I naturally think of action movies when I think about 1980s movies. Action films along with slasher horror and romantic comedies defined the genres of 1980s cinema. When I think of 1980s action films I think of Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sylvester Stallone, and Chuck Norris. I think about big explosions, increasingly bigger guns, and witty one-liners.

Big, bigger, and biggest defined American action films in the 1980s. But in Hong Kong, they were making a different kind of action film. Led by director John Woo, Hong Kong action films were much more stylized and interesting than their American counterparts. Woo’s action films were operatic in tone. They utilized slow motion and close-up gunfire. They also relied more heavily on telling a compelling story with thought paid attention to developing its characters. The explosions weren’t always big, but the emotions were.

I’m not extremely well versed in Hong Kong cinema, and I’ve only seen a few John Woo films, but watching The Killer reminded me that I need to dig further into them.

The Killer stars Chow Yun-fat as Ah Jong a hitman. Paid to assassinate a Triad leader he accidentally injures a nightclub singer named Jennie (Sally Yeh), leaving her partially blind. Ridden with guilt he begins visiting her secretly and eventually, the two become friends, without her ever knowing who he really is.

Hot on his trail are the gangsters who paid him to kill the Triad leader (his face was seen during that hit which may lead others to know who ordered the murder in the first place) and Detective Yi Ling (Danny Lee).

Ah John and Detective Ling develop a respect for one another as they both have a moral code and are both quite good at what they do. I was reminded quite a bit of Heat while watching this as the games they play with each other are reminiscent of Al Pacino and Robert DeNiro in that film.

The action sequences in this film are incredible. I’ve watched several other 1980s action films this month and most of those big action sequences pale in comparison. American films tended to rely on the bigger is better principle. As long as things were constantly blowing up they called it a day. But Woo injects his film with a real sense of style. His action sequences are exciting.

And beautiful. All those close-up shots done in slow motion with operatic music playing really give those sequences a delicate beauty. There are a few scenes located in an old church filled candles that are stunningly gorgeous.

The story itself is fine. I can’t say I’m really moved by any of it, but I appreciate that the film is making an effort with it. It is definitely better than what they were doing with Rambo III.

But nobody watches action films for the story and what Woo and company provide us with those action sequences is more than enough to make The Killer highly recommended.