Silent Night: Wait, John Woo still makes movies?

Joel Kinnaman is an actor easily recognizable, if not by his face, then definitely by his voice. So I understand why he wanted to play a role with hardly any dialogue. It challenges him to rely solely on his acting skills. And that is a problem when your director is not an actor- but an action director...

Kinnaman portrays a father grieving because his son is killed in a crossfire between rival gangs on Christmas Eve. As he loses his voice due to a throat wound, he becomes unable to speak. Thus, the title of the movie becomes (very) clear.

Following the rules of the 'revenge-movie,' the father embarks on a rampage as the police are unable (or unwilling) to assist him. What follows is an all-too-familiar chain of events: get guns, training, improving killing skills, and then onto a full-on rampage.

As we've come to expect from John Woo, all the action is highly stylized and well-choreographed, but it's nothing we haven't seen before. However, what we did appreciate was that Kinnaman seems to be affected by the punches and bullets he encounters along the way. He is far from the Terminator-like superhumans we often see in such movies. He appears to take it all in with a smirk, which is why I like Kinnaman so much.

Apparently, this movie marks John Woo's return to making films in the US, as he hasn't done so since "Paycheck." If this is the kind of movie he returned for, I hope he reconsiders his material. John Woo's influence on the action genre is undeniable, but since the 90s, many directors have followed in his footsteps and taken his style (many steps) further.

But in the end it is a movie starring Joel Kinnaman and directed by John Woo, so (like me) you'll want to see it no matter what anyone says about it. Just be prepared to be underwhelmed.