The Killer

The Killer

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DVD Reviews of The Killer

DVD Review: HONG KONG ACTION AT ITS FINEST !!!
Summary: 5 Stars

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.