Everett Collection
9. HARD-BOILED
Directed by John Woo (1992)
Any time you see someone in a movie firing two handguns at the same time, you can thank John Woo. The Hong Kong filmmaker almost single-handedly rescued action cinema from Hollywood-in-the-'80s bloat by digging into his love of male bonding, Western heroics, doves, and the heightened reality of classic musicals. (Yes, musicals. Shut up.) Hard-Boiled, a quicksilver tale of undercover cops and shifting allegiances, is Woo's explosive masterpiece. (It's better than The Killer. Really. Again, shut up.) Happiness is a warm pair of guns...especially when Chow Yun-Fat is holding them.
