hong kong action star chow yun-fat is a living legend , and it's about time that mainstream america found out . the ever-charismatic chow will certainly have no trouble winning new fans with his english language debut , antoine fuqua's brisk , explosive the replacement killers . in comparison to the dark , complex collaborations with john woo ( who executive produced ) that made chow an international superstar , replacement is not exactly the sturdiest of vehicles . the entire storyline of ken sanzel's thin script can be summed up by its title . chow plays john lee , a hitman who wants out of a contract with his mob boss employer ( kenneth tsang ) , who hence dispatches " replacements " to kill him and his ally , a document forger named meg coburn ( a game mira sorvino , running around in an open shirt ) . the plot is just the glue that holds together what is essentially one long series of wildly choreographed gunfights , which is far from a bad thing . fuqua , whose slick style is best described as a cross between michael bay and ( of course ) woo , wisely lets chow be chow--in other words , do all the things that makes him the coolest actor around . throughout the film , i found myself breathing sighs of relief as the outrageous derring-do from the chow i know and love appeared onscreen--sliding on floors , flying through the air , rolling around and flipping , firing from each hand . early on , though , fuqua makes a serious miscalculation by having chow hold a gun with both hands ( believe it or not , columbia pictures reportedly brought in someone to teach trigger-happy chow how to shoot a gun ) , and his discomfort is obvious . but there is only one scene where he does so , and soon after chow is allowed to ease into his normal routine . as well as chow is serviced by the replacement killers , it still only scratches the surface of his talent . his dour role erases all traces of his appealing sense of humor ; fuqua , perhaps caught up in his reverence for the man , takes chow's character a bit _too_ seriously , sometimes eliciting an odd chuckle from the audience . and the depth of his dramatic range is only hinted at in the silent , subtly acted scene where lee cannot go through with what is to be his last hit . but i suppose all depth will have to be reserved for when chow reunites with woo ( which he is slated to do in the forthcoming action comedy king's ransom ) . until then , replacement will do . it delivers all the mayhem and thrills one would want--and expect--from a popcorn action film and serves as a perfectly adequate american introduction to the living legend that is chow yun-fat . 
