Fulltime Killer (2001)

I have seen this movie twice, and it took me the two viewings to really appreciate it. It is a typical gangster flick - heavy on the gun-toting action and lighter on plot - but this is what I have come to expect from an action movie.

The film's biggest flaw comes from the confusing mix of languages, particularly the use of English. I felt that the actors were so hard pressed to make their English accents understandable that their lines often came across as clipped and emotionless. The police in particular really annoyed me, but you have to give them credit for trying.

I was, however, highly impressed with Kelly Lin's language skills. She seemed to make the transitions between English, Japanese and Mandarin very easily. She is just so watchable! Takashi Sorimachi had it easy, being required to speak only Japanese. Andy Lau's English got better as the film went on, or maybe it just grew on me. I can't really comment on anyone's Cantonese because I don't speak it.

I really enjoyed the plot, whether it is cliched or not. Basically, Sorimachi and Lau play two assassins who vie for the title of Number 1 and also the attentions of a girl (Lin). The police are hot on their trail as well.

Not having seen many other movies of this style, I cannot compare Full Time Killer to other films which may be regarded as better or more original. All I know is I enjoyed it for what it was, having gone in expecting a little less than perfection, and I was not disappointed.

Fmovies: There seem to be a lot of Japanese movies that are pure exercises in style. I tend to like highly cinematic movies, so I usually enjoy myself, but somewhere along the way I always seem to go from thinking, this is just so cool to thinking, is there some point here. Fulltime Killer is lots of fun. It is very stylish, looks nice and has some very striking scenes. But it has about as much depth as a piece of typing paper. There's not much in the way of character development, and the movie feels increasingly unconvincing as it progresses. So while there is stuff I love, like the scene with the grenades, the movie as a whole failed to connect with me on any sort of intellectual or emotional level. Still, it is lots of fun, and I was torn between giving it a 7 or an 8 (which is usually the quandary I face when rating stylish, empty movies). Well worth watching, but not worth remembering.

There's a plot in there somewhere about two assassins and a girl they both have feelings for. One of them wants to take the number one assassin title from the other. But really this film is just a exercise in style over substance. The thing is the style IS great and it's very fun to watch. Well at least it attempts to get serious. A few nice set-pieces though.

My Grade: C+

DVD Extras: 25 minute Making of; 23 minute behind the Scenes; Bios for Andy Lau, Takashi Sorimachi, and Johnnie To; Theatrical Trailer; and Trailers for "The Believer", "the Last Minute" and "Scratch"

Fulltime Killer fmovies. This movie's action sequences blew me away, with how it was shot and the camera angles, i also like the way the dramatic music was used in order to express the emotions of the characters during the action scenes. As for the story, its not really that unique, it somehow reminded me of the movie, "Assasins" w/ Sylvester Stallone and Antonio Banderas. But its still a great action movie overall, it felt like a refreshment after seeing all the horrible action movies that they show here in the U.S. I definitely recommend this film for anyone who likes a lot of Shoot-em up ation, but only if you have already seen A Better Tomorrow, The Killer, or maybe even Hard Boiled, if that is not the case then I suggest you watch those first until you get sick of it.

This film is wonderful. Although slow in places, this thing is a work of art and beauty. Andy Lau is amazing, dynamic and charming! I really enjoyed the multicultural aspects, and felt the tensions between characters as their individual mysteries unfold to be very charming, sincere and often surprisingly touching. In an rather tired and often exploiting genre, this film really stands apart as an example of the value of depth in characters, theme and story no matter how two dimensional the tracking story might be. The making of footage on the flip side of the DVD is equally nifty, because seldom will a film include multiple agonizing takes of key scenes both action and non-action so that you might understand how excruciatingly demanding and exhausting film making can really be.

Fulltime Killer is a movie about assassins; one's trying to live in seclusion, the other is trying to showboat his way to top to become the #1 Assassin. Andy Lau does a great job as Tok, he has a natual arrogant look to him that really filled out the character. Tok is an up and coming assassin who takes any job he can find, difficult or not, and always delivers, throwing in extra style points to make his work unique.O, or Ono; is the current top assassin. He is played by Japanese actor Takashi Sorimachi, another good choice in casting. His methods are less flashy than Tok's but he is effiecient and very professional about his work. Over the course of the movie, a woman gets involved, as does Interpol, as news of a flashy killer quickly spreads across the surrounding area. The plot obviously ends up pitting the two assassins against each other(like you didn't know)and well, I guess you're going to have to watch it to see who becomes the #1 Fulltime Killer. But before I end this may I at least comment on the dialogue in the movie. I'm no expert in foreign languages but it seemed like there were 4 different languages spoken throughout the course of the movie, Korean, Japanese, Chinese(some form) and English. Like I said, I'm no expert so if they only spoke Japanese and English I wouldn't be surprised. But the dialogue between characters was well crafted, I enjoyed how the characters spoke their native language, or if they didn't, another character would inquire why they didn't. The action scenes were good, not too much physical action, but if you like guns, then this is right up your alley. Finally, I'd like to point out that this movie doesn't center around one assassin, it switches back and forth, and you really will find yourself rooting for one or the other by the end of the film. I rooted for O, did he win? Watch the movie.