The Killer, directed by John Woo - Movie Review

After writing and directing the groundbreaking A Better Tomorrow and A Better Tomorrow Part II, John Woo had a fallout with producer Tsui Hark. Hark ended up writing and directing A Better Tomorrow Part III using Woo's outline for setting it as a prequel taking place in Vietnam. No longer part of the A Better Tomorrow franchise Woo, who had all but invented the heroic bloodshed genre when he started that franchise, decided to put his efforts into a new movie. That movie was the heroic bloodshed classic The Killer. Heroic bloodshed is defined as Kung Fu with bullets instead of martial arts. They are usually highly melodramatic films involving Chinese crime gangs and plenty of shootouts. John Woo, Kirk Wong and Ringo Lam were the masters of this genre, with their intricately choreographed gunfights. These were the movies that finally put the Hong Kong movie industry back on the map ( they had fallen off when the Kung Fu movie craze lost it's popularity. ) And it was The Killer which became the genre's first breakthrough hit in America both at film festivals as well as becoming a bestseller on home video.

The movie stars Chow Yun Fat as a hit man for hire ( variously called Ah Jong, John or Jeffrey depending on which video company released the movie. The English Language dub uses the name Jeffery ). After accidentally blinding a lounge singer ( Sally Yeh ) during one of his assignments Chow gets a severe case of guilt and decides to retire. He accepts one last mission in order to raise money so the blind lounge singer can have surgery to restore her eyesight. On Chow's trail are a pair of cops played by Danny Lee and Kenneth Tsang who are trying to find the mysterious hit man responsible for so many assassinations of crime bosses over the past few years. They nearly stop Chow from making his final hit, catching a glimpse of him as he makes his escape. This gives the man who hired Chow an excuse to kill him for being identified and potentially turning states witness should he be caught. Now hunted down by a criminal gang Chow is determined to get the money he was promised for the hit. Investigating the trail of bodies left behind by Chow the two police detectives get too close and the crime boss has Kenneth killed. An outraged Danny ends up teaming up with Chow and they both have a memorable showdown in a church with the gang.

The melodrama is poured on thick in this movie, and yet somehow works. You feel emotionally invested in the characters and cheer as they do away with the villains. When the gang leader finally gets gunned down at the end of the movie you cant help but let out a cheer even though it means the ruin of one of the films characters. Aside from it's incredible gun battles the movie has some of the greatest scenes in action cinema. One that stands out features a supporting character called Sidney ( played by actor Paul Chu Kong ) who is Chow's best friend and go between with the gangs who hire him. Earlier in the movie Sidney attempts to kill Chow to claim the price on his head, but as the movie progresses eventually sides with Chow. Determined to get the money owed to Chow he walks into the gangs hideout where he is surrounded by the armed gang members, beaten and comes close to being killed. This is usually the point where the friend gets killed, but somehow Sidney is not only able to turn the tables and escape the gang, but walk away with a briefcase full of the money they owe Chow. The turn of events is both unbelievable and extremely plausible, and you wind up thrilled and pleasantly surprised by the outcome. Just about the only complain one can have about The Killer is that very few other Heroic Bloodshed movies have come close to matching it. In other words you watch this movie and the rest seem disappointing.