For fans of action films, John Woo hardly needs any introduction. The Hong Kong master redefined the whole genre in the late 80s and into the 90s and after a tenure in Hollywood, returned to Asia and to form with Red Cliff. Silent Night finds him back in the world of the United States for the first time in twenty years, teaming with the producers of the John Wick franchise a holiday-themed action picture. All of the elements are in place for a thrilling ride, but unfortunately, too many of them simply misfire. Sadly, Die Hard and Lethal Weapon twin thrones as the kings of holiday action pictures are in little danger of being unseated by Woo’s latest effort.

Silent Night’s thin plot revolves around a father unable to come to terms with the death of his son due to gang violence. Chasing down those responsible, he takes a bullet in the throat and after a much too graphic surgery sequence, winds up mute. Obsessed with seeking revenge, he drives away his loving wife and becomes a one-man army over the course of a year seeking to destroy the corrupt gangs which cost him his child. Though this revenge narrative is pretty standard action movie stuff, Silent Night pivots on an interesting gimmick: the story is told without spoken dialogue outside of the occasional radio chatter. This sounds like a winning combination, as Woo’s films, especially when not subtitled, often devolve into corny melodrama with wooden lines, and Woo has long had a fondness for overwrought emotions. But while the film wisely keeps its runtime lean, the idea wears thin for 104 minutes, ultimately becoming exasperating rather than clever.

John Woo’s tenure in Hollywood was marked by studio interference on all of his films save one: Face/Off. Almost any Woo fan will tell you that’s his best American picture. Face/Off, of course, makes no sense, but it does have a certain psychological and emotional logic to it, and this is where Silent Night falls down. Whereas the finale of Face/Off ultimately offers catharsis in its carnage, Silent Night ultimately leads down a dead-end road of violence. There’s simply not enough resonance to the film for the narrative to satisfy. Its vigilante plot ultimately comes across as sub-Death Wish, and despite lead Joel Kinnaman’s intensely physical silent movie lead performance and Marco Beltrami’s pounding score, there’s simply too little depth to the picture. One-dimensional villains are nothing new, but part of Woo’s genius has been his ability to dance between moral boundaries, and his best films involve characters on both sides of the law, but here, everyone is simply there to get shot. Without dialogue, it’s hard to texture the world for anyone besides our two leads, and ultimately watching a disintegrating marriage isn’t enough characterization. Whereas Woo’s best films seek a catharsis in violence, this one only suggests self-destruction; a worthwhile message, perhaps, but not only is at odds with the film’s stylized carnage, but also narratively unsatisfying.

On a technical level, Woo’s trademark style is evident throughout the picture. Cinematographer Sharone Meir shoulders the brunt of the storytelling with his frequently dazzling cinematography, befitting Woo’s ultra-stylized world and Kinnaman’s task to convey pain without words is overwrought but ultimately effective enough. But there’s only so much he can do with the film’s thin plot and characterization. If the film is solid on a technical level, it only leaves you admiring the technique, never emotionally involved like in Woo’s best films like his viciously nihilistic Bullet in the Head or the operatic emotions of The Killer and Hard Boiled.

But actions speak louder than words, and I know what you’re really asking, and that’s how much of Woo’s trademark kinetic mayhem delivers? Again, the answer is “not enough.” There are, to be sure, flashes of the master’s old brilliance. A bravura long-take up a stairway is genuinely stunning, and seeing a character fire two guns simultaneously is almost like greeting an old friend for Woo fans. But too many of these sequences feel too short, and there’s simply not enough action. The movie feels like it drags its feet getting to the finale, and while that doesn’t entirely disappoint, it’s not fully worth the wait either. It’s admirable to see a Hollywood film which takes creative risks, and it’s great to have John Woo back on US shores, but alas, too few of those risks pay off.