Customer Reviews

The Killer (Widescreen)

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

The Killer is the perfect example of cinema in its most powerful form. Expression...every bullet, every conversation & every scene just flows so beautifully & expressively it just blows me away. Unexplainable. Very deep & mythological story, unlike anything ive ever seen! U just have to see it. & see it. It will make u think to yourself, "what the hell is the average Hollywood budget gettin wasted on?? Promotion!!?? " John Woo on the other hand does not need $100,000,000 to truley express himself, hell, he doesn't even need the highest quality celluloid to make his films stunningly beatiful.. The Killer is no exception, John Woo is such a masterful director, no wonder why Hollywood have been ripping him off long before they invited him to join 'em!
& unlike most action films of mindless "invincibilty" plots & stupid reasons for massive shootouts, this has a cause for every piece of stunningly choerographed action...& consequences to join the equation.
If youve only seen Chow Yun Fat in his American films (Replacement Killers & Bulletproof Monk e.t.c), you really havent his true styles & capabilities. Get THE KILLER, & youll know why Hollywood have copied J.Woo's style of genius direction more times than a photo-copier has copied paper!
This is John Woo at his purest form, & Chow in his true style.
The John Woo & Chow Yun Fat combo is like the Sergio Leone & Clint Eastwood combo= Classics!
Get this if u like a deep, moving story, awesome acting, & action that sychronizes perfectly. (Also check out other J. Woo classics, Hard Boiled, A Better Tommorow 1 & 2, & Bullet in the Head!)
.....Nobody does action like Honk Kong...Nobody does Honk Kong like John Woo...

Filled with grit, emotion, and psychological depth, not to mention lots and lots of blood, "The Killer" is the kind of passion play that is seen all too rarely in any style of film, let alone the action genre. In fact, John Woo's Hong Kong shoot-'em-up masterpiece resembles nothing so much as Shakespeare with thousands of bullets flying around. In this case the role of the tragic hero is assumed by Jeffrey, played in career-defining fashion by Chow Yun-Fat. Jeffrey is an amiable enough sort, who also just happens to be a fearless, unstoppable assassin with a steely glare and a deadly accurate shot. But when he accidentally blinds a lovely torch singer named Jenny while mowing down about a dozen criminals in a crowded bar, Jeffrey finds some new meaning in his life by assuming responsibility for the woman, even going so far as to try to get her a vision-restoring cornea transplant. However, everything is far from hunky-dory for Jeffrey and his ward: after committing one last job to get the money for Jenny's operation, Jeffrey finds himself pursued by a small army of thugs as well as Chang and Li, two relentless detectives. Oh, and his best friend and associate Sidney has (temporarily) betrayed him. With all that's going on, the stage is set for a struggle on an operatic scale, with Chow giving his character just the right mix of warmth and gravity.

As one would expect from a film directed by Woo, with Chow in the starring role, "The Killer" contains more than its fair share of shootouts and chase scenes, all filmed with Woo's signature frenetic visual style. However, it's what happens when the movie slows down that sets it apart from the pack. "The Killer" is as much a drama as it is an action yarn, and it's a mighty good drama at that. There are a bunch of scenes here that got my adrenaline flowing, but even more impressive, some moments practically moved me to tears (emphasis on the word "practically"). Behind the constant action is an often-moving tale of devotion, honor, redemption, and friendship in the unlikely setting of the criminal underworld. The lines between good and bad, right and wrong, cop and criminal, are all blurred in a haze of moral ambiguity and divided loyalties. While Jeffrey and Sidney attempt to restore trust after Sidney's betrayal, an unlikely bond forms between Jeffrey and Li as the detective and the assassin realize they're not that different after all.

As the story unfolds, building toward the inevitable confrontation, the tension and the emotional stakes only rise along with the body count. Woo manages to elevate the crime drama to poetry, whether during a taut action sequence or a subdued conversation scene. The movie's deservedly legendary finale, involving a crazed gun battle inside a church, is the only appropriate conclusion. The viewer certainly needs some catharsis after such a harrowing journey, and Woo more than delivers the goods. "The Killer" is one of the few movies of its ilk that can legitimately be called art.

===========Hong Kong action and John Woo should be greatly respected by Hollywood b/c most of his movies like THe Killer, Hard Boiled and The Better Tomorrow Series are being ripped off by Hollywood directors such as the movie "DESPERADO," "RESEVIOR DOGS" and etc. The Hong kong cinema should be credited by hollywood.====================

This film attempts to show a compassionte side to hitmen. Here we have a hitman who accidentaly blinds a lounge singer during a shootout. He then attempts to help pay for an eye operation that will restore her sight. It is a good film but would definately recieve an R rating if submitted to the MPAA.

Chow Yun Fat plays a hitman. On one particularly bloody assignment the backfire of his gun blinds an innocent lounge singer (played with wonderful simplicity by real life singer/actress Sally Yeh). He takes responsibility and begins to provide care for her without her knowing who he really is. They eventually fall in love. He takes on one last job to pay for an operation which will hopefully restore her sight and allow them to start a new life together. However, a tough Dirty Harry style cop (played with conviction by Danny Lee) who has been assigned to protect the target, and the gangsters who are behind the hit have other plans. No punches are pulled. The violence is completely appropriate to the goings on and the action expertly staged making great use of long, medium, and claustrophobically close shots letting you know at all times how the characters are feeling emotionally whether on the chase or on the run. The gunplay is truly balletic and the actors "act" like human beings who know the fear and power these weapons instill. One of the best examples of the extended chase ever put on film occurs during Chow Yun Fat's attempt to assassinate the target protected by Danny Lee. Never have both a protagonist and antagonist proven more worthy of audience fandom and involvement due to the onscreen competentence and mutual respect each character posesses. Watch from the edge of your seat as a little girl gets caught in the crossfire between Chow Yun Fat (the killer and the human) and the triad that betrays him. Your heart will pound as Chow Yun Fat tries in desperation to get her to safety. THE KILLER is a true MOTION picture and fully utilizes the capabilities of the motion picture camera to tell its story. It is more than just a Hong Kong action film. The cinematic nonverbals transcend all language barriers and can be understood in any part of the world.

John Woo is a master director and THE KILLER shows him at his finest. It's a shame that he, like Jackie Chan, has been working here in America for the past several years and has not been given the opportunity to be the total filmaker that he is capable of. In Hong Kong they were the masters, here they are simply doing the best they can as laborers. THE KILLER shows why Chow Yun Fat is one of Asia's most revered actors. He ranks right up there with Olivier, DeNiro, and Pacino in his ability to play a wide range of truly memorable characters. Unfortunately, as is the case with Woo and Chan, his American films too have been so-so at best. His first, THE REPLACEMENT KILLERS, a pale Americanized revamping of THE KILLER has slowed down his success not allowing him to hit the American ground running as he could have. Thank goodness Ang Lee snatched him up momentarily from a limbo land of mediocrity to create another memorably different role in CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON.

I keep hoping and praying that the great talents of Hong Kong who want to make pictures for American audiences get the chance to do it right. Wouldn't it be great to see Hong Kong action films in English (not dubbed or subtitled) with the budget and technology that we have here? Better yet wouldn't it be great if these Hong Kong masters worked together in American films? Imagine John Woo directing Chow Yun Fat as a crime boss pitting Jet Li and Michelle Yeoh against Jackie Chan, Sammo Hung, and Yuen Biao! The possibilities are endless.

Hollywood has noticed the popularity of Hong Kong's style of action but so far has merely tried incorporating it into Western pictures where it doesn't really seem to belong. They let Hong Kong choreographers train young image-but-no-real-substance actors for a few weeks or months for films, but the action has always seemed a little manufactured with the actors merely going through the motions without having solid foundations in this type of art. The veterans of Hong Kong action have lived with this kind of action for so long that it is a part of their film vocabulary and THE KILLER is a great starting place for anyone who wants to see true Hong Kong action.

Jeffrey (Yun Fat Chow from Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon) is a professional killer who after being hired to do one last job finds himself being hunted down by the men he works for. The same plot has been copied many times but what makes this film unique is that it is a story about friendship, trust and conscience.

Jeffrey is a calm, cool and collected professional killer who does his job well but we see from the very beginning of the film that he carries a burden around with him. After Jeffrey's first contract in the film, he has painful flashbacks of the incident, so after that, he will never be the same. He then decides that his next contract will be his last so he reluctantly takes the assignment for 1.5 million dollars. But then things get complicated because the same men that he works for decide to try to kill him before he gets paid. The middle man in the story (the man who pays Jeffrey) is caught between being loyal to his boss or being loyal to his friend (Jeffrey). There is also a cop chasing Jeffrey who comes to admire him, but can his friendship with Jeffrey prove to be his undoing or work in his favor?

This movie is by far the most entertaining shoot-em up I have ever seen. I have seen some pretty violent Hollywood movies, but none of them match up to this. The movies almost 2 hours long and there are several slow parts. The action sequences are by far the highlight of this movie. Unlike Hollywood movies, the hero is not some muscle-bound Austrian who simply dispatches bad guys with a few shots and then says some sarcastic remark. In The Killer, Chow yun fat is a normal looking person who pumps an entire clip into some thug, who then crashes through a plate glass window or flies over a railing. The battle at the church and the first assassination scene are some of the greatest fight scenes on film. The camera work is great and the subtitles are okay. One of the things you have to realize that the violence is supposed to be over the top and outrageously violent, but the violence is never ridiculous. I dont think that people should complain about violence in Hollywood without noting that other countries make far more violent and explicit movies than the U.S. does.

This is a violent movie. I love it. The first time I watched it, I was absolutely spellbound by the incredible shoot outs in this movie. When these guys start, they finish things in a grand way, especially the final fight which is nonstop, totally cool shootem up. The plot is not the greatest, but it does pull at the heartstrings from time to time {mickey mouse!!!}. This is a great introduction to Chinese action movies. And I must say that Chow Yun-Fat is absolutely cool at all times. He is the man... A real action hero!

You laugh, you say, "Whoa cool!," you cry, but mostly you say, "whoa Cool!" Anyways...
Jeffrey (Chow) is a hired killer and is pretty cool. Until one killer evening, he accidently blinds a nightclub singer, and does one last job to pay for her eye operation. Howvever, things don't go as planned, when both sides of the law are after him.

Logic does not play a big part of this movie, action does. So don't go expecting a realistic movie, instead expect a supurbly done action-drama. The last scene in the church is one for the record books. The best part of the movie (in my humble opinion of course) is when the Mary statue is blown up and this very sad music plays, very good. Another great masterpiece from the collaberation of John Woo/Chow Yun-Fat.

This movie is worth to watch just by seeing how many reviews have been submitted. It is one of his best. Chow is so good that the only reason his movies can be bad is if the directing, translation, or the story itself is bad. None of the Hollywood films he did do him justice. Fortunately, everything fell in place with "The Killer". However, I didn't think much of it when I first saw it, which was dubbed in English. The best way to see this movie is to see it in Chinese with English subtitles, even if you read Chinese, because I think the English subtitles are better than the Chinese one. Other good movies starring Chow are "Once a Thief" and "A Better Tomorrow - I". If you want to see a Chow in a comedy, "God of Gambles - I" shows that he is a versatile actor, although it will all depend on whether the english subtitles are good or not.