tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2856272086525464569.post9063017653842928889..comments2023-06-23T06:28:19.793-07:00Comments on Movies: East Asian Directors Marathon #8- The Killer (1989, Hong Kong, John Woo)Andrew DiDonatohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12512968842540556703noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2856272086525464569.post-48758461487811124182010-09-13T20:38:39.762-07:002010-09-13T20:38:39.762-07:00I actually really like this movie, and what you ca...I actually really like this movie, and what you call heavy-handedness actually enhanced the experience for me. I think a mistake that a lot of people make when approaching Woo's '80s films is that they view them strictly as prototypes for the sort of revenge films he would later become so well-known for, when really there's a strong, traditional morality tale quality to them. The same is true for A Better Tomorrow, although Woo's approach in The Killer is admittedly more of a transitional one when you look at something like Hard Boiled.<br /><br />Have you seen A Better Tomorrow, by the way? It has some of the same plot contrivances as The Killer (talking passionately in the heat of battle, for example), but I wonder if you'd find those things a bit more palatable in that movie. I think it's fair to say those things were a bit more novel (at least in the way he executed them) at that time than they were in The Killer, so if nothing else perhaps you'd find it more interesting for that reason.Marchttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10558378521891430225noreply@blogger.com