The Killer

Wo bleibt bei John Woo die Qualität des Drehbuchs? Es stimmt, dass beim Anhören der Dialoge die Gefahr besteht, dass subtilere Charaktere, die für die ästhetische Schönheit der Sprache anfällig sind, vom Schreibfieber befallen werden, aber was sollen wir sagen, es geht darum, immer mehr phänomenale Actionszenen von "eins/zwei gegen dreißig oder mehr" zu verbinden. Abgesehen von den Dialogen stimmt alles andere zu 100 %, und auch die Charaktere sind ziemlich gut. The Killer hat eine typische Atmosphäre des heroischen Blutvergießens, eine süße, melancholische, versüßt durch einen "Casio-Soundtrack", der von der Dringlichkeit eines Ennio Morricone inspiriert zu sein scheint. Natürlich wird es so kommen, wie es kommen muss, also schändlich aus der Sicht des Trottels und vollkommen angemessen aus der Sicht des zufriedenen Zuschauers. Die schwermütige Musik passt zum Turbo-Tempo der Erzählung und zum naiven Ausleben der Gefühle. The Killer geht perfekt, alles ist gut proportioniert, Naivität und süße Wehmut. Die choreografierten Schießereien zeigen in 111 Minuten alles, was Hollywoods Action-Provenienz noch ausmacht, Dutzende von Bastarden sterben, Helden von beiden Seiten des Gesetzes sprechen über Freundschaft, und schließlich zeigen sie Seite an Seite, was Blutvergießen aus ihren eigenen Adern bedeutet. Mögen Sie Hongkong? Dann müssen Sie The Killer mögen. (01.09.2006)

The Killer is mainly a timeless action romp that is hard to compare with anything. Unlike the action-packed Hard-Boiled, John Woo here places more emphasis on the characters and their personalities. The direction is different, but the outcome is similarly good. (20.02.2005)

It’s a mix of fascination with sadness. Fascination with an extremely creative personality, as Gilliam undoubtedly is, a filmmaker who is always several steps ahead thanks to his imagination. Fascination with the fierce struggle against adversity, the mediocrity of a world that does not understand him and the producer's mistakes. A struggle that, given the predetermined outcome, may resemble Don Quixote's foolish confrontation with the windmills. And the sadness? This stems from the fact that rich imagination full of fantasy can go to waste with the author losing a lot of energy and time in a futile and useless struggle that cannot be won. Filmmaking is a trade, and Don Quixote is probably a cursed material that has already broken many filmmakers. (06.08.2004)

This is exactly what it would look like if the Islamic State decided to make educational ideological flicks. Only that the protagonist wouldn't be so smooth, but a sobbing, cold-blooded asshole with a broken razor and a picture of Allah above his bed, and the two hundred or so people John Woo let in would be ordinary citizens with common sense and momentary bad luck... It's over-the-top (intentionally) and unemotional (unintentionally), but so efficiently and with such a tremendous pace. It's a load of pure cinematic action with a story that holds together and doesn't slip into self-parody, it almost made me want to shoot someone, too, because of the cinephilic adrenaline. The amazing work with sound bridges, visual and audio flashbacks, and parallelisms underscored by humorously varied shots propel Killer to the position of one of the most interesting and innovative B-movie action flicks of the 80s. I will gladly watch it again some day. 85% (21.01.2017)

Chow Yun-Fat is a great character, his killer Jeffrey has charisma, a conscience and is a darn good shot. It’s not every day that you see the kind of action that we get in Killer. Incredible massacres alternate with moments so emotionally intense that you almost feel sad. In places, the theme of friendship and fate play a much greater role than the action itself and John Woo masterfully combines everything to form this riveting picture. (18.09.2006)