The past will show the future

For the star hour of John Wu was followed by the "reckoning hour"

For the star hour of John Wu was followed by the "reckoning hour"

Who is not worried about the problem of the future?! Each person has repeatedly thought about what awaits him outside the present. However, few assumed that many answers to which the future can answer lie in the present and in those people whose affairs it is created. To make out these tips, you just need to carefully look around.

Apparently, director John Woo (John Woo) came to the same conclusions, when he could not put into life the plan. He wanted to finish taking off the bloody militants and try to remove something good, sincere, for example, drama or musical.

Although it was the action genre that made John Wu a cult director, showing the whole world how to shoot a real action movie with shootings and chases. A special style and characteristic way of filming brought him huge popularity. All his paintings are distinguished by unusual plot turns, an abundance of bloody shootings, well -set scenes of chases and ... pigeons, ordinary white pigeons that appear in almost every film of Wu, flying out at the time of a decisive match between the forces of good and evil.

The dove is considered a symbol of the world, so Wu is trying to show that the good will win, after which the long -awaited world will come, however, not everyone will have to live in this world. Despite cruelty, all the director’s paintings contain optimism and faith in a person.

Initially, his works, such as the “hired killer” or “bullet in the head” (Bullet in the Head), served as a way of expressing anxiety thoughts about the consequences of the Vietnamese War and, most importantly, about human friendship. Later, with the change of place of work, John Wu in his already Hollywood paintings retained only the style, but thoughts remained in China.

His glory continued to grow now in the USA (as a rule, most non -American actors and directors in America become popular only after starting work in Hollywood). True, WHO Films began to be called “ordinary militants”, and for the ordinary viewer the picture “Face Off” (Face Off), “Broken Arrow” (Broken Arrow) became the height of originality in comparison with most banal Hollywood action settings.

It was not without reason that the director of the drama and the musical wanted - the militants fed up with him. However, only the military drama “Talking with the Wind” (Windtalkers) was removed. It would seem that the case was behind the musical. But it wasn’t there, John Wu took up the old. He decided to remove “Paycheck” according to the small fantastic story of 1953 by Philip K. Dick.

Some works of Dick were filmed earlier, for example, “running along the razor blade”, “recall everything”, “special opinion”, “alien”. Many brought the author of great popularity, in fact, like paintings shot from his stories, but Glory became posthumous. The writer died in 1982 in complete poverty, during his life his works did not appreciate.

Nowadays, the stories and novels of Philip K. Dick are considered an example of high -quality fantasy, which serves not only for entertainment, but also for thought.

Having thought a little, John Wu decided to make a fantastic action movie with the elements of the thriller. They tried to launch the project since 1996. In 1998, a script was even ordered, but then it did not result in anything. Before the main role was subscribed to Ben Affleck, the candidacy of his friend Matt Damon (Matt Damon) was considered.

Affleck played in the picture of an electrical engineer Michael Jennings, the main occupation of which is industrial espionage. Uma Thurman (Uma Thurman), who had just finished shooting at Quentin Tarantino, acted as a friend of Jennings.

The final version of the script was written by Dean Georgaris, author of the shameful script “Tomb Raiders-2 Tomb Raiders-2). Despite this, the plot was not at all injured and did not abound all kinds of nonsense, which was filled with the picture about the adventures of Lara Croft, otherwise John Wu would hardly have taken up the implementation of the project. The details of the plot is well adjusted to each other - his horse. Perhaps the perplexity of the initiates can cause the sacraments of computer construction, for example, the presence of the ultra-modern device of the future ISA slot along with sensory panels and holographic screens.

However, the Future of the Wu itself was not so far away. In the “hour of reckoning” it appears in the form of convenient apartments and offices, sophisticated computer equipment and medical equipment, with which the hero periodically erases the memory. It is the loss of memory that becomes the main plot engine in the film, but does not hide on this.

John Wu has reasons for everything. If the hero has lost his face, then it will somehow be useful to him; I found a nuclear bomb, which means that it will then blow it up; I met the girl, so she will help him in the final; I forgot something, therefore, it is something very important and you need to fight with all kinds of gangs of bandits and omnipotent corporations for this.

Memory loss is just a reason to clarify something significant, in comparison with what a donation of $ 90 million will not be so much loss in this life.

In the “hour of reckoning”, Wu does not step back from his favorite techniques and ways of image. Still in the picture there is a so-called Mexican duel when the heroes hold each other under the sight at the distance of an outstretched arm. Why suddenly the Director’s Chinese discovery is called Mexican is not known for certain, but Wu does not object to such a name. It was unlikely that Robert Rodriguez would be delighted if his author’s duels were called Chinese.

Heroes, as in the good old days, are knitting on sports motorcycles, throwing the pursuers with clouds of crushed stone in industrial areas, which in John Wu have special landscapes, then this is a runway, then the railway, then containers, through which you can restlessly drive.

The only missing of the director is the love line, which Wu never attached much importance. Heroes seem to love each other, but for some reason not noticeable. The characters of Ben Affleck and the mind of Turman are in love with each other in the plot. In fact, he loves one, the second only needs to remember past relationships. Therefore, the actors seem unconvincing in scenes where the heroes should be in love. Herman’s mind after “killing Bill” does not go the role of the good and loving girlfriend of the Savior of mankind.

The “reckoning hour” can be correlated with Spielberg’s “special opinion”, where the rate is made on expensive special effects. Wu preferred to go an old rolled way, neglecting the modern benefits of computer technology.

Nevertheless, he still turns out to be spectacular, even and without plot misses, which relentlessly pursue films affecting the theme of the future, as was the same with the same “special opinion”. A solid film with an exciting plot from a solid director, in the cinema of which is not a single work in the box office.

John Wu derived his paradox of time, which states that the future will show the past, and the past, in turn, will answer the questions of the future.

However, it is not always useful for humanity to know what will happen tomorrow.

Watch the Victory cinema since April 5, 2004.

Artem Koryushkin