Movie Review – The Killer (1989)

The Killer (1989)
Written and directed by John Woo

It felt like the film was over about fifteen minutes into The Killer. The amount of movie crammed into this opening felt like a full meal. I checked the time. 85 minutes to go. John Woo has never been a filmmaker I’ve rushed to see. Of his work, I’ve only watched Hard Boiled and Mission: Impossible 2 before this. I’m not a big action fan, but I enjoy that film genre when it is done well. Part of understanding Woo’s tone and how he approaches filmmaking can be seen in the direct English translation of this film’s title from its Chinese name – “Pair of Blood-Splattering Heroes.” If you’re the kind of person who sees that and says, “Hell yeah,” then you have found your director. My response is not as enthusiastic.

Ah Jong (Chow Yun-fat) is a hitman who vows to retire after one last job. During a nightclub shootout, he accidentally blinds the singer Jennie when his gun fires inches away from her eyes. Ah Jong is wracked with guilt and watches over Jennie from afar for months as she recovers and begins her life as a vision-impaired person. He presents himself as a kind stranger, and they grow closer. Eventually, Jennie’s doctor tells her she needs an expensive corneal transplant, so the paid killer decides his final job will be to raise the funds for this poor woman. 

Meanwhile, Detective Li Ying is demoted for a botched sting operation that resulted in him opening fire in a crowded subway while in pursuit of the perp. Wanting to regain some of his cred, Li Ying spots Ah Jong, who is known to the police, and pursues him. The titular killer has been double-crossed by his recent client and finds himself fighting it out again in a scenario where innocent people may be harmed. Ah Jong displays an act of mercy & goodwill that lingers with Li Ying and sets them and Jennie on a collision course that will shape the rest of their lives.

All the tropes you would expect are here: the slo-mo, the doves, the Mexican standoffs, the acrobatic leaps with guns drawn. Ariana commented when the end credits rolled that The Killer was a soap opera melodrama “for men,” and she isn’t wrong. This is dripping with all the over-wrought pathos you would expect from Days of Our Lives or General Hospital. The hitman with a heart of gold watching over the angelic bystander victim feels lifted right out of those shows. But Woo has also influenced directors – from Tarantino’s particular stylizations to Robert Rodriguez’s El Mariachi trilogy. Of course, The Wachowskis’ The Matrix series is influenced by Hong Kong cinema, of which Woo is one of the patron saints. They all saw Woo’s work, renting it from their local video stores, and it left an indelible imprint.

The density of those opening minutes is both exhilarating and frankly overwhelming. I felt exhausted and realized we were still setting up the plot. We often hear about pacing in films that is too slow, plodding, and monotonous. I argue Woo’s work is on the other end of the pacing spectrum in that it is so much, so fast, plot points whizzing by like bullets that I felt like I needed to pause the movie to process all the information that was dumped in my lap at such a frenzy. This is an instance where cliches & tropes are a bit helpful because they act as narrative shorthand, helping parse the rapid-fire narrative.

I would argue that John Woo is a fairly conservative filmmaker. While his work possesses a high level of craft, it is narratively tethered to many mindless action flicks in the States. You’d see some ludicrous art on a VHS box that contained a total self-aggrandizing power fantasy funded by a schlubby dude who really loved Chuck Norris and Hong Kong movies he’d been devouring for years. Or it might be a young person, not exactly sure how to make a movie, but getting access to some blanks and explosives, trudging out into the woods, and making…well, something resembling a movie. Woo is that but with honed, sharp talent. Gender roles are extremely traditional & gun violence is glorified. I guess where he diverges is that the cop is an asshole?

There’s no denying that The Killer is a beautiful, balletic film. Woo takes excellent care with his shots, wanting to frame his character in the most dramatic, stylized manner possible. Every place of business has lots of floor-to-ceiling glass windows perfect for slow-motion shattering. Every church has such a wildly large number of candles lit at all times, and you have to wonder when the priest can get any other work done with the daily lighting he has to attend to. 

While Woo clearly didn’t intend it, we cannot deny the sexual tension between Ah Jong and Li Ying. It’s one of those things where an obsessed reactionary fan is going to argue that “um, no, it’s not gay,” yet when you see it play out on screen…Let’s just say that when you stand millimeters away from another man’s face, there’s an expectation that things will happen. John Woo is clearly a romantic, maybe not in the straightforward love story sense of the word, but in a way that takes every primary human emotion and ramps it up. 

This is a big, explosive drama, and men who are drawn to it and deny enjoying the pageantry are being wilfully obtuse. You can like melodrama, it’s okay. Hell, you might even enjoy a Broadway musical or two. Stories presented with big emotions are magnetic because, in a world where we’re so conflicted & emotionally scrambled, seeing someone so clearly communicate how they feel is refreshing.