art thieves under the tutelage of a crime boss. Romance complicates matters when the trio are double-crossed. Read the Plot
11. 'Red Cliff' (2008)
2009's 'Red Cliff'. Photo: Summit Entertainment.
In 208 A.D., in the final days of the Han Dynasty, shrewd Prime Minster Cao (Zhang Feng Yi) convinced the fickle Emperor Han the only way to unite all of China was to declare war on the kingdoms of Xu in the west and East Wu in the south. Thus began a military campaign of unprecedented scale. Left with no other hope for survival, the kingdoms of Xu and East Wu formed an unlikely alliance.
10. 'Hard Target' (1993)
Jean-Claude Van Damme in 'Hard Target'. Photo: Universal Pictures.
When a woman's father goes missing, she (Yancy Butler) enlists a local (Jean-Claude Van Damme) to aid in her search. The pair soon discover that her father has died at the hands of a wealthy sportsman (Lance Henriksen) who hunts homeless men as a form of recreation.
9. 'Bullet in the Head' (1990)
1990's 'Bullet in the Head'. Photo: Golden Princess Film Production.
Three childhood friends from the slums of Hong Kong flee to war-time Saigon after accidentally murdering a gang leader, but their troubles only escalate.
Bullet in the Head
Three childhood friends from the slums of Hong Kong flee to war-time Saigon after accidentally murdering a gang leader, but their troubles only escalate. Read the Plot
8. 'Mission: Impossible II' (2000)
Tom Cruise in 'Mission: Impossible II'. Photo: Paramount Pictures.
With computer genius Luther Stickell (Ving Rhames) at his side and a beautiful thief (Thandiwe Newton) on his mind, agent Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) races across Australia and Spain to stop a former IMF agent (Dougray Scott) from unleashing a genetically engineered biological weapon called Chimera. This mission, should Hunt choose to accept it, plunges him into the center of an international crisis of terrifying magnitude.
7. 'A Better Tomorrow II' (1987)
Chow Yun-fat in 'A Better Tomorrow II'. Photo: Golden Princess Amusement.
A restauranteur teams up with a police officer and his ex-con brother to avenge the death of a friend's daughter.
A Better Tomorrow II
A restauranteur teams up with a police officer and his ex-con brother to avenge the death of a friend's daughter. Read the Plot
6. 'The Killer' (2024)
(L to R) Omar Sy and Nathalie Emmanuel in 'The Killer', directed by John Woo. Photo: Peacock.
From the Oscar winning producer of 'Oppenheimer', the kinetic action thriller stars Emmy nominee Nathalie Emmanuel as Zee, a mysterious and infamous assassin known, and feared, in the Parisian underworld as the Queen of the Dead.
5. 'A Better Tomorrow' (1986)
Chow Yun-fat in 'A Better Tomorrow'. Photo: Golden Princess Amusement.
A reforming ex-gangster tries to reconcile with his estranged policeman brother, but the ties to his former gang are difficult to break.
A Better Tomorrow
4. 'Broken Arrow' (1996)
(L to R) John Travolta and Christian Slater in 'Broken Arrow'. Photo: 20th Century Fox.
When rogue stealth-fighter pilot Vic Deakins (John Travolta) deliberately drops off the radar while on maneuvers, the Air Force ends up with two stolen nuclear warheads -- and Deakins's co-pilot, Riley Hale (Christian Slater), is the military's only hope for getting them back. Traversing the deserted canyons of Utah, Hale teams with park ranger Terry Carmichael (Samantha Mathis) to put Deakins back in his box.
3. 'The Killer' (1989)
(Right) Chow Yun-fat in 1989's 'The Killer'. Photo: Golden Princess Film Production.
Mob assassin Jeffrey (Chow Yun-fat) is no ordinary hired gun; the best in his business, he views his chosen profession as a calling rather than simply a job. So, when beautiful nightclub chanteuse Jennie (Sally Yeh) is blinded in the crossfire of his most recent hit, Jeffrey chooses to retire after one last job to pay for his unintended victim's sight-restoring operation. But when Jeffrey is double-crossed, he reluctantly joins forces with a rogue policeman (Danny Lee Sau-Yin) to make things right.
The Killer
Mob assassin Jeffrey is no ordinary hired gun; the best in his business, he views his chosen profession as a calling rather than simply a job. So, when beautiful... Read the Plot
2. 'Hard Boiled' (1992)
Chow Yun-fat in 'Hard Boiled'. Photo: Golden Princess Film Production.
A cop (Chow Yun-fat) who loses his partner in a shoot-out with gun smugglers goes on a mission to catch them. In order to get closer to the leaders of the ring he joins forces with an undercover cop (Tony Leung Chiu-wai) who's working as a gangster hitman. They use all means of excessive force to find them.
Hard Boiled
1. 'Face/Off' (1997)
(L to R) Nicolas Cage and John Travolta in 'Face/Off'. Photo: Paramount Pictures.
In order to foil a terrorist plot, an FBI agent (John Travolta) undergoes facial transplant surgery and assumes the identity of a criminal mastermind (Nicolas Cage). The plan turns sour when the criminal wakes up prematurely and seeks revenge.
