HITMAN (1998)

Starring: Jet Li, Simon Yam, Eric Tsang, Gigi Leung

I think this was the last Hong Kong film Jet Li had starred in before he went to the States to start his Hollywood career. It is also the first time that Jet Li used his own voice in the film, even though his Cantonese is far from perfect.

A Japanese businessman, Tsukamoto, was assassinated by the Killing Angel, a righteous killer hell bent on wiping the bad guys off the face of the earth. However, Tsukamoto had initiated a 'revenge fund' of US$100 million to any person who would avenge his death.

Fu (Jet Li) was a soldier in China, but now moved to Hong Kong to work as a killer for local gangs, but his main stumbling block in this lucrative market is that he has a conscience, and for several contracts, he had failed to kill off his targets because he had felt sorry for them.

Fu meets Ngok (Eric Tsang), who proclaims himself as an agent for killers such as Fu, and they strike a bargain: if Fu kills the Killing Angel, Ngok would get a large percentage of the fund money. Ngok then helps Fu to become more sophisticated - dressing him in expensive clothes, instructing him on the conducts of a killer etc.

Meanwhile, Tsukamoto's grandson also wishes to get his hands on his grandfather's money, and to take over the family's global business. His discoveries lead him to suspect that Ngok is actually the Killing Angel, and wants to kill him at all costs. And with a few twists and turns, we finally realise that the police inspector (Simon Yam) who was on their tail from the start, is really the Killing Angel. They all team up at the end to finish off Tsukamoto.

Hitman isn't at all bad, and it flows at the good pace, with enough drama and action to keep the plot interesting. Jet Li is quite promising at the beginning as a down and out killer; living in the slums, having to borrow clothes from his neighbours etc. We don't really get to learn much about him, but he manages to rouse our interest and sympathy in him. His broken Cantonese strengthens his mainland personality, and he genuinely has an innocent and humble look about him.

Also, the character played by Eric Tsang keeps us guessing as to who and what he is. In fact, both Ngok and Fu are mysterious characters, because we have no idea at the beginning as to their intentions. At first, I thought Fu was the Killing Angel, because he looked the part, but our perceptions change as the story moves along.

Gigi Leung puts up a good performance as Ngok's long suffering daughter, Kiki, but she doesn't get enough screen time to develop her character, and I think she is there simply to make Ngok more sympathetic.

The action is quite excellent, as would befit a Jet Li film, although there aren't enough action scenes to keep Jet Li's fans happy. The story is above average, with some good plot-turns, and even if the film is no classic, it remains enjoyable.

When watching the end of the film, there is obviously a hint that suggests a sequel would be in the works, but the poor reception of this film in Hong Kong, and Li's departure to Hollywood has killed any chance of that happening.

NB: There is a little in-joke in the film when Jet Li dresses up as Chow Yun Fat in A Better Tomorrow, and as Jean Reno in Leon. An homage to classic killer films?

RATING

7 / 10