The Killer

views updated

The Killer ★★★½ Die Xue Shuang Xiong 1990 (R)

Jeffrey Chow is a gangster gunman who wants out. He's hired by his best friend to perform one last killing, but it doesn't go as smoothly as he wanted. He's almost caught by “Eagle” Lee, a detective who vows to hunt him down using Jennie, a singer blinded by Chow in crossfire. Lots of action and gunfights, but also pretty corny and sentimental. Very similar to American action movies, but using Chinese and Asian cultural conventions. A good introduction to the Chinese gangster-flick genre. Available with subtitles or dubbed in English. 110m/C VHS, DVD . HK Chow Yun-Fat, Sally Yeh, Danny Lee, Kenneth Tsang, Chu Kong, Fui-On Shing; D: John Woo; W: John Woo; C: Wing-Hung Wong, Peter Pau; M: Lowell Lo.