Silent Night (2023)

Director John Woo returns to Hollywood with the thin ‘Silent Night’. Master action director John Woo and star Joel Kinnaman bring some stylistic flair and gritty acting to the otherwise gimmicky, cliched ‘Silent Night.’

Opening in theaters on December 1st is John Woo’s ‘Silent Night,’ starring Joel Kinnaman, Scott Mescudi, Harold Torres, and Catalina Sandino Moreno. It’s been 20 years since John Woo made a movie for an American studio, and the action genre has missed this Hong Kong master during his absence. Woo does indeed bring a number of his trademark stylistic moves to ‘Silent Night,’ and is aided by a ferocious performance from Joel Kinnaman. But both are saddled with a derivative revenge story and a gimmick that quickly becomes contrived, making Woo’s return to Hollywood a mixed bag at best.