Fulltime Killer

Starring: Andy Lau, Takashi Sorimachi, Simon Yam, Kelly Lin, Cherrie Ying

Directed by: Johnny To, Ka-Fai Wai

RS: 3of 4 Stars

2003 Crime

Andy Lau, Takashi Sorimachi Directed by Johnnie To and Wai Ka Fai Since John Woo's departure for Hollywood in 1992, the Hong Kong "bullet ballet" has been shooting blanks. At the end of the 1990s, filmmakers Johnnie To and Wai Ka Fai re-energized the format with films that satirized the genre as much as they celebrated it. While the plot of Fulltime Killer is really nothing new (two hit men vying for the title of number-one assassin), the movie's stylish quirks and rampant references to "testosterone culture" put it in a league of its own. Standout scene: Killer Tok (Andy Lau) hits on a girl while wearing a Bill Clinton mask. Our former president's legacy endures.

PETER KENIS
(June 18, 2003)