The Killer

There are two primary benefits in watching The Killer, yet neither is enough to justify enduring the entirety of this overwrought action saga.

The first is acclaimed director John Woo — remaking the riveting 1989 Hong Kong thriller that proved to be his global breakthrough — hasn’t lost his touch in staging vivid fight choreography. Working with a bigger budget, there’s an operatic quality to the visually striking and ultraviolent confrontations.

The other is French actress Nathalie Emmanuel (Fast X), who takes over the title role played by Chow Yun-fat in the first film. Her captivating performance balances intense physicality with cunning sophistication and underlying charm.

It’s really more of a reimagining than a direct remake, combining some of the basic story elements from its 35-year-old predecessor in a completely new setting, with a female protagonist leading a cosmopolitan cast.

This version is set in present-day Paris —as we’re reminded by references to Starbucks and social media — with Emmanuel playing Zee, a ruthless assassin whose latest assignment from her shadowy boss (Sam Worthington) winds up providing an unlikely chance at redeeming her conscience.

In the case of a blinded young woman (Diana Silvers) she meets in a nightclub, Zee shifts from killer to protector. That decision sets off a chain of events that turns her into a more vulnerable target for a detective (Omar Sy) — whose pursuit might conflict with some deeper feelings for Zee — and entangles her in a maze of criminal conspiracies and bureaucratic corruption.

The film is slick and stylish but lacks the gritty spontaneity of the source material, softening the narrative edges into a muddled examination of morality and spirituality.

There are some highlights within the set pieces that mix beauty with brutality, effectively employing trickery ranging from slow motion to swirling hand-held cameras to practically incorporate the weaponry as an extra character.

Woo wrote the first film himself, although this bilingual screenplay by a trio of writers including Oscar-winner Brian Helgeland (L.A. Confidential) feels overall more familiar than fresh. As a cat-and-mouse procedural, the story is too formulaic to generate much suspense.

The Killer comes off as a somewhat misguided experiment that offers an unintentional reminder of the enduring influence of the original.

Rated R, 125 minutes.