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| Circle Films | Release Date: September 1, 1990 |
Starring:
Barry Wong, Danny Lee, Fan Wei Yee, Fui-On Shing, Kenneth Tsang, Kong Chu, Parkman Wong, Sally Yeh, Wing-Cho Yip, Yun-Fat Chow
Summary:
A disillusioned assassin (Chow Yun-Fat) accepts one last hit in hopes of using his earnings to restore vision to a singer he accidentally blinded, only to be double-crossed by his boss.
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This extremely violent and superbly made actioner demonstrates the tight grasp that director John Woo has on the crime meller genre, and his ability to twist the form into surprisingly satisfying shapes. The picture creeps up on an audience. Melodramatic from the start, it finally goes over the top to deliver a solid emotional punch.
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As far as shootouts go, The Killer is an over-the-top success. It's shameless in its excesses - in its filmic allusions, in its camp emotionality, in its frenzied and slo-mo sequences of bullet fire. There are shades of Martin Scorsese and Sam Peckinpah in the artfelt violence, and a direct hit on "Duel in the Sun" as two blinded lovers crawl to each other but miss. Throughout the absurd goings-on, director John Woo's playfulness is hard to resist, and Chow Yun-Fat as the hired killer has an appealing deadpan charisma. [28 June 1991, p.72]
For all the bullets that are spent, The Killer spends just as much time ruminating on the likes of honor, friendship and even the allure of guns themselves. “Easy to pick up,” Chow observes at one point, “difficult to put down.” The Killer is hardly a cautionary tale, but contrary to what its blunt title implies, it is a complicated one.
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See The Killer for its sheer, gushing exuberance -- if you think you can take it. [26 Apr 1991, p.13]
Ordinarily, one decries the violence in the streets, in life or art - or rationalizes that violence on the screen is a healthy outlet for man's inhumanity to man. But there's no such highfalutin psychology in The Killer. The film is just plain outlandish - and anyone who doesn't get the hyberbole should have a 99-year lease on The Farm for the Bewildered. [16 Aug 1991, p.3F]
Jun 28, 2020
Nice Film with impressive acting, direction, editing and story. One of the greatest action crime films of all time
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Jul 24, 2019
Brilliance! Along with Hard-Boiled, these are your Hong Kong action movie fix if you haven't seen them. Woo is beyond words.
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Jul 24, 2019
One of my all-time favorite action flicks, in the vein of Brian DePalma. Chow Yun-Fat is incredible, and the choreography is phenomenal. Props to John Woo for influencing so many American directors with this gem.
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Aug 23, 2019
Absolutely incredible gun fight scenes with pretty good story. Must have kinda one.
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Feb 3, 2020
Upon revisit i expected to be disappointed after Face Off, and really it is not as strong as i remember, it feels like a lot of filler. Makes me hungry for chinese food.
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