Zi dan chu zu (1990)

Zi dan chu zu: Directed by Chun-Man Yuen. With Jacky Cheung, Simon Yam, Lieh Lo, Dick Wei. Two hitmen get a new rookie partner, who starts off badly by blowing an assignment, but soon becomes proficient at his bloody work. When one of them is blackmailed into helping the police, their boss grows suspicious.

“Bullet for Hire is not a film you watch for itu0026#39;s story or characterization. The people who made this film were very aware of this and therefore did not even attempt. Whatever there is story wise itu0026#39;s a downright mess. First it is asked of you to sympathize with main character Han (Simon Yam) and his friend Ngok (Lieh Lo) who are assassins for hire. They are absolutely ruthless and have very little to no conscience at all. All they care is about themselves and each other. At least that is what it seems like the majority of the film until a plot twist later in the film puts a spin on that. But before that they donu0026#39;t have qualms about killing people or showing mercy to women and children. There isnu0026#39;t a single trade about Han that is likable. It is pure the charisma of Simon Yam alone that make you accept that despicable character. u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eFor some reason Jacky Cheung is thrown into the mix as the rookie Shan who is entrusted as Hanu0026#39;s pupil by big boss Dick Wei. Naturally Shan fumbles and stumbles at first but becomes as good and efficient as Han. Shan is more fleshed out character and has more likable characteristics but despite these I hardly cared about him. There are two scenes with him that stood out for me. One that is a blatant rip off from Scarface. The other is a scene where Shan and his girlfriend are having dinner in a restaurant. They are sitting at a very large table where a big vase of flowers is put in the middle blocking Shanu0026#39;s view. He tries to communicate with her but obviously that is hard to do with that big vase in the way. I am not sure but it reminded me of the dinner scene in Batman. But it could very well be that itu0026#39;s lifted from another film. This last scene is one of the many comedic scenes in the film that donu0026#39;t mix well with the action and the brutal violence. u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eTonally the film is all over the place and itu0026#39;s best to shut of your brain since it is rather pointless to make sense of it. A lot of the events in the film are illogical and donu0026#39;t flow right. Could be that scenes were cut or they simply didnu0026#39;t care that much to make work of it. I guess itu0026#39;s the latter. The main focus is the action and while not that stylish it was decent and enjoyable. Most of the choreography was done well. The action is fast and exciting while it lasts. Typical bullet ballet shootouts and some fighting. u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eBullet for Hire is one of those dime in a dozen films that can be very enjoyable late at night and in quiet weekends. Other than that is has very little to offer. u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003ewww.chrichtonsworld.com”