Five oddball characters endure the rigours of army training and Action star Donnie Yen's second film as director - following the very impressive Legend of the Wolf - is a darkly romantic "killer's nocturne" shot through with references to Léon and The Collector. From a script by English martial-artist-turned-writer Bey Logan, it's a bold attempt, despite budgetary constraints, to come up
with an intense, chamber-like love story within a commercial genre.
First seen wasting a heavily-guarded mobster, Cat (Yen) is a coolly-composed, professional assassin who's thinking of quitting his job. He's persuaded to do one last hit that will give him the opportunity to get even with a former cop (Jimmy Wong) who betrayed him when they both were in New York's police department.
Unfortunately, policewoman Carrie (Annie Wu) is after Cat, who ends up kidnapping her, falling for her and putting his life on the line. Richly scored by Japanese composer Yukie Nishimura, and shot by cameraman Wong Ka-fai in gritty, dark tones, the movie is an intense ride that demonstrates Yen's whiplash athleticism and more firepower than World War II in the movie's two showpieces - a shootout in a cinema and an immense gun battle in Cat's apartment. Taiwanese starlet Wu (from Jackie Chan's Police Story 4 - First Strike) can also be seen in another of this year's Midnight Mayhem movies, The Demon's Baby.
Derek Elley