In the world of action cinema few have left a mark like John Woo. For 55 years the revered filmmaker has put together quite the résumé from his Hong Kong classics such as “The Killer” and “Hard Boiled” to his stateside hits like “Hard Target”, “Broken Arrow”, “Face/Off”, and “Mission: Impossible II”. Woo’s distinct style has been emulated by the likes of Quentin Tarantino, Robert Rodriguez, and Michael Bay. And his influence can be seen in everything from “The Matrix” to the John Wick films.

After a lengthy hiatus, the legendary 77-year-old auteur is back with “Silent Night”. It’s Woo’s first American feature film in twenty years but fans shouldn’t worry. His signature aesthetic is once again on bold display in this blistering action thriller shrewdly built around a mostly dialogue-free script. That’s quite a challenge, but screenwriter Robert Archer Lynn has crafted a smart and sturdy framework. From there, Woo handles the rest, delivering on everything you would expect from a film with his name stamped on it.

The movie is led by a perfectly cast Joel Kinnaman who can effortlessly emit intensity like few others. He plays Brian Godlock and Woo wastes no time revealing the tragedy that will drive his damaged protagonist throughout the story. Within the opening few minutes Brian and his wife Saya (an excellent Catalina Sandino Moreno) have their happy lives suddenly and irreparably shattered.

On Christmas Eve while playing with their young son Taylor in their front yard, a stray bullet from a gunfight between two warring street gangs hits Taylor and kills him. An enraged Brian chases the thugs down only to be shot in the throat and left for dead by their vicious leader (Harold Torres). Brian survives and eventually recovers physically, but he can no longer speak. On top of that, once home from the hospital he’s forced to face the painful reality that his beloved son is gone.

First Brian goes into mourning, cutting himself off from his wife while attempting to drown his sorrow in booze. But when that doesn’t work his sadness turns into rage, sending him on a bullet-riddled and blood-drenched quest for revenge. Brian decides to hunt down and kill the gangbangers responsible for his boy’s death. He gives himself nearly a year to plan, prepare and train, marking Christmas Eve as the day he will avenge the killing of his son.

As with so many of his past films, Woo puts a lot of effort into setting up the big action. Pacing has always been key to his approach and here Woo steadily ratchets up our anticipation, building towards the story’s inevitable ultra-violent crescendo. From there it’s vintage Woo as our silent protagonist unleashes his pain through a number of fierce and kinetic set pieces. They include wild car chases, brutal fight scenes, and incredibly choreographed shootouts that are almost operatic in their design.

As you watch these spectacular scenes play out, Woo’s trademark style can be seen everywhere. From techniques such as his frequent use of slow-motion and shooting single scenes from multiple angles, to staples such as duel-wielding handguns, Mexican standoffs, and his symbolic use of birds. Once it kicks into gear the action is non-stop. It’s brutality is matched by its artistry. Yet it’s undergirded by a surprising amount of heart and humanity.

While’s Woo’s craftsmanship is clearly a draw, Kinnaman proves to be an essential ingredient. His ability to channel pain and vulnerability adds pathos while his physicality combined with a palpable fury energizes the action. And amazingly it’s all conveyed with no dialogue whatsoever. Moreno is great in her small but meaningful role, and an underused Scott “Kid Cudi” Mescudi is solid (with what little he’s given) as a local police detective. But Kinnaman is the force who bring’s Woo’s vision to life.

“Silent Night” advertises itself as an alternative holiday movie of sorts with its witty title and killer trailer that utilized all kinds of Christmas motifs. But deep down it’s a visceral no-nonsense revenge thriller with a clever twist made by a filmmaker who once helped revolutionize a genre. “Silent Night” may not have the kind of landscape altering impact of Woo’s more celebrated films, but it’s a firm (and thoroughly entertaining) reminder of why he is rightly lauded as a legend of action cinema.

VERDICT – 4 STARS

We get yet another takedown of the rich and privileged in Emerald Fennell’s proudly smutty satire “Saltburn”. Excoriating the wealthy on the big screen has almost become old hat. But that hasn’t stopped filmmakers from beating that familiar drum, often to their own tunes. In “Saltburn” Fennell’s tune is more of an obnoxious drone – a persistent clamor of shallow, uninspired revelry and shock value hiding behind a beautifully shot veneer.

Fennell’s 2020 feature film debut “Promising Young Woman” was a sassy and sharp-edged thriller that had something to say. It was gutsy, provocative, and timely, taking on warped views of masculinity with its fists clenched and a twinkle in its eye. “Saltburn” is quite the opposite. It’s a mostly rhythmless confection that’s obsessed with its own coolness and edginess. Its intentions are rarely a mystery and its salacious swings at provocation offer little more than smug and hollow commentary at best.

Fennell certainly has the star power starting with her Oscar-nominated lead, Barry Keoghan. He plays Oliver Quick, a studious outcast in his first year at Oxford University. It doesn’t take long for the quiet and unassuming Oliver to earn our sympathies, especially after we hear that he’s an only child and is estranged from his parents due to their mental health and addiction issues. But we feel for him even more after he becomes enamored with the hunky, popular, and extremely wealthy Felix Catton (Jacob Elordi).

The two meet after Oliver helps Felix out of a jam. Oliver desperately wants into Felix’s upper-class social circle. Felix seems sympathetic, especially after Oliver gets word that his father has died. The two form a friendship although the depth of it is never really clear (well, maybe in the final 15 minutes). As finals approach Felix makes a rather spontaneous gesture. He invites Oliver to spend the summer with him and his family at their lavish estate called Saltburn.

Things are going pretty good up to this point. But from the moment Felix introduces Oliver to his family at Saltburn, Fennell begins losing her grip. Her story turns out to be pretty barebones and basic but surprisingly ends up woefully underserved. That’s because Fennell loses her creative self within this glaringly phony world of debauchery and opulence. As a result, things like narrative structure, story progression, and character development get tossed aside for warped and edgier grasps for attention.

Among the casualties of Fennell’s overcooked hankering to push the envelope are the characters themselves. Take Felix’s aristocratic family: his wild-haired father Sir James Catton (Richard E. Grant), his oblivious mother Lady Elsbeth (Rosamund Pike), his indolent sister Venetia (Alison Oliver), and his freeloading cousin Farleigh (Archie Madekwe). In a way each of them serve their purpose. But they’re little more than disposable playthings for Fennell to toy around with and disregard. And none of them ever grow beyond what we initially learn of them. Felix – spoiled beyond his own comprehension but with a heart of gold – is easily the most compelling.

As for Keoghan, he certainly commits to Fennell’s twisted vision. The Irish actor is no stranger to playing off-center characters who sheepishly skulk around on the periphery. But here the material is so lacking that his eventual transformation from meek and nebbish into something more devious and depraved is a hard sell. This is especially true in the final act where Fennell rushes to bring Oliver’s story to some kind of credible conclusion. But it’s so lazy and outlandish. Even worse, Fennell spoon-feeds us every single answer, leaving nothing for the imagination.

The movie ends with an eye-rolling, self-indulgent final sequence that’s a perfect encapsulation of everything wrong with “Saltburn”. It’s a doltish and pointless finish that reveals a filmmaker more infatuated with kinky excesses than satisfying storytelling. And that’s a shame because we get teases of a better movie. And Fennell’s shrewdness with the camera is undeniable. But that’s nowhere near enough to save this narcissistic poster child for style over substance. “Saltburn” is now showing in select theaters.

VERDICT – 1.5 STARS