Customer Reviews

The Contract Killer [VHS]

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Columbia released Contract Killer in 2002, but this movie is actually a Westernized release of Jet Li's final Hong Kong film Hitman (1998); this explains some questions that anyone watching this film today may have. It's obvious from the beginning that this is a Hong Kong film because the voices are all dubbed (not all that impressively in spots), making it strange to listen to the hard-driving, rap-heavy soundtrack of English-language songs. As you may have guessed, this is not the original soundtrack. The whole movie has a weird feel to it: Jet Li's character Fu is not really the hired killer type, and it's hard to interpret the character in a good-bad dichotomy; the movie also seems to morph back and forth between action and comedy, eventually combining the two into a hybrid that entertains but doesn't feel exactly right.

The film opens quite impressively, with the assassination of a rich Japanese business man; the killer is good, having basically outsmarted and defeated a whole building full of bodyguards. Then we meet up with Fu (Li), a seemingly quite nice but cash-poor ex-soldier whom we find in the strange company of a gang of young assassins for hire. There's never really an adequate explanation for how he got in this unexpected business. Anyway, he's looked down upon because he has never really done a job. When he gets wind of a $100 million reward for the capture and murder of the man soon to be known as The King of Assassins, he tries to infiltrate the proceedings. There, he meets up with a con man named Norman (Eric Tsang), who for some unclear reason brings Fu to the meeting with him and tells him he will be his new agent. Fu is an unlikely choice for such a big job, and his first test shows clearly that he does not really have the heart of a cold-blooded killer. Still, he stays with Tsang and mixes it up with some major league assassins and criminals in an attempt to find the killer and claim the reward. There isn't a whole lot of action until the final third of the film, and only one scene stands out in terms of its impressiveness and length. The identity of the King of Killers did come as a surprise to me, although I'm sure it will be obvious to some. The end of the film, I might add, only further exacerbates my problem with the movie's concept; Fu's occupation just doesn't jive with the character's personality.

This is apparently as much of a comedy as it is an action film, thanks largely to Eric Tsang's character Norman the agent. You can't help but like the guy, especially given the fact that he doesn't seem cut out for the whole business of contract killing; he is pretty funny for the most part, but he does ham it up a bit much in several scenes. I think Jet Li did a fine job of acting here, but the character of Fu is by no means one of his better roles; Fu is just too vague and self-contradictory in nature. This is not really a martial arts film, I might add. There are several hand-to-hand contests, a couple of them involving a bad guy equipped with blinding light beams on his fingers and boots, but this is more of an action flick that just so happens to feature a few kung fu type encounters.

Contract Killer does offer a good view of Jet Li in the time period immediately preceding his jump to American movie stardom, and the contrast between this particular Hong Kong film and his American films is rather striking. You can't get the full Hong Kong experience, however, because of the dubbing and the new soundtrack used in place of the original. Contract Killer is probably best suited for Jet Li fans because the movie itself just doesn't seem to click on all cylinders.

I'm giving this a higher review than I think it deserves becuase its unfairly critisized for trying to have a plot instead of meandering from one bloated fight scene to the next. While not a super Jet Li movie, he's definitely done a whole lot worse. This movie is golden when compared to unwatchable fare like Black Mask and Dr. Wai. It has its moments of humor, mainly working when poking fun of itself- the hitman genre of movies. It also has its moments of action, altough it has fewer fighting scenes than your average kung fu flick, but the final fight is, probably, decent enough to make up for it. Well worth watching.

comedy isn't that good . . .

1998 R-rated Hong Kong Martial Arts film (set in Hong Kong, with Japanese criminals; R-rated for violence and some language). Also known as "Sat sau ji wong," "Hitman," and "King of Assassins."

DVD Features: The DVD contains the movie and some special features. The movie can be heard in English (Dolby Digital or Dolby Surround), or Spanish (apparently no Chinese option), and has a "English for the deaf and hard of hearing" subtitle option. The special features are: Director and cast filmographies, film trailer, "Jet Li Bonus Trailers" ("The One," "Meltdown," and "Legend of The Red Dragon"), and a photo gallery.

Credits: The movie stars Jet Li (Fu; "Romeo Must Die," "Once Upon a Time in China"), Gigi Leung (Kiki; "A True Mob Story"), Simon Yam (Kwan; "Casino"), and Eric Tsang (Ngok Lo; "The Accidental Spy"). The director is Tung Wai (also known as Wei Tung; "Fox Hunter"). Written by Chan Heng Ka, Vincent Kok, and Cheng Kam Fa.

Plot: Jet Li is a contract killer (or an ex-soldier willing to kill for money) after an assassin of a Yakuza boss. The boss had set up a reward for the one who catches his killer. A reward of One Hundred Million Dollars ($50 million for catching killer, $50 million for finding the ones who hired the killer).

Review: Like "Romeo Must Die," this film uses rap music as its movie music. Unlike that "Romeo" movie, I've never heard of this Jet Li film, and am confused by it. Due to the lack of Chinese language options, and based on the type of movie music, the movie seems as if it was intended for USA release (or rerelease), but I've never heard of it (though the movie appears to be badly dubbed and I believe that at one point, Jet Li's voice changes (odd they wouldn't have Chinese language option)).

I think that the movie is supposed to be something of a comedy, and there are some funny moments, but the humor seems a little off (especially considering the enormous blood spillage). This movie is not at all like I expected. I expected Li to be, and act, like an assassin. Instead he is mostly a novice (a skilled one, due to be an ex-soldier), and seems at first to be incompetent (maybe "slow"). Despite these comments, the actions scenes are interesting, while the comedy scenes, for the most part, are not (and the evil guys have some neat tricks).

The acting was average, the plot was somewhat interesting, the action scenes were good, but the comedy and music were, mostly, off-putting. Overall, I would give the movie 3.20 stars.

While Contract Killer was somewhat entertaining, there were still some elements that kept this film from being as strong as many of Jet Li's standards. For one, Li's character "Fu" never really clicked for me. Fu is not a homeless character, but close to it, and suddenly finds himself with the opportunity to collect a $100 million reward for capturing a murderer known as "The King of Killers". Now we know Jet Li has some of the best martial arts around, but when he unleashes in this film (which honestly felt like hardly ever) it just seems to come out of nowhere from the kind of character he plays. His fighting does seem very limited, and well, it is. There is only one noteworthy martial arts fight scene, and that would have to be the ending of the film. Even that scene wasn't too rememberable compared to most Li films. Still, the plot had some interest and Eric Tsang's character as Li's agent kept things rolling, along with a surprise on who the King of Killers turned out to be.

This is what I like to call a very Americanized release of a H.K. film. In addition to the English dubbing (though it wasn't the worst I have seen) the soundtrack is rap heavy at times. Amusingly, there was even a rap song written for the credits titled "Contract Killer". Go figure. If you are into the whole adding hip-hop to Asian cinema, you should enjoy this as some of the beats and rap were decent.

The plot barely held together what was considered a long hour and half watch for me. The fact was that there just wasn't enough action to glue it all together like most Jet Li films, or action films for that matter. I was hoping maybe it was all being saved for the end, but even then the final fight scenes that lasted several minutes didn't do their justice. I enjoyed the 2 main villains in this film, but had hoped for more of them in the fight scenes. The 2nd villain - and English looking fellow - provided some originality to the fights, with a laser flasher attached to his rings and shoes. When flashed in Jet Li's face, it blinded him momentarily, leaving him open to an attack. But once he learned his way around it, the fight was pretty much over.

Contract Killer is an average Jet Li film. It has good moments here and there, but in the end you may be left with the feeling of "That was it?" Afraid so.

This is an odd Jet movie because it is not exactly action packed. I would compare it to Dragonfight where Jet only has 2 fight scenes but they are both pretty good. This movie is actually directed by Steve Tung Wai. Only directing 4 films in his LONG matial arts choreographing and stunt career, he really shows that he can make good movies. I would have liked more action, but it is nice to see a well done film.

Now while this movie is not thrilling whatsoever, it does put in action at the right time. Jet starts out as a guy living with a bunch of hitmen and ends up being recruiting by some guy(Eric Tsang). There is a killer on the loose who is taking out bad guys and a 100 million contract has been put out on him. Seriously, 10 million wouldn't be enough? Anyway, Tung Wai puts together a nice mix of comedy and drama but goes more for the laughs. Simon stars in a really good role as a cop and Kenji Sato is very good as the villian.

There is an unbelievably stupid action sequence with a guy that uses lasers on his fingers and feet to blind Jet while fighting but it leads to a much better fight between the 2 at the end. The finale I thought was great and there is just enough action mixed in the beginning and middle to keep you interested in the somewhat yawner of a story.

The picture quality on the Mei Eh version is pretty good and good subtitles also. After seeing the American releases of Jet's Legend of the Red Dragon and Donnie Yen's Fist of the Red Dragon, I made sure never to watch those releases from Sony Pictures ever again. At least I can now laugh at the reviews concerning the rap music, terrible voice dubbing, Sony cutting at least 10 minutes of footage out...

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.

God's hitman. That is how people describe a killer who has been eliminating rich bad guys for little or no fee. It seems one particular bad guy covered himself pretty well, establishing a super fund that pays off to anyone who finds his would-be killer, a smart form of insurance. Fu (Jet Li) and the "Crocodile Man" (Eric Tsang) join in the hunt, and the story goes from there.

Surprisingly enough, this is a very complete movie in terms of emotions; it's not all shoot, kill and kick. Crocodile Man Tsang steals the movie, pulling off a convincing con man who manages to convice Fu that he needs an agent. His acting verges on overkill, but his portrayal of a betrayed, repentant father, a hardened ex-killer, a fearful target and a saddened friend all invite the viewer to share in his emotions. Actress/Singer (aren't they all?) Gigi Leung provides a pretty face for the movie, and actually adds a dimension to the personalities of Li and Tsang's characters.

Jet Li's acrobatics are showcased not only for fighting; the opening sequence shows him weaving in and out of traffic and pedestrians to retrieve some change that had dropped through a hole in his pants. He is also asked to beat up some restaurant patrons to prove to Tsang that he is worthy of the job. His skills are also showcased in escape scenes, more protective roles, and even ice skating--not your usual Jet Li fare. His portrayal of a broke, extremely selective "killer" is both hilarious and frightening when it needs to be.

The fight scenes are on the same level as Bodyguard From Beijing or The Master, not quite Fist of Legend or Twin Warriors (Tai Chi Master) good, considering that the last two were kung fu heavy. It's a much more rounded film, where the light-hearted moments contrast nicely with the darker fight scenes.

Watch this in Chinese to get the full range of Tsang's vocal gyrations and swearing. Highly recommended for any kung fu collection.

I've seen this movie for 14 times and am still think it is one of Jet Li's best. Unfortunately the English dubbed version has not yet been available so I could just read the subtitles. However, that does not decrease the value of the movie at all. If you want to see modern fighting with humor, great excitement, and implicit moral lesson, this is a must for you. Believe me, you won't make bad decision. However, the best of Jet Li's is "Twin Warriors". This is a real masterpiece--the fighting scenes are much better than "the Matrix"!! Check it out if you don't believe it!!

Hitmen are apparently big business in this action hit about an anonymous worker (Li) who decides to become a hitman in order to be able to bring his family to live with him. The details get complicated as the designated "hit" puts out a reward for the person who kills them that killed him. A HUGE sum of money put together by a conglomerate of people all working for this guy, is posted out to all prospective hitmen. Jet is coerced by a friendly con-man who wants a percentage of the reward and sees Jet Li as his pot of gold. Jet befriends (I say this loosely) a cop who is also on the case, looking for the person who murdered the businessman. They form a semi-alliance as they seek out the perp for their own reasons. Put in an excellent performance by Paul Rapovski for his role as the super-coolest bad guy with what I like to call "light sabre rings" that blind his opponent and give him a clear advantage. This makes very clear that there will be a major showdown between our unlikely hero (Li) and this delicious villain. The fight scenes are beyond amazing, technically perfect and not too unbelievable as I have found over the years with most of the HK action fight scenes. One gets jaded after a couple too many loops in the air. The fight scenes in this film were very well choreographed and had me cheering. All in all, an excellent action movie with a good story and a great sense of humour to boot.

i bought this movie, not knowing at all what to expect, and boy was i surprised. it was great! a very solid plot carries the movie to my rating of 5 stars, along with the action. although not action packed, what there is of it, is freakin dope. (the elevator shaft fight scene was awesome) the movie can get boring at times, but it all pays off at the end of the movie with the mind blowing final fight scene. i think that columbia tristar did an excellent transfer to dvd, dispite some scratches on the screen throughout the movie. the soundtrack was also re-done, in hip hop/ rap music. i highly recommend this movie, rent it, buy it, whatever, just see this movie