Not every director can make multiple movies that have high ratings on Rotten Tomatoes. Twice more so in the action genre which doesn't always have the smartest plots. Nevertheless, John Woo has managed to do exactly that. His films aren't only well-rated but also popular among those who enjoy action movies.
John Woo grew up in Hong Kong and he has started his filming career back in 1969. He's worked on more than 90 films, sometimes as a writer or producer, or even an actor, but he's best-known for his directing work. His action movies formed the genre and some of them have become classics.
10 Warriors Of The Rainbow: Seediq Bale (2011, 71 %)
The tenth-best rated John Woo film on Rotten Tomatoes had John Woo only as its producer, not as a director. As a result, it's different from the majority of his movies. It takes place in Taiwan in 1930 where a Seediq tribal leader joins forces with other local tribes to fight the Japanese who colonize the island. The film offers a unique look into the island's culture and history which a lot of viewers might appreciate. The film was popular with the audience since they gave it a rating of 83 %.
9 Once A Thief (1996, 80 %)
Once a thief, always a thief, the old saying goes. Uncharacteristically for John Woo, the film focuses on a love triangle between an international agent, his ex-lover, and her new fiance. Unlike most John Woo movies, it's a straight-to-television piece. Another difference is that John Woo tends to write the scripts for his films but he only worked as a director on this one. The audience wasn't so thrilled about the movie and they gave it only 53 % on Rotten Tomatoes.
8 A Better Tomorrow II (1988, 80 %)
John Woo hasn't directed that many sequels in his career. However, he made an exception for A Better Tomorrow II that came 2 years after the first movie. This time, a policeman and a reformed former gangster meet their dead friend's twin. The twin, unfortunately, works for a New York mob boss. Chow Yun-Fat once again portrayed multiple roles and he excels in each of them. The audience gave the film a better rating than the critics, 83 %, and they claimed the sequel is full of action and emotions.
7 Red Cliff (2008, 91 %)
Red Cliff is one of John Woo's newer films but it didn't do so well at the box office as it only earned 628 hundred thousand dollars. Either way, the critics liked it and the audience gave it a rating of 78 %. The film takes the audience back in time, to the year 208.
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China is in disarray and influential men are fighting over who will lead it. The film is visually beautiful and it also happens to be John Woo's dream project. He wanted to make the film for over 20 years until he finally succeeded.
6 Face/Off (1997, 92 %)
Just like many Chinese directors, John Woo also dipped his toe in Hollywood and made several Hollywood action films. Face/Off continues to be one of the most popular ones. It scored a solid rating of 82 % from the audience but the critics liked it better. The film tells the story of an FBI agent Sean Archer (John Travolta) who's tracking down terrorist Castor Troy (Nicholas Cage). When the two men switch faces, tensions arise and it's unclear how it will end. John Travolta and Nicholas Cage excel in the main roles, and the fact that they switch faces makes the film wonderfully strange.
5 A Better Tomorrow (1986, 93 %)
The critics' rating and the audience's rating is only different by 3 % as the audience gave the film 90 %. Despite its name, it's quite difficult for the film's heroes to imagine the vision of a better tomorrow. It focuses on a Hong Kong policeman who blames his brother, a former gangster, for their father's death. Unsurprisingly, the film stars Chow Yun-Fat. Even though it gives a lot of space to family relationships, the film is still full of action, bullets, and blood.
4 Hard-Boiled (1992, 94 %)
Just like The Killer, Hard-Boiled got a rating of 92 % from the audience - but "only" 94 % from the critics. Either way, it continues to be one of John Woo's best known-films. The action movie tells the story of a cop who loses his partner when they stand against gun smugglers.
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He decides to catch them, but to do that, he seeks out the help of an undercover cop who pretends to be a gangster hitman. Chow Yun-Fat portrayed another iconic character and the film offers exquisite choreography when it comes to its fight scenes.
3 The Killer (1989, 98 %)
The Killer's title speaks for itself. It focuses on a mob assassin Jeffrey. He has a plan to retire but when someone double-crosses him, Jeffrey has no other choice but to make things right. To do that, he works alongside a rogue policeman. The film creates an unforgettable duo played by Chow Yun-Fat and Danny Lee. What's more, John Woo proved once and for all that assassins for hires are far from one-dimensional characters. The audience had a similar opinion to the critics and they gave the film 92 %.
2 Last Hurrah For Chivalry (1978, 100 %)
Another lesser-known John Woo film is the action piece Last Hurrah for Chivalry. It works with a popular theme in action films - revenge. The main hero wants to get revenge on his father's mortal enemy. To achieve that, he works alongside two sword fighters. Critics praised the film for its use of martial arts and the creation of an unusual story. John Woo directed the film before he focused on modern Hong Kong gangster films. The audience gave the film a rating of 85 %.
1 Bullet In The Head (1990, 100 %)
Bullet in the Head is the first one of John Woo's only two films that got the maximum possible rating on Rotten Tomatoes. The film focuses on three Hong Kong gang fighters who start a life of crime in Vietnam. In the end, they end up in a prison camp with American soldiers. The film scored 100 % from the critics and 87 % from the audience but it still went largely unnoticed, unlike some of John Woo's other directorial work.