Fulltime Killer

In Andy Lau's introductory scene, he casually strolls into a prison, shoots all the guards WITH FLOWERS, throws about twenty grenades into an occupied prison cell and then drives off with obligatory slo-mo explosion in the background. If what you just read didn't even slightly peak your interest, this film is not for you.

This Hong Kong action flick about rival assassins is Johnnie To's nod to Seijun Suzuki's "Branded to Kill" and "Pistol Opera". Andy Lau is Tok, an up and coming killer obsessed with action films, who is out to take down O, the Number One assassin in Asia. It's a bit short on plot and character but there's a ton of great music and stylish slow motion shootouts galore. To is a master of telling a story by showing and not explaining. Very cool flick.

It has some really good moments (ex. flower shotgun), but it's too self-aware and focused on cinema references. Makes J. To look like unskilled Tarantino wannabe. He can do better than that.

It's a bit too smug about being such a cool shooting-mans flick to really get away with it, especially with all the explicit movie referencing. Sure, it's fun and over the top when it's firing (guns) on all cylinders, but Yam kinda drags down the third act and the whole experience becomes a bit unsatisfying.

Energetic actiondrama from To; half-serious, half-ironic - never reliable in spirit.

Imagine Amelie Poulain being directed by John Woo...

Dripping with style and extremely watchable...... it's just that the story is hard to believe and because of that it somewhat fails. Would I say watch it? Shit yeah. HK action so well done, in that HK style.

A decent action movie worth watching. Watching a super-cocky assassin law waste in broad daylight is something you don't see all the time.

A pretty great action flick that I had never heard of, deserving of more attention to be sure.

Andy Lau in all that leather

It's a decent action flick with a stock story. Takashi Sorimachi really impressed me as O. But Andy Lau was insanely corny, and really took away from the experience for me.

Good Movie

This Hong Kong action flick about rival assassins that references "Assassins" (1995) and "Desperado" (1995). Result is a bit too self-referential and overblown, but director Johnnie To stages excellent set pieces which help redeem whatever fun there is to had in this flashy Andy Lau vehicle there is. Sometimes the movie is too post-modern for its own good, at best it uses influences as springboard to clash western films and over-the-top color and camera movement from HK action films.

Fun fun fun. Stylish blood shed and carnage galore, and it actually works and has characters that hold the attention, unlike the John Woo I've seen. Doesn't go much more than skin deep, but what do you want?