"John Woo's 1989 thriller is a reminder of the director's habit of hitching the craziest of mayhem to a mile-wide streak of earnest emotionalism and sentimentality; a strong and under-acknowledged part of why his films are so addictive. There's a lot of bleeding in these violent movies and bleeding hearts also."
"With The Killer, Woo somehow became the Douglas Sirk of Hong Kong action cinema, in a gonzo melodrama that borrows from Magnificent Obsession, about the redemption of an assassin falling in love with a woman whose sightlessness he has inadvertently caused."
"Ah Jong talks to Jennie after her shows without revealing who he is, naturally and plans one last job to earn enough to pay for her eye operation, taking on the assassination of a bigwig at a Hong Kong carnival. It's a spectacular set piece, which shows that as, well as influencing Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez, Woo may also have influenced the recent TV version of The Day of the Jackal."
The Killer exemplifies John Woo's signature style of blending intense action sequences with genuine emotional and sentimental storytelling. The film follows Ah Jong, a hired assassin who accidentally blinds singer Jennie during a nightclub hit. Consumed by guilt, he becomes obsessed with her and plans one final assassination to fund her eye surgery. Tough cop Li Ying pursues Ah Jong but gradually sympathizes with him after experiencing his own accidental tragedy. The narrative weaves together spectacular action set pieces, including a carnival assassination sequence, with moments of dark comedy and melodramatic character development, creating a gonzo melodrama reminiscent of Douglas Sirk's Hollywood style applied to Hong Kong action cinema.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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