John Woo’s first Hollywood movie in 20 years is already divisive

❘ Published: 2023-11-28T12:18:54

A still from John Woo's new movie Silent Night

Lionsgate

Director John Woo has been away from Hollywood for the best part of two decades, with his latest movie Silent Night now opening to divisive reactions and reviews.

Best known for cinematic hits such as Face/Off, Mission: Impossible 2, and A Better Tomorrow, John Woo has stepped back from his ties to Hollywood in recent years. 20 years later, Woo is marking his return with action-thriller movie Silent Night.

The movie’s official synopsis reads: “On Christmas Eve, a man witnesses the death of his young son when the boy gets caught in crossfire between warring gangs. Recovering from a wound that cost him his voice, he soon embarks on a bloody and grueling quest to punish those responsible.”

With the John Woo movie due to be released in theaters on December 1, 2023, fan reaction is already proving to be divisive.

New John Woo movie Silent Night gets divisive fan reaction

Ahead of the release of John Woo’s new movie Silent Night, first fan reactions seem to be dividing opinion.

The movie is currently ranking at 71% on Rotten Tomatoes, meaning it’s just shy of being awarded Certified Fresh status.

Kristy Puchko from Mashable stated: “Silent Night takes its preposterous premise deadly seriously. And not even the carnage Woo offers can combat the tedium of this film’s cliches.”

David Ehrlich from IndieWire agreed: “The cinema of John Woo does not lend itself well to half-measures. In that light, the kindest thing I can say about his latest film is that its worst moments don’t resemble the cinema of John Woo at all.”

However Peter Debruge from Variety disagreed, commenting: “Silly as it might be, Silent Night gives audiences reason to get excited about the Hong Kong innovator once again, ranking as one of the few bloody Christmas counter-programmers since Die Hard that feels worthy of repeat viewing down the road.”

Over on X/Twitter, fans seem a lot more hyped for John Woo’s latest movie.

“Joel Kinnaman kicks all kinds of ass in John Woo’s SILENT NIGHT, an action spectacle that treats the deep emotional pain of its characters with a seriousness uncharacteristic for the genre. Every hit feels like a punch to the gut because of the high stakes and emotion. A blast!” one user posted.

“SILENT NIGHT wrings as much as it can out of its (mostly) dialogue-free story. John Woo’s style of action remains electrifying as ever, and Joel Kinnaman is more than up to the emotional & physical challenge. A straight-up holiday revenge action film filled with carnage & slow-mo,” added another.

“Silent Night is an action experiment that worked for me. It’s pretty much dialogue-free and that leads to some surprisingly poignant moments but the real showcase is the direction of John Woo, who still has it after all these years. Also, Joel Kinnaman is a beast!” weighed in a third.

Silent Night comes to theaters on December 1. Check out our other upcoming movie and TV hubs below: