The Killer (1989)
Composite Score: 84.13
Starring: Chow Yun-Fat, Danny Lee, Sally Yeh, Kong Chu, Kenneth Tsang, Fui-On Shing, Wing-Cho Yip, and Ricky Wong Chun-Tong
Director: John Woo
Writer: John Woo
Genres: Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller
MPAA Rating: R for strong violence
Box Office: $2.34 million worldwide
Why should you Watch This Film?
The Killer is John Woo’s film about a hitman whose conscience kicks in when he accidentally blinds an innocent singer while he’s carrying out a hit. The film follows Ah Jong (Chow Yun-Fat) as he seeks to complete one final hit to make enough money to pay for the singer’s cornea surgery and get out of the business, all while evading the pursuit of Inspector Lee Ying (Danny Lee) and Wong Hoi (Fui On-Shing) – Ah Jong’s employer – and Paul Yau (Ricky Wong Chun-Tong) – the hitman hired by Wong to take out Ah Jong. It’s a classic action thriller, full of some great set pieces, excellent gunplay, and a moving story at its heart.
Why shouldn’t you Watch This Film?
As a straightforward action film, The Killer lacks a little bit in its plot – there’s a lot more telling than showing to make way for its great action set pieces. There’s moments where this limited plot works well, reminiscent of some of the better modern action films (John Wick or Nobody), but there’s others where it detracts from some of the film’s more emotional beats. Clearly, the film is intended to connect with the audience on multiple levels, but its limited on-screen character development and heavy reliance on dialogue to flesh things out hold it back in some of those moments. It’s still a great time with some truly great moments, but it’s not necessarily the richest of action narratives.
So wait, why should you Watch This Film?
The Killer thrives on strong action sequences and solid relationship building between its characters even when it lacks in actual plot development. From the jump, we are given both of its highlights with a great bit of gunplay from Ah Jong in his first hit and an establishment of his connections with the singer Jennie (Sally Yeh) and his handler Fung Sei (Chu Kong). Those relationships carry over and develop over the course of the film. In our introduction to Lee, we see more of the same, establishing his friendship with his partner Sgt. Tsang Yeh (Kenneth Tsang) and giving him the opportunity to get in some gunplay of his own with some arms dealers. As the film progresses, we are given even more great action sequences – gunplay, boat chases, car chases, drive by shootings, showdowns at churches – and engaging relationship moments between characters – the romance that blossoms between Jennie and Ah Jong, Ah Jong and Lee realizing that they aren’t as different as they initially thought, the fates of Tsang and Fung and their impacts on the film’s leads. It works itself out to become a truly engaging and entertaining action film.
John Woo’s action masterpiece The Killer is highlighted by an incredible variety of action set pieces – all excellently choreographed – and some authentic character relationships that keep the audience engaged, earning its reputation as one of the Greatest Films of All Time. It might struggle with its more overarching plot but manages to fit exactly in its niche as a simple action film. It currently is not streaming on any of the usual sites, but if you can find it to watch or wait for it to come available, it’ll definitely be worth your time.
