Fulltime Killer

[Dusty Chalk]

I saw this movie recently, and just wanted to post about it a little bit. Surprisingly good film! Fun plot, well paced, good acting, charismatic characters. I actually forgot who to root for! Also, lots of fun movie references thrown in throughout without it becoming a pastiche of homages as Kill Bill was (although I have to admit to enjoying Kill Bill, as it was so well done).

What is it? It's mostly an action flick, but there's also a cat'n'mouse aspect to it (I.E. suspense/cops and robbers) and a triangle aspect to it (romance/drama). Multilingual Hong Kong (there is at least: English, Mandarin, and Japanese). The English portions are well-dubbed and not subtitled, but the others are subtitled and easy enough to follow.

Not the most brilliantly framed movie (that still goes to Chan-wook Park), but I will say it was intelligently framed, as the (necessary) John Woo reference was framed in an entirely non-John-Woo style, which only gave it to me to enjoy that much more.

Writing was outstanding. I don't even know what else to say; to me, the writing was the highlight, as I don't think there was a single mis-step. But the actors just disappeared (in a "the speaker disappears" kind of way), so kudos to them as well (as well as the director for helping them to perform their tasks). Not once did I catch myself thinking "this actor is acting", I just lost myself into the characters.

If you are at all interested in foreign films and/or action films, this is a must-see.

Dusty gives two-and-a-half thumbs up (on a scale of zero to three, three being an unqualified must-see to everyone, this is an unqualified must-see to a slightly specialized audience).

[superpanavision70mm]

Here is the review I wrote for the DVD of the film a few years ago...

http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review...ulltime+Killer

[Dusty Chalk]

Hmmm...not going to say another viewpoint isn't worthy, but I will quibble with the comparisons you made -- I don't think this movie was any parts Leon or La Femme Nikita, though there was an explicit references to the former (as well as El Mariachi/Desperado). A reference does mean the same as one movie is like the other.

Have yet to see Assassins or Lonesome Gun -- based on how much I loved this movie, I will immediately put them on my "to see" list, though, so thanks for posting the link.