SerDelon It's the kind of movie where I like some aspects of it, but as an overall package, I didn't think it was very good.What I liked was the story - reasonably good there. The action as well was great, a bit over the top and not exactly the most realistic but it is exciting and fun to watch for sure. The music was pretty good. The characters are good as well, the main ones are all quite likable. Although the villain was a bit comical.What I didn't like? To be honest, I wasn't fan of the directing, I felt everything was rushed, almost felt like the movie was on a fast forward. There's little build up or tension or even moments where you can appreciate and absorb what is happening, it jumps from one scene to another very quickly after bits of dialogue and it got annoying fast and made me care less about what was happening.The sound as well, now I don't know the reasons behind it or whether it's only the version I was watching but the characters were all dubbed/voiced over (I'm talking about the Chinese version) which I didn't like at all.Those are my two main problems but it really took away from what I think could have been a better movie.

Leofwine_draca A great Hong Kong action movie which I would consider to be John Woo's near best – unlike HARD-BOILED it also has a story and strong characters along with tons of his famous gun-fu action. Forget Woo's later attempts at a career in Hollywood (a path which yielded some great movies, but none as intense as this), THE KILLER shows him at his best, simultaneously offering us a career-best Chow Yun-Fat as an all-too-human hit-man who suffers a crisis of conscience after accidentally blinding a nightclub singer during a hit. The plot is simple but layered in characterisation and emotion; Woo contrasts the endless violence with touching scenes of romance and heartfelt feeling. The entire cast put in wonderful performances, whether it be Sally Yeh as the fragile blind girl or Danny Lee as the unorthodox cop whose life parallels Yun-Fat's. Add in a brew of nasty over-the-top villains and you have the elements which make up a great film.Obviously the main reason for male viewers to watch this film is the much-hyped action choreography; let me say simply that it doesn't disappoint. The otherwise fairly slow plot is punctuated by tons of hard-hitting shoot-outs, usually involving Yun-Fat battling against dozens of hired killers and assassins out to get him. Stunts, violence, and explosions combine to make a truly exciting viewing experience which just gets better as it goes on. Once the gang of white tracksuit-wearing bad guys show up towards the end of the film, Woo lets rip with some incredible set-pieces in which the violent shoot-outs go on forever; death has never been painted as artistically as this before. Little touches emphasise the violence, like the church setting of the finale or Yun-Fat's white suit which gradually gets drenched in blood. Woo reminds us of the futility of violence with a bleak and tragic ending which actually leaves you a little shell-shocked. For me, THE KILLER is close to the best on-screen realisation of Woo's career, a re-watchable masterpiece of action and drama, cleverly intertwined and always edge-of-your-seat material. Only HARD-BOILED beats it thanks to THAT hospital set-piece.

gavin6942 A disillusioned assassin (Chow Yun-fat) accepts one last hit in hopes of using his earnings to restore vision to a singer (Sally Yeh) he accidentally blinded, only to be double-crossed by his boss.Director John Woo has said this film is a tribute to directors Jean-Pierre Melville and Martin Scorsese, specifically "Le Samourai" and "Mean Streets". The influence is definitely there, but it seems that Woo ended up influencing another generation even more than he himself was influenced.We see a strong influence on many directors, including Quentin Tarantino, Robert Rodriguez and Johnnie To. Film scholars have noted the similarities between Woo's style and The Killer with the films "Nikita" (1990) and "Léon" (1994), directed by French director Luc Besson. The Tarantino connection is obvious, and indeed there could be a parallel for Besson. Can it be we owe much of our 90s action film style to 1980s Hong Kong?

bryan-mconnor Now going into The Killer I expected a good movie considering it's a movie with Chow Yun-Fat movie directed by John Woo. Like any other Chow Yun-Fat and John Woo collaboration, the movie ended up being great.A disillusioned assassin (Chow Yun-Fat) accepts one last hit in hopes of using his earnings to restore vision to a singer he accidentally blinded, only to be double-crossed by his boss. I found the story to be well paced, but some will probably complain how it's not evenly spaced out between action and drama, but they won't mind it once the movie shift into full gear and delivers the goods on it story. The story is masterfully told in my opinion and doesn't suffer from having to much action either. Even though I saw the dubbed version, I can tell you the movie still had some great lines. I got more into the story when it showed that our killer was sympathetic and caring giving him depth instead of just making him look like a cold heartless killer like other movies.The action is nothing short of spectacular as you would expect with any movie directed by John Woo. It's beautiful to watch, it's intense, it's enjoyable, and has a purpose with the story. I have to praise to Woo for his good camera work in this movie and writing what I consider to be one of the best action movie ever made. Beside the acting, I want praise the music in the movie, while it may pass viewers as they get entertain by what they see, I want to say that adds to the greatness and entertainment value for this movie.The Killer is amazing experience I would recommend for anyone. It's a great action movie that delivers the goods on the story with some of the best action sequences ever filmed. The Killer is by far one of the greatest action movie i've ever seen.