Published via Ecency

(source: tmdb.org)

Jet Li established himself as action star of Hong Kong, and later, world cinema by playing characters that were “cool”. Character he played in Hitman, 1998 film directed by Stephen Tung, was anything but “cool”. Fu (played by Jet Li) is immigrant from mainland China who makes ends meet by conducting menial tasks for Hong Kong triad. Opportunity to rise to the top comes after Tsukamoto (played by Sahara Kenji), former yakuza boss, gets assassinated. Perpetrator is mysterious “King of the Assasins”, deadly killer who kills not for the money but because of the principle. Tsukamoto had, however, been aware of being the target and established special fund with 100 million US$ to be paid to anyone avenging his death. Fu is one many aspiring Hong Kong assassins trying to collect the reward. He gets help from Lo (played by Eric Tsang), small-time gangster who claims to be professional manager for assassins. Their search for “King of Assassins” is complicated when both men become targeted by Inspector Kwan (played by Simon Yam), determined and capable Hong Kong police detective.

Like many Hong Kong action films in 1990s, Hitman has lower budget than its Hollywood counterparts, but it tries to compensate it with energetic direction and superb display of Jet Li’s martial arts capabilities. Another asset of the film is almost surreal plot that could help viewers enjoy the film if they don’t take it too seriously and is often the source of humour as effective as the “regular” gags. Li, on the other hand, lacks proper acting ability, but is, on the other hand, this is compensated with good supporting cast, most notably Eric Tsang, formidable character actor who would later have memorable performances in other, more prominent Hong Kong films. In Hitman he serves as something close to comic relief, but he also easily overshadows most of the other cast members. Although not particularly deep or memorable, Hitman would be mostly pleasant and satisfying experience for fans of Hong Kong cinema or action genre.

RATING: 5/10 (++)