On D List of Movie Reviews

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Dip huet seung hung (1989)

Rate: 9
Viewed: 3/14, 8/15

WooK
3/14: I'm leery of films that had been highly praised to the point of being overrated.

Well, Dip huet seung hung, which is translated as The Killer, is among the most influential movies of all time. John Woo's American stuff has never been this good.

Since then, various directors tried to make themselves look good by copying off John Woo's style but failed to create coherence out of the jumbled mess. The last fifteen years, cinema had seen an incredible explosion of films attempting to be the next John Woo masterpiece, much to the detriment of many who prefer the old-school style of filmmaking.

Although The Killer is a two-hour nonstop Hong Kong action picture with an immense orgy of violence and blood splattering, the editing is admirable which can be seen as a giant step forward from Sam Peckinpah's transcendental display of violence in The Wild Bunch and Arthur Penn's slow-motion bloody but graceful death scenes in Bonnie and Clyde. I know how silly it feels throughout as the amount of violence can become too much to the point of comical. But what's impressive is that there's no decline in quality from one scene to next which is a difficult feat to pull off.

All in all, there's nothing like The Killer in American cinema.

8/15: The trouble with The Killer is the over-the-top, comic-book violence that can be too much at times.

Yet the editing is outstanding, being the number one reason why people should see this Hong Kong masterpiece to feel its poetic power. Another aspect to like is Chow Yun-fat's performance. Danny Lee complements him well, and their characters' ironical friendship predates Point Break with Patrick Swayze and Keanu Reeves.

All in all, The Killer is a must-see.