Hong Kong Movie Night: "Fulltime Killer"

We caught a screening of Hong Kong action-drama "Fulltime Killer" on the Independent Film Channel Saturday night. Released under the title "Chuen jik sat sau" in Hong Kong in 2001, "Fulltime Killer" is one of those Milky Way productions, this one co-directed by Johnnie To Kei-Fung and Wai Ka-Fai. First off, let's just say this about the movie: it is a "guilty pleasure." This film is not "bad" in the usual sense, but it's certainly not "good" either. It's a weak movie salvaged only by enough action and energy to keep your mind off the fact it's weak, at least until the movie reaches the credits. The plot is one of those classic hitman-versus-hitman stories. One hitman is considered "number 1," and a lesser hitman is jealous and aims to become the top assassin by taking out his rival. The top hitman is a Japanese sniper based in Hong Kong, so the narrative is checkered with scenes in Japanese. "Fulltime Killer" is a schlocky, at times preposterous and silly, genre film filled to the brim with gun-toting action-drama cliches and plot holes big enough to fly a 747 through. The movie is fascinating insofar as you can peg the many genre cliches and the movies you've seen them in and insofar as those cliches are executed with a new twist. It's like a boilerplate of a boilerplate of a boilerplate of Hong Kong action movies from time immemorial. To Kei-Fung and Wai Ka-Fai's movie is just asking to be made with a bigger budget by a major Hollywood studio. (We'd actually like to see that.) In the end, "Fulltime Killer" is full of unexplored potential and is handicapped by its rushed production, thin and shallow dialogue, anemic scripting, and low-budget values. But, hey, those gun battles are awesome!

Posted by Robsam at February 26, 2006 12:57 PM