Hailed by many as “the best action movie ever made,” John Woo’s Hard Boiled is often cited as the action flick with the highest on-screen body count. No less than 307 souls were put to rest in the Hong Kong thriller, which is regarded today as one of Woo’s best movies. Now, 33 years after its release, Hard Boiled is back to thrill fans on free streaming.
Released on April 16, 1992, Hard Boiled stars frequent Woo favorite Chow Yun-fat as a fearless police inspector out for revenge on the Triads who killed his partner. Though not as successful as some of their other collaborations, Hard Boiled did better commercially than another Woo masterpiece, The Killer, which was released three years earlier. It features Woo’s signature style and is relentless in its bloodshed, but also has a surprisingly emotional center not found in similar action hits.
Also starring Tony Leung Chiu-wai and Anthony Wong, Hard Boiled is now available to stream for free on Tubi, which is great news for fans in these economically challenging times. Both the original and English Dub versions are accounted for on the streaming service, and though it might feel dated in many ways, Hard Boiled is still one of those movies with high replay value. You can watch it again and again and not get tired of all the intense action. The hospital scene is definitely one of the best moments ever put to film, and is also the one responsible for making Hard Boiled the action movie with one of the highest kill counts. Check out the synopsis below:
“A cop who loses his partner in a shoot-out with gun smugglers goes on a mission to catch them. In order to get closer to the leaders of the ring he joins forces with an undercover cop who’s working as a gangster hitman. They use all means of excessive force to find them.”
What’s Next for Director John Woo?
Following the success of Hard Boiled in Hong Kong, Woo made his way to America to direct a plethora of action favorites, including Face/Off and Mission: Impossible 2, as well as the WWII film Windtalkers. After helming the 2003 sci-fi action movie Paycheck, Woo went back to Hong Kong and wouldn’t return to North America for 20 years.
When he did come back, he did it in style to deliver fans the 2023 vigilante action thriller Silent Night, which featured very little dialogue. He followed it up with the 2024 reimagining of his own film, The Killer, which stars Nathalie Emmanuel and Omar Sy. Both movies received mixed reviews, and hold a 60% and 59% on Rotten Tomatoes, respectively.
As for what’s next? Reports came out in September 2024 that Woo’s next project will be what he calls a “half-musical.” He’s collaborating with the rock duo Sparks on what’s tentatively titled X Crucior, but there’s been little to no news on the movie lately. It’s unclear how far along they are with the project, or if it’s still being worked on at all.
- Release Date
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April 16, 1992
- Runtime
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126 Minutes
- Writers
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John Woo, Gordon Chan, Barry Wong
Cast
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Chow Yun-Fat
Insp. ‘Tequila’ Yuen
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