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Contract Killer

Contract Killer

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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: JET LI- MY FAVOURITE MOVIE YET!
Review: Of all the movies I have seen Jet Li in this one is my favourite.Dont get me wrong I have enjoyed Jets movies a lot, but I put this the top of my list. Hired as an assassin (which you know full well he would not hurt a fly let alone kill) Eric Tsang takes him under his wing only things dont go as planned. However, there are long action scenes where Jet gets to show us some excellent fighting, comedy scenes, and an good story to go with all of this. I must add that I did not think I would enjoy it much, but I proved myself wrong, and I am glad that I did.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: jet li is awsome
Review: one of the best jet li films it's wotrh buying it............

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: hitman
Review: Owning most of jet li's films i can't say this is one of his best films. Jet li plays a young man called Tai feng who is hired by agent sam (eric tsang) on a mission to find a killer. The film doesn't show jet's material art talent because the fight scences are short. The movie is worth watching but try and rent it before buying it.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Disappointing.
Review: Personally, I feel that Jet Li was stuck for ideas with this one. I thought that the "light ring" gimmick was ridiculous and was simply to make up for the bad guy's lack of martial arts ability. Jet Li needs to find new inspiration for his fight scenes before they all start to look the same. A shame.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: I loved it!
Review: The dubbing in this version is excellent. None of the voices seem out of place and they are expertly melded into the movie. I kinda wish they had put the Chinese voice track and English subtitles on this CD, but the quality makes you forget about that. Jet is awesome as usual. It may not be jam-packed with fighting scenes, but you'll be satisfied by the end of this movie. Also, Jet pays homage to Fist of Legend in part of his last fight where he uses his belt. The movie keeps you guessing who the "King of Killers" is til the end. All in all it's pure Jet Li joy and I recommend it to hardcore fans and newcomers alike.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: The King of Killers falls short
Review: The latest outing The Hitman aka King of Killers, I'm sorry to say is just another one of those Flicks to pass up. Jet Li has had a recent dissapointing series of Films. Dr. Wai, OUTC 5, Last Hero in China. Then he came out with Lethal Weapon 4, and Blackmask. I thought the tide had turned. Good concept.. but no prize. Simon Yam is a nice treat in the movie though. On another note. The chroreography is good, and there's a good amount of gunplay

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Sat sau ji wong
Review: The original, Cantonese, title of this film is 'Sat sau ji wong'.

Also known as: 'King of Assassins' (1998), 'The Hitman'(1998) and 'Contract Killer'(2002).

This film is in many ways similiar to other HK action drama films however it does have a more unique premise: an aging Japanese corporate magnate and WW II veteran (he boasts of raping Chinese women) is assassinated by a mysterious hitman in black. This hitman, known as the King of Killers, is infamous for both his skill in killing as well as not accepting any payment for targeting people of rather suspect morality to kill.

The Japanese corporate director has established a special Revenge Fund which will pay $100,000,000 (USD) to whoever tracks down his killer.

Fu (Jet Li) is a mainlander in Hong Kong doing errands for a minor triad boss when he comes hears about the Revenge Fund and subsequently comes across Mr. Nor (Eric Tsang) a hustler who takes Fu for a skilled killer and decides to be his agent. He is really trying to cheat Fu out of most of the reward money.

The Japanese director's grandson Eiji (Keiji Sato) is out seeking revenge for his grandfather as well as greedy for the reward.

Kwan (Simon Yam) is the CID inspector who is also tracking down the mysterious King of Killers. Which itself has irony, but I won't spoil it for those who haven't seen the film ;-)

The plot develops as the principal characters above interact in a frantic race to find the King Of Killers.

This was Jet Li (Mandarin name is Li Lian Jie) last Hong Kong film (1998) before he moved on to greater paydays in Hollywood.

I prefer Jet Li's earlier films but this movie had a certain charm to it even though some plot elements were rather formulaic and charcter development was at times only 2 dimensional (Eiji in particular is portrayed rather over-the-top) while others are under developed (KiKi - Nor's daughter). I prefer Simon Yam's performances with Chow Yun Fat though he certainly did a good job in this film.

On a positive note the ending of this film has a nice twist to it. For those not accustomed to watching Hong Kong action/police films you may be a bit shocked by the level of violence. For example in a shoot out scene in a children's amusement park in the film there is a rather high body count as people are shot almost at random in a melee of gunfire. While it is a bit diturbing to see such levels of violence without proper context you must understand that there are different cultural moors at work in HK cinema. Many in the East would be similarly disturbed by the explicit sexual content of many Western films. So try not to let that sour you when watching this film.

Overall I recommend this movie, there is some well done sentimental moments buried inside the action. As a caveat I urge you to NOT buy the dubbed version. Instead, get the original version in Cantonese (with some Japanese) with English subtitles distributed by Tai Seng Video Marketing Inc. at www.taiseng.com

Zach

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Jet Li's final HK film
Review: This is a good movie. Lots of storyline here & good character development. I like Simon Yam's role. His character has a John Woo feel to it, much like Broken Arrow (US) or The Killer (HK, Chow Yun Fat & Danny Lee). Kind of like a friendship or respect amongst rivals. The fighting is sparse, but Jet Li shows his skills like a champ. Good build up to an exciting conclusion (ie. big time fight scene, no holds barred action). Good film overall, better than most. Recommended.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: IT's not the action...It's the plot!!!!
Review: This is the last HK film of Jet Li, at least for a while. Compared to Dr. Wai, Black Mask, My Father is a Hero, this movie should be extoled. The action will be dissapointing, Jet Li actually fights an american guy. Not the martial arts you wanted to see, so forget the action. The suspense and mystery will get you glued to the screen. The story is even better than Fong Sai Yuk. It is about a clan that will assassinate a killer who killed a Japanese ambassador. The story gets more and more twisted that Jet Li even thought that his agent is the killer. I won't spoil it for you but this is just a great story. Every film has its interstices, in this one, there wasn't a lot of action, there were hardly any action. They were overshadowed by the plot. You have to pick this up

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A movie that teaches morals and shows great martial arts!
Review: This is truly a real Jet Li movie. Li acts as a merciful young killer from mainland China. However, he never kills a good person. This film actually is a reflection of Jet's personalities: simple and honest; seemingly ignorant yet full of wisdom. This film is suitable for people of all age. In a word, it teaches us that a great man must be a humble and honest person.

The martial arts in the film is great too. Although the fightings are a little slow, they are wonderful.


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