021 - The Killer

Synopsis: Moral hit man meets amoral cop - but kills hundreds of men anyway  

Director: John Woo

Actors: Chow Yun Fat, Danny Lee, Sally Yeh

Date: 1989

How viewed: bought from Amazon

Rating: 2/5

David Meyer says:

The gunfights go on and on, and every minute is more imaginative, irresistible, exciting and beautiful than the last. Woo is the ultimate poet of on-screen violence. 

I say:

The next Lovefilm rental to arrive is Tarkovsky's Stalker, so I thought I needed something lighter before tackling that (after watching The Sheltering Sky and The Sacrifice in recent days), and this is certainly different!! Not my sort of film at all, as most of it is like a shoot-em-up video game - but other reviews talk about how John Woo changed the genre and the influence this film had on Hollywood - so I guess you have to acknowledge and respect that. The friendship that develops between the hitman and the cop is interesting, but the body count is just too ridiculous - I read somewhere 100 in the final shootout with the Triads alone, and I suspect someone somewhere has added them all up! If you like video games this is for you, if not, not.
PS here you go: http://moviebodycounts.com/Top-Movies.htm says The Killer is currently at No 29 with 149 kills - ho hum - top is Lord of the Rings Return of the King with 836 - enjoy!