Tonight on Netflix: Released 31 years ago, this action flick rated 2.5 out of 5 is living its best life on the platform

When the master of martial arts on screen meets the master of Hong Kong action cinema, we can expect sparks! Instead, we had Manhunt, a fairly unloved film rated 2.5 out of 5 by AlloCiné viewers, but massively rediscovered by Netflix subscribers.

A mullet-clad Jean-Claude Van Damme plays Chance Boudreau, an ex-Marine Corps soldier hired by a young woman to find her missing father. His investigation pits him against a gang that profits from manhunts. All in front of Hong Kong John Woo’s camera.

Obviously, the punches are going to rain and Van Damme even grabs a devastating shotgun to clean up and play sober with lines like: “Listen, you grab your penknife, your boyfriend, and take the first bus that comes.”

Director John Woo did not have a good time on the set. His first film in Hollywood, constant pressure from the producers, reduction of shooting days, re-editing of the film after his version was delivered, left him with bad memories. The montage we know lasts 1 hour. At 36 hours, compared to the two hours suggested by Wu, who further developed Fouchon, the villain played by Lance Henriksen.

But if the filmmaker knows how to make his actors look in the slow motion he so cherishes, he can’t help but lift Manhunt from a somewhat ridiculous film — especially the famous scene where Van Damme stabs the snake. hit

But what does it matter! As new audiences discover the 1993 film that rocked many viewers’ childhoods via Netflix, the flame of cinema is passed on, and that’s all that matters.