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FULLTIME
KILLER
AKA:
Full Time Killer ||
Full-Time Killer
Year:
2001 Reviewer: Phil
Mills
It's
been some time since we last saw the emergence of any hardcore
heroic bloodshed films after they ran their course in the Hong
Kong film making cycle quite a few years back. Styles
come and go so quickly on the Jade Screen because each time
one particular type of film is successful it will be imitated
a thousand times until it is exhausted and replaced by
something completely different. 'Fulltime Killer'
attempts to utilise some of the gunplay of old and mix it with
a little international appeal.
O
(Sorimachi) and Tok (Lau) are two fulltime killers on opposite
sides of the scale. O is rated number one in his field
and known worldwide for his professionalism and dedication to
completing each task he is given. Tok, on the other
hand, is just starting out in the business and is looking to
make a name for himself by using movies as his inspiration.
When Chin (Lin) appears on the scene, she is torn between the
two men but discovers that one is too shy to talk to her and
the other pays her too much attention. It looks like her
decision will have to be a quick one though as Tok realises
that the easiest way to the top is to kill the man above you
so O becomes his most desired target. The question is
who will be the last man standing and which man will Chin be
rooting for?
In
this day of slow motion replays galore and Chow Yun Fat
wannabes, what can any new offering in this genre really bring
to the audience that has not been done before? Well, to
be honest, in 'Fulltime Killer' the answer would have to be
"not much". However, this does not have to be
a bad observation as so many films seek to produce the next
worldwide success instead of returning to the basics that we
know and love; i.e. a simplistic plot surrounded by well
staged shoot-outs. This is what 'Fulltime Killer'
delivers to it's audience and what makes it worth watching.
In
the acting and action departments, it displays some
outstanding attributes as well as containing nicely
understated performances. In particular, Andy Lau
noticeably moves away from his stereotypical "boyband"
image to play the more interesting of the leading roles as the
bad-ish guy and really cuts loose in the maniacal
expressionism. Sorimachi takes the quiet, broody
character which provides very little dialogue but gives him
the chance to play the yang to Lau's ying. The action
itself is not far removed from the John Woo school of bulletry
but is fun to watch and contains a lot more hard hitting
rushes than most recent cinematic attempts.
As
has been stated in most reviews of this film; the most
disappointing factor remains the ending. Once again, the
filmmakers have declined to give us the climactic finale that
we desire and instead, try to wrap things up with a poorly
thought out twist. When will they learn that when it
comes to action films, you have to end them with a bang that
forces the viewer to want to see the film over and over again
and not let them fizzle out because you have run out of ideas!
Overall,
'Fulltime Killer' is a decent attempt at resurrecting the
bygone era of enjoyable action movies even if the obvious
international flavour can occasionally grate on the nerves
(particularly the patchy English dialogue). It doesn't
break new ground or sit amongst the classics but will most
likely be best viewed by those of you who want to switch off
the mind and watch a few bloody gun battles.
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