Opened Friday, March 21
New York
"Fulltime Killer" imbues fast-moving action suspense with a vigorous visual style to explore the rivalry of two hired assassins, with playful tips of the hat to numerous crime films along the way. Directing duo Johnnie To and Wai Ka-fai make the most of Hong Kong star Andy Lau's youthful charisma, which is at full throttle here. There's a fine chemistry of contrasts between Lau's exuberance and the quiet, slow-burning intensity Takashi Sorimachi brings to his role.
Based on a best-selling novel by Edmond Pang, the film was a hit on home turf in 2001. Word of mouth may entice audiences beyond genre fans during its Stateside limited release.
The story moves quickly into high gear, crisscrossing Asia as its two Hong Kong-based protagonists carry out deadly assignments, approaching their work from opposite ends of the spectrum. The preternaturally cool O (Sorimachi), a native of Japan who's traded in his original identity to become Asia's No. 1 assassin, is a man of few words who lives in the shadows. Hot on his heels is Lau's upstart Tok, a flashy, self-styled film buff who rhapsodizes about the art of trailers, draws direct inspiration from movies and takes undesirable jobs at bargain rates as he plots to challenge O's crown.
Toward that end, Tok becomes involved with Chin (Kelly Lin), the shy video-store clerk who moonlights as O's maid. He steps into her life with supreme confidence, albeit from behind a grinning Clinton mask (an overt nod to "Point Break"). In one of the film's most audacious scenes, Tok excuses himself from a cafe tete-a-tete with Chin to commit a quadruple hit in broad daylight -- and then returns breathlessly to their date. Soon, he's instructing her in the fine art of automatic weapons.
But Tok's swagger and brazenness belie a deep-seated fear, evidenced in his extreme physical reaction to close calls, among them a hair's-breadth encounter with a speeding subway train, tightly framed to heighten the tension. Two Interpol cops on his trail (Simon Yam and Cherrie Ying) unearth the supposed key to Tok's murderous ways, but this less-than-convincing back story feels beside the point. More successful dramatically are the film's sketched-in glimpses of O's psychology; his guilt over a past incident, depicted in haunting images, fuels his resolve when at last he makes his move with Chin.
The lead actors' appeal is especially apparent when their characters finally meet: The killers interact with striking ease, their mutual respect bordering on affection as they joke over dinner before the climactic showdown. The least effective of the film's action sequences, the battle between O and Tok serves as prelude to a postmodern twist that places Yam's Interpol cop center stage.
Compelling throughout, Lau and Sorimachi get strong support from the rest of the cast. To and Wai alternate adrenaline-rush set pieces with more brooding, contemplative scenes, using stylized interiors to express O's hermetic existence. The effective score, ranging from techno to classical, is a crucial element propelling the stark spin on anonymity vs. celebrity.
"Fulltime Killer" never takes itself too seriously and is as much a winking comment on movies as an exploration of human nature. When Lau's character cites an Alain Delon film, he could also be talking about his own project: "Not the best movie", he says. "But I like the style".
FULLTIME KILLER
Palm Pictures
Milky Way Image Co
and Teamwork Motion Pictures in association with CMC Magnetics Corp.
Credits:
Directors: Johnnie To, Wai Ka-fai
Screenwriters: Wai Ka-fai, Joseph O'Bryan
Based on the novel by: Edmond Pang
Producers: Johnnie To, Wai Ka-fai, Andy Lau
Executive producer: Shirley Lau
Director of photography: Cheng Siu-keung
Art directors: Silver Cheung, Jerome Fung
Music: Guy Zerafa
Editor: David M Richardson
Cast:
Tok: Andy Lau
O: Takashi Sorimachi
Lee: Simon Yam
Chin: Kelly Lin
Gigi: Cherrie Ying
Running time --100 minutes
No MPAA rating...
New York
"Fulltime Killer" imbues fast-moving action suspense with a vigorous visual style to explore the rivalry of two hired assassins, with playful tips of the hat to numerous crime films along the way. Directing duo Johnnie To and Wai Ka-fai make the most of Hong Kong star Andy Lau's youthful charisma, which is at full throttle here. There's a fine chemistry of contrasts between Lau's exuberance and the quiet, slow-burning intensity Takashi Sorimachi brings to his role.
Based on a best-selling novel by Edmond Pang, the film was a hit on home turf in 2001. Word of mouth may entice audiences beyond genre fans during its Stateside limited release.
The story moves quickly into high gear, crisscrossing Asia as its two Hong Kong-based protagonists carry out deadly assignments, approaching their work from opposite ends of the spectrum. The preternaturally cool O (Sorimachi), a native of Japan who's traded in his original identity to become Asia's No. 1 assassin, is a man of few words who lives in the shadows. Hot on his heels is Lau's upstart Tok, a flashy, self-styled film buff who rhapsodizes about the art of trailers, draws direct inspiration from movies and takes undesirable jobs at bargain rates as he plots to challenge O's crown.
Toward that end, Tok becomes involved with Chin (Kelly Lin), the shy video-store clerk who moonlights as O's maid. He steps into her life with supreme confidence, albeit from behind a grinning Clinton mask (an overt nod to "Point Break"). In one of the film's most audacious scenes, Tok excuses himself from a cafe tete-a-tete with Chin to commit a quadruple hit in broad daylight -- and then returns breathlessly to their date. Soon, he's instructing her in the fine art of automatic weapons.
But Tok's swagger and brazenness belie a deep-seated fear, evidenced in his extreme physical reaction to close calls, among them a hair's-breadth encounter with a speeding subway train, tightly framed to heighten the tension. Two Interpol cops on his trail (Simon Yam and Cherrie Ying) unearth the supposed key to Tok's murderous ways, but this less-than-convincing back story feels beside the point. More successful dramatically are the film's sketched-in glimpses of O's psychology; his guilt over a past incident, depicted in haunting images, fuels his resolve when at last he makes his move with Chin.
The lead actors' appeal is especially apparent when their characters finally meet: The killers interact with striking ease, their mutual respect bordering on affection as they joke over dinner before the climactic showdown. The least effective of the film's action sequences, the battle between O and Tok serves as prelude to a postmodern twist that places Yam's Interpol cop center stage.
Compelling throughout, Lau and Sorimachi get strong support from the rest of the cast. To and Wai alternate adrenaline-rush set pieces with more brooding, contemplative scenes, using stylized interiors to express O's hermetic existence. The effective score, ranging from techno to classical, is a crucial element propelling the stark spin on anonymity vs. celebrity.
"Fulltime Killer" never takes itself too seriously and is as much a winking comment on movies as an exploration of human nature. When Lau's character cites an Alain Delon film, he could also be talking about his own project: "Not the best movie", he says. "But I like the style".
FULLTIME KILLER
Palm Pictures
Milky Way Image Co
and Teamwork Motion Pictures in association with CMC Magnetics Corp.
Credits:
Directors: Johnnie To, Wai Ka-fai
Screenwriters: Wai Ka-fai, Joseph O'Bryan
Based on the novel by: Edmond Pang
Producers: Johnnie To, Wai Ka-fai, Andy Lau
Executive producer: Shirley Lau
Director of photography: Cheng Siu-keung
Art directors: Silver Cheung, Jerome Fung
Music: Guy Zerafa
Editor: David M Richardson
Cast:
Tok: Andy Lau
O: Takashi Sorimachi
Lee: Simon Yam
Chin: Kelly Lin
Gigi: Cherrie Ying
Running time --100 minutes
No MPAA rating...
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