The Killer (1989)

Chow Yun Fat and John Woo teams up together with strong commitment to this highly melodramatic action film. The Killer was so ahead of its time especially with its signature shootout scenes and fast paced action sequences in its time of production in Hong-Kong. Without any special, visual or sound effects; it's a high achievement on both sound and vision. It's high on thematic values, but low on production values.

Woo benefited a lot from a team of action-coordinators as part of the production crew he assigned with. 20 years from its screen release, today still there are not many action films in which the sequences are coordinated as good as in The Killer. The rest of the production was standing by its plot, which becomes unbearable due to extremely melodramatic events. Woo tries to hurt our feelings as much as he can by killing and injuring innocents so ruthlessly: Passengers on a train, children on a beach, singers at a night club etc.

Lowell Lo's heart-wrenching theme and background music was one of the finest of the thematic values. Story development is also very effective that everything seems going fine at the beginning of Jong(the hit-man)'s last mission, then for he wasn't paid for his successful assassination he decides to show up back from underground with his alias: "Jeffrey". When he did, a stage singer ends up losing her sight and becomes blind from shot blasting. Jong helps her get well; she falls in love with him. He introduces himself as Jeffrey to her. No matter what romance they share together, no matter how close they are to each other; there is absolutely no accordance no chemistry between Sally Yeh and Chow Yun-Fat. Sally Yeh acts so poorly, especially while she keeps screaming needlessly every other scene.

For whoever likes this film, I strongly advise Léon to them. The same idea also works in Luc Besson's film, too: In a hit-man's life; there is no certain way to go, there is nobody to trust, there is no repentance. In Luc Besson's film of 1994, Jean Reno and Natalie Portman builds up a better harmony using emotions but not melodrama.

Additionally in John Woo's film, even though Chow Yun-Fat is not fast enough he just stands by the bullets by running, or guards himself with armchairs and seats of the cathedral which are vulnerable to bullets with the gaps between backrests. So many bullets are used... Were they shot by children or blind hitmans? How could you explain not getting shot while 4 hitmans are aiming at you running inside the cathedral and running on the beach? On the other hand, every single bullet that's used in Léon, hurts one person or another; or leaves marks, tracks and holes on walls, and in the texture of the floor. It's not an acquirement to waste 10 thousand bullets in a movie; but it's really an achievement when you configure a sub-production plan just to preview and review the bullets in both pre-production and production.

Fmovies: I was 18 when I first saw this film. I'll admit it.. I was not sure about it because it wasn't in English. I was working at Blockbuster at the time and I had a set number of movies that I could rent for free. My manager knew I had enjoyed Face-Off, which had been released just a few weeks earlier. He recommended that I check out the imported films of Woo. I'm glad I did.

I credit "The Killer" with a lot of things. It introduced me to a new style of cinema, a new genre and it showed me that films could be done as Opera and still be engaging. If you haven't ever checked this movie out, I sincerely recommend it. Not only is it an intense action film, but it's also an amazing human and emotional story.

I'm now a young film maker. And I look back at a number of movies before I begin any project. This movie is always very high on that list.

So - if you still haven't seen it... go out and rent it now. And please, steer clear of the dubbed version. Get the true experience with the subtitles.

I wish more action movies would be like this! I didn't expect to love this movie as much as I did. The more the movie progressed, the simply better it got.

The movie was made before John Woo's coming to Hollywood but this movie already gained him some cult status in the States. It's a typical Woo movie, which shows once more that he is a real master in making action movies. His action directing in this movie is really flawless.

The movie is basically non-stop action, with a lot of gun fights, explosion and fights. But it's not just a mindless action-flick, it also pays lots of attention to its story and development and interesting character building. The emotions within this movie are also really truly powerful, especially toward the ending.

The characters are really strong within this movie. Yun-Fat Chow plays a great and intriguing 'good' hit-man, who is being chased by cop Danny Lee. The whole game and chase and the eventual teaming up between those two is done great. They are like each other and also fall for the same woman (at least that was the original concept) but are on the different side of the law. They have a certain respect for each other, which makes it all the more meaningful and interesting to follow. You also really start to care about those characters. The movie is also filled with plenty of other interesting and backstabbing characters, cops, gangsters and fellow hit-men. It's not hard to see why John Woo in his early days was often called the Asian Martin Scorsese.

But it's of course mostly the action that makes this movie such an amazing one to watch. There is plenty of Woo-ism present, so expect lots of slow-motion and stylish action, including Mexican stand-offs, running, car chases, boat chases, flying doves. Yes, this movie has got it truly all. There are a couple of sequences toward the end that really stand out and are among the best the genre has to offer. Yeah, it's a real testosterone driven guy flick, with also typical important guy themes such as loyalty, bravery and friendship in it, with added to that a whole load of bullets and killings. The body count of this movie is 120, all being committed by about 3 guys, that should really say something about this movie.

It's a movie with a great style. The movie is Asian, so the editing and such might seem off to you if you're not accustomed to it but it's all part of the Asian film-making style.

The violence and graphic is quite explicit. Definitely different from his Hollywood movies, where he obviously has to hold back with the blood. The blood is literally flying around in this movie and people get shot through the head at close range. Even small children can't escape the violence.

Truly an incredible movie within its genre!

10/10

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The Killer fmovies. Chow Yun Fat and John Woo strike again. The Killer is not your run of the mill action flick. It features characters you care about, jaw-dropping action sequences, and , best of all, Chow Yun Fat. He's always supercool. Chow and co-star Danny Lee play very similar characters but are on opposite sides of the law. It makes the film work very well. The heroes can relate to one another because they have both injured the innocent while doing their jobs. Another great actor in the film is Kong Chu in the role of Sydney, the one handed hitman. Being in the middle of the fray, he makes for an interesting character. There is a great scene involving Sydney's betrayal. Chow is so amazing with his emotions in this scene. He's not just an international action superstar, he's an underrated and incredible actor as well. That's what makes The Killer more than just another action movie. Woo's direction always helps too. The Killer boasts one of the best and most epic shootouts in film history. Woo's older films are as stylistic as they get, I mean stylistic as hell. Chow Yun Fat and John Woo make an incredible duo. Nicholas Cage is no replacement, it's high time they work together again.

There is no doubt in mind that "The Killer" is easily the MOST ARTISTIC ACTION FLICK in the world. Not only that, it's also the BEST ACTION-DRAMA film around!

Directed by John Woo (now at his popular peak with "M:I-2" as his vehicle), "The Killer" tells the story of a professional killer (Chow Yun-Fat), a cop and a lady caught in crossfire. Chow Yun-Fat's act for his character is very solid, and at the same time he perfectly fits the action sequences.

Also written by John Woo, you can clearly see many of The Master's trademarks like slow-motion action, stunts, deep characterization, drama, doves, two-fisted gunplay, and missing from his Hollywood flick...gore! This movie is full of blood and gore, and from my point of view it does not make the film dirty but rather more realistic and expressive.

About the action, the level of violence is very high like that of the gore. Since this is a Hong Kong-made movie, Woo had all the freedom he wants and it clearly shows why this is considered by his millions of fans as their favorite Woo flick.

Two-fisted gunplay is very well presented here. Seen Tom Cruise (M:I-2), Nicolas Cage (Face/Off), Christian Slater (Broken Arrow), Dolph Lundgren (Blackjack) and John Travolta (Face/Off) all fire with 2 guns each? Well, for newcomers here, two-fisted gunplay has gotten of to a great start even before Woo directed the above-mentioned Hollywood stars. Chow Yun-Fat's 2-gun firing is simply perfect and it shows! Chow is NO MARTIAL ARTIST or STUNTMAN like Jackie Chan, but his use of guns and acting makes him exceed with quality.

Chow Yun-Fat was not even a popular action star before teaming with Woo. But Woo made the difference for him and Chow's image has gotten better since.

John Woo's directing is really perfect. As mentioned above, he had all the creative freedom he wanted with this movie...something missing from his Hollywood films. "The Killer" is considered to be his biggest teamup with Chow.

Woo is known to make non-action stars look great in action...Tom Cruise is a perfect example of this when he made "M:I-2".

Contrary to popular belief among newcomers, "The Killer" is an ART FILM. Those newcomers who've seen "M:I-2" might think that this classic is another "blockbuster" or brainless-action film. Anyone who understands the link between action and art will easily recognize the greatness Woo made here. Eventually, YOU'LL CARE ABOUT THE CHARACTERS AS THE STORY MOVES ON.

That said, the story is not about violence and money. The story presents CHARACTER, EMOTION, SORRY and HONOR. As a viewer, you should not just look at the action scenes, but you should concentrate on the story and characters within.

My conclusion: "The Killer" is a PURE QUALITY MOVIE THAT NEEDS TO BE SEEN BY EVERYONE. Whether you're a casual movie fan, quality viewer, blockbuster lover or whatever type of viewer you are, "The Killer" is film excellence as long as the viewer understands it.

Want the most artistic of action? REMEMBER THE KILLER!

John Woo's "The Killer" shows a master at the height of his powers. Woo, today working in the United States, gained fame in Hong Kong through the two "Better Tomorrow" films. He became popular and used his success to go to greater things. In fact, much of Woo's HK work is similar, including the work he did in the early 90's like "Bullet in the Head" and "Hard Boiled". But "The Killer" shows John Woo as a perfectionist, the top director of action films who can perfectly blend in over-the-top violence with emotional drama.

"The Killer" follows John (Jeff in other versions of the film), who's played to utter perfection by Chow Yun Fat. John is a hit-man planning retirement. On one job, however, he accidentally shoots a singer (Jenny) near her eyes. She survives, but her vision is blurry. John saves her from a gang of rapist thieves, and the two ultimately fall in love with each other, despite Jenny never having seen John's face. On John's case, however, is Inspector Li, hard at work, who is intent on always getting his man. Much of the movie involves John and the results of his final job which ultimately pits him up against the entire mob, who want him dead for overexposing his identity. And the rest of the film follows John catering to Jenny's needs and helping her at every moment, all the while evading Li, who's getting closer and closer to stopping him.

To make the movie the memorable film that it is, Woo perfectly orchestrates some of the best shoot-outs ever seen on film. Much of what Woo did here, he was never able to follow up. "Hard Boiled" was interesting, but its final shoot-out, over 20 minutes in length, just couldn't keep up. It got boring by the end. What Woo does in "The Killer" is give you a sample of his powers and then leave you begging for more. And that what you'll be literally doing: begging for just a glimpse of the next dude victim to Fat's two beautiful handguns.

It's only sad to see that, not so much Woo doesn't do these films anymore, but that Woo rarely does good films now.(Period) He's too busy, working on ego with top stars and killer budgets. His two films that came as far as making an impact with me from his U.S. catalog will probably include "Broken Arrow" and "Face/Off", both primarily due to just how much I like Travolta (though the former was also an early film of mine that I really remember liking, since it was different from all the Disney and kid stuff I was used to). But Woo, intent on fulfilling his dreams of making a musical and captivating audiences with his powerful style, can just show the people a screening of this film. It's quoted as being "Violence as poetry", and that's exactly what it is. With the beautiful music adding feeling and depth to the characters and the great writing and direction, this is easily Woo's tour-de-force.

9.5/10 (****/****)