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Focus Asia

FULLTIME KILLER

Hong Kong 2001
Regie johnnie to, wai ka fai
Darsteller andy lau, takashi sorimachi, kelly lin
Es ist der ewige Klassiker vom erfahrenen Meister und seinem heißblütigen Herausforderer, den Johnnie To und Wai Ka Fai mit der ballistischen Fabel FULLTIME KILLER erzählen. Auf der einen Seite Sorimachi Takashis O, der besonnene Gott der Profikiller. Auf der anderen Asiens Mega-Star Andy Lau (mit dem es in der westlichen Welt gerade noch Madonna aufnehmen kann) als selbstherrlicher Lok, der Os Platz im Zweikampf erobern will und sich lustvoll als Desperado inszeniert. Nicht von ungefähr erinnert die Aufstellung ironisch an das Stallone-Banderas Duell ASSASSINS.

Selbstzitate und Anspielungen auf westliche Killergeschichten finden sich vor allem in Laus Figur. Auch zeichnet sich der Film durch überraschende Wendungen aus und läßt allen Akteuren Raum zur persönlichen Entfaltung: sei es Os Hausmädchen Chin, das in einem Liebesdreieck zwischen den Kontrahenten steht, Os Manager oder der Cop Lee, der beiden auf den Fersen ist und ihre Geschichte buchstäblich zu Ende erzählt. Dass trotz dramaturgischem Geschick und mythologischen Tauchgängen in die Gangsterseele die Action nicht zu kurz kommt, ist selbstverständlich in einem To/
Ka Fai Film. Ein brillantes HK-Feuerwerk.


Two professional hit men ­ a jade Japanese and a cocksure Cantonese ­ lock gun barrels in FULLTIME KILLER, Johnnie To and Wai Ka Fai’s latest high-octane plunge into pop gangster psychology." Variety

Captured in dizzying dolly shots and featuring massive body counts, bodily fluids a-spraying, enormous guns, and super-slick action sequences, Johnnie To's latest gonzo hitmen epic FULLTIME KILLER is a real thrill.” filmcritic.com

“One of the few internationally famous HK action directors not wasting his talents directing Jean-Claude Van Damme movies, Johnnie To scores another hit with this film about rival assassins who get mixed up with the same girl [...] a lot of fun [...], especially due to the charismatic presence of star Andy Lau.” AboutFilm.com
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Captured in dizzying dolly shots and featuring massive body counts, bodily fluids a-spraying, enormous guns, and super-slick action sequences, Johnny To's latest gonzo hitmen epic Fulltime Killer is a real thrill.

To and his partner Ka-Fai Wai have constructed a beautiful, energetic take upon the old standard of dueling Asian assassins vying for the position of Number One Killer. The woman who stands between them and the burnout police officer determined to stop them only adds more gunpowder to the wild ride.

For years, master assassin O (Takashi Sorimahci) has lived a secluded life without any outside contact. With the death of his love Nancy, the loneliness only grows stronger. Tok (Andy Lau) is a flamboyant newcomer who revels in killing and strives to become No. 1 killer, removing O from the throne. Chin (Kelly Lin) is O's part-time housekeeper, and she becomes entangled with both men. Meanwhile, Interpol agent Lee (Simon Yam) has tracked O's trail and becomes the unwilling documenter of the power struggle.

At times, the film seems lifted directly from Luc Besson's The Professional (Léon) and the popular Japanese manga Crying Freeman. Tok's character is a redux of Gary Oldman's cop in The Professional. The secluded assassin O is a bit too close to Crying Freeman's main character Freeman, minus the odd crying issue. Tok even mentions Crying Freeman in the film! Luckily, the glue that holds this rickety ship together is the reckless pursuit of both Tok and O by the great Asian actor Simon Yam, delivering a blistering performance as Interpol agent Lee.

But forget the story. The stylistic directing infuses the film with brilliant moments of mayhem and engaging dolly shots that swing deliberately into crazed firefights. The film zips along, and instead of relying on endless CG effects and faceless characters, gives us a no-holds-barred cinematic treat." filmcritic.com
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