The Killer (1989)

Toilet Review: Holy crap, this ain’t like any action movie you’ve ever seen. You wanna watch a bad ass action movie with some heart? Watch this one.

Hong Kong sure does know how to rock the gangster/action movie. There isn’t a single thing about this movie that I didn’t like. The story is great, the action is just top notch and I absolutely adore Chow Yun Fat. There is just so much to sink your teeth into.

The story focuses on Ah Jong, a disillusioned assassin, who takes on one last job. However, he ends up blinding an innocent lounge singer. He feels awful about it, and decides to take care of her. Slowly they start to begin a relationship as friends and Ah Jong does what he can for Jennie. There is also the police investigation into the shooting and the intrepid Inspector Li Ying is soon on the case. Things slowly fall apart as Ah Jong realises that he has been set up by someone he trusts implicitly and Li Ying realises that not all “bad guys” are bad.

This movie is just RIFE with symbolism. It’s practically dripping with Catholic imagery. White doves, stained glass windows, hundreds of candles inside a church. It’s beautiful and so very typical of a John Woo movie.

This movie was rather excellent, I have to say. I really enjoyed it. It kept me on the edge of my seat the entire time. Just be a bit wary, it’s terribly violent. Now I enjoy violence in movies if it’s warranted/part of the genre, which this is. But I know that my sister cannot bear it, and more than once had to look away from the screen when we watched it. Just a heads up, as it were!