THE KILLER (1989) A Film Review by Ted Prigge Copyright 1997 Ted Prigge
Writer/Director: John Woo Starring: Chow Yun-Fat, Danny Lee, Sally Yeh, Chu Kong
What is it about action director John Woo which makes him more critically acclaimed than any other action director in the world? Why do critics actually like the guy if all he does is action films? And how come he's only made one American film that's on par with his other ones? Well, put simply, John Woo just knows how to make an action sequence.
John Woo is different from other action directors because his action sequences are beautifully staged, viscerally shot, and filled with lots of graphic violence, people being brutally murdered in slow motion (like Peckinpah), and a original ways to creat an action sequence. His stories, seen as being corny over in the States, but are well-plotted, featuring spaghetti western-like melodrama, filled with characterization and opposition, and told with great style that is not matched by any other action director in the world.
"The Killer," which is around the middle of his career, is the best film by him I've seen. Not only an intensely crafted action film, but also a little character study centering on an unlikely target, "The Killer" moves at a quick pace, and is motivated by the characters, not the plot. Thus, the film twists in weird ways in respect to the action genre.
The killer in "The Killer" is Jeff (played by Chow Yun-Fat), an unusual hitman in that he has a kind of sense of alienation and compassion for others. He sees his work as a job, but never likes to hurt the innocent. In the first scene, he sits in a quaint church, awaiting his boss/pal to show up with his orders for his next job. Then he goes to a restaurant where his target is, pulls out two guns, and takes everyone out in a brilliantly choreographed scene of mayhem and carnage. But towards the end of the bloodbath, he accidentally blinds a singer from the restuarant (Sally Yeh) while shooting at one of the bad guys. Instead of shrugging it off and walking off cooly, Jeff damn near cries, wraps a bandage around her eyes, and helps her out before taking off.
Turns out the singer isn't totally blind, but needs an operation to restore her sight, but can't really pay for it, I suppose. In steps Jeff, who has been obsessed with the fact that he's wounded her, probably for life. He decides he wants out of the business, but wants to do one last job to finance her operation. So, off he goes on a typical, easy job, which requires him to put on a fake moustache, get on a speed boat, and shoot a well-known figure in public. No problem there. But then he's set up by the guys who hired him, and he finds himself alienated, being followed by both his employers and the cops, but still selflessly obsessed with getting his money and helping the singer.
This is a pretty unusual concept for a tense action film, and it's handled wonderfully. The relationship between the singer and Jeff is handled nicely, never really giving into a lot of romance or anything cliched like that. And there's a lot of opposition between Jeff and the main cop (Danny Lee) who's obsessed with taking him in (or out), but finds himself identifying with him, thus creating a complex opposition with him, instead of some cliched one.
But besides the inner depth of the film, there is a great sense of action craftsmanship in this film, making not only Woo's best, but one of the greatest action films of all time. I'm talking top 5 or 10 here. It's a frenetic, intense, visceral, and adrenaline-rushing film, filled with dizzying action sequences that thrill the viewer, leaving them giddy. Woo, reportedly, abhors violence, and his is cartoonish, and, in retrospect, exhausting. Every action seuqence is a ballet of bloodbath, with characters being shot to a grisly death in slow motion, then going back to the regular frenetic speed of the scene.
"The Killer" represents the right way to create an action film - level it with depth, give us characters we care about, then pour on the action. This shows a true filmmaker at the height of his craft, and luckily he has never really come down from that high pinnacle, except for his first two American outings. If you've seen "Face/Off," you know that when you're talking about action films, John Woo is, as Howie Long called Travolta in "Broken Arrow, "the man."
MY RATING (out of 4): ****
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