The Killer (1989)

Watching The Killer again, this time on Tubi, though I really need to buy it. 

Ok so this is always overshadowed in my mind by Hard Boiled (the greatest action movie of the 1990s) but The Killer might be better. 

The love story is stronger, the connection between the killer and the cop is better and the action sequences … I had forgotten how amazing they are. 

I think Chow Yun Fat looks cooler throughout Hard Boiled than he does here and that is a factor. I don’t think anyone looks as cool on screen as the characters in Hong Kong crime films in the late 80s and early 90s. 

The guys in Heat, and Collateral are ice cold and sharp of course maybe and Al and his crew in Godfather 1 and 2 could rival the cops and gangsters from Hong Kong but, really, there’s nobody else who looks this stylish.

I wasn’t prepared for how good Danny Lee is here. He’s the real heart of this thing and he carries it magnificently. 

Also, John Woo’s camera prowls around like a hungry lion and everytime Chow Yun Fat flies backwards while simultaneously firing two guns I’m thrilled in a way that I can hardly find in any other sort of flick.

Woo had a pretty good Hollywood career that included the high point of Face/Off but what he accomplished in his home country remains unmatched. And not just unmatched by his own work but also by nearly everyone else who imitated his style but couldn’t fly this close to the sun.