All of your favorite action movies from the last 30 years would look very different without the impact of John Woo. They would be far more dull for a start. The filmmaker's style of explosive, highly choreographed gunfights in films such as The Killer and his 1992 film Hard Boiled coined the term 'gun fu' and, combined with his ethically incorruptible protagonists, set the template for the heroic bloodshed subgenre.
The Plot of The Killer
In the 1989 film The Killer, Chow Yun-fat plays Ah Jong, a contract killer with a conscience who accidentally blinds a young singer, Jennie (Sally Yeh), while on assignment. Stricken with remorse, Ah Jong decides to retire after one last job, pledging to use the proceeds to help her. Unfortunately, this last contract is for Wong Hoi, a gangster who plans to kill Ah Jong rather than trust his professional etiquette.
This leads to Ah Jong crossing paths with the maverick detective Li (Danny Lee), after a crazed shootout in which he sports a very fetching fake moustache and once again demonstrates his heart of gold by ferrying an injured child to the hospital. Li sets his sights on Ah Jong, and the cops, gangsters, and righteous assassin are set against each other in a triangle of violence.
Woo's Signature Style
All of Woo's familiar tricks and motifs are present: flapping birds, Mexican standoffs, and thugs getting viscerally pulped by gunfire. Stuntmen crash through glass, fire guns while leaping through the air, and barrel roll out of moving vehicles. The other key ingredient is the chain-smoking Chow, whose mere presence makes everything exponentially cooler.
As recently as 2023, Woo voiced doubts that his classic Hong Kong movies would ever see the light of day again, so it is cause for celebration that The Killer, along with his other Hong Kong films, is available on streamers after years in the licensing wilderness.
Where to Watch
The Killer is available to stream on Kanopy in Australia and on Tubi in Australia and the US. It is available to rent or buy on Apple TV in Australia and the UK.
