User reviews

A HK movie which doesn't have over the top music, bad dubbing, over stylish direction or bad actors deserves to get a better mention. After watching the APPALLING "Black Mask" (directed by that unfortunately highly American influenced Daniel Lee) I didn't expect much from this. I was pleasantly surprised. Good acting all round (watch for Jet li's subtle quirks), standable music, nice sound, simple and unglorified directing (check out the fight with the guy with the lasers) good fight scenes, and a solid plot make this a good change of pace from most Jet Li movies. Don't watch it for a Martial Arts Flick, just watch it for a well made action movie and you won't be disappointed. 7.5 /10

The Contract Killer is one of Jet Li's best films. Besides the cool action sequences, the movie has effective humor (courtesy of Eric Tsang), and well... more action sequences. Not to mention the movie has one of the most rubbish scripts ever in the history of Kung-Fu/Action cinema. The script is so bad, the sub-villain is a guy with lasers on the tip of his shoes. And the villain eats his diseased grandfather's ashes. Yeah.

Anyways, long story short, Jet and Eric must find the killer of old mafioso don Tsukamoto, in order to receive a 100 million dollar reward. Everything else is action and buddy comedy.

It is important to recognize the talent and agility Jet demonstrates in his fighting scenes. Although they are far from being his best, the work he puts in here is astounding; heavily inspired by most of Jackie Chan's work as a matter of fact. Jet isn't a killing machine here, or a spiritual white robbed man with a bad haircut. He is but a skillful martial artist that doesn't want to hurt anyone badly, therefore, he resorts to use his surroundings most of the time. Like Jackie in most of his films.

It is also important to recognize Eric Tsang. The man is very good in this one; funny, enjoyable and overacted (but in a tasteless way of course). I also liked the musical score and requisite Hip Hop soundtrack.

Statement: You are not a Jet Li purist if you haven't seen Contract Killer. I also highly recommended this to anyone that wants to laugh and see some large amounts of ass kicking at the same time.

5.3/10

From the cover of the movie, with Jet Li dressed up in a full Swat-like body armor, swinging in a rope, I didn't really expect much. It seemed pretty cliché if you ask me. But I watched it, and boy, was I surprised. Ok, so it was dubbed. And dubbing is always bad. But the story was quite interesting, and carried out well throughout the movie.

In the opening scene a mafia boss is killed by a hitman, along with a bunch of his bodyguards. His family puts a bounty on the hitmans head (100 million dollars, to be exact... That's alot!), and they call upon all the assassins of Hong Kong to find this hitman, and kill him.

Jet Li's character, Fu, is a rookie hitman who's low on cash. He's thrown out by his roommates for not paying the bill and is wandering the streets when he hears of the 100 million dollar award for the one who finds the killer of the mafia boss. He also finds a new friend, who finds a few hits for him. However it seems that Fu isn't really that great of a hitman. Sure, he is fast, strong and well trained in the martial arts, but he's to sensitive.

They end up getting in trouble, because everyone thinks Fu's friend is the one who killed the mafia boss, and they have to run from some of Eiji's (the badguy in the movie... But is he really bad? What did he do that's so bad? Well, its obvious that he is meant to be the badguy, anyway) assassins. The end is pretty predictable (but the identity of the killer who killed the mafia boss is probably supposed to come as a surprise. It didn't.) but all in all its a good movie. Entertaining, and much, much better than most Hollywood action movies.

I give it a 8, interesting characters, plot, fights and pretty much everything. But I suppose it could have been better on some minor points. It just doesn't feel like a 10, heh.

This is a good movie that may have never made it to the American market if not for the success of Jet Li in the U.S. Eric Tsang is a very successful actor in the Hong Kong market, but has virtually no following here -- which is too bad. He may have even been listed as the star of the movie in the original Chinese version.

Eric is a Chinese blend of Danny DeVito and Joe Pesci. He can portray the wormy character of DeVito in the Romancing the Stone/Jewel of the Nile movies. And he also does a great blending of the Home Alone/Lethal Weapon Joe Pesci character. People should rent this movie to see him render his role.

As for the movie, itself, this is a little different than most Jet Li fare -- maybe because he is not the clear star. There is a little less of the martial artist and a little more of the actor. It is a pleasant change.

Jet Li (Hero, Black Mask etc.) and Erik Tsang (Infernal Affairs) star in this wire fu action flick with an identity crisis. We start in kind of Jackie Chan territory with plenty of humour with Li a bumbling incompetent hit-man and Tsang a small time crook getting involved in a multi-million dollar 'hit'. As the film goes on all the comedy moments are forgotten and we begin to move into a serious action flick involving a bit more gun play than the usual Jet Li film, in fact it comes across at times as a cross between a Jet Li film and a John Woo heroic bloodshed type affair.

The action sequences are all to the high standard expected of Jet with a few added gun play sequences. Li is very likable in the lead role and Tsang is very good in his sidekick role showing a different persona to his performance in Infernal affairs.

Overall a fairly good hong kong action flick but the differing styles clash at times 6/10

Hitman is a good solid action comedy which calls upon Jet Li to do a little more acting than usual. The cast is good, with Eric Tsang standing out particularly, and Heiji Sato making a decent debut as the nasty Japanese guy (there seem to be a lot of these in Hong Kong movies). Action scenes are relatively thin on the ground but what's there is of a good standard - although you might expect better from "Hong Kong's greatest action export".

What's most refreshing about this film is its understatement. The plot isn't anything special but it's pretty water-tight, and the action is all pretty believable if unspectacular.

One thing I particularly liked about Hitman was the way that different languages were used throughout the film (without using dubbing as in The Black Sheep Affair). This contributes to the overall realistic feel of the film and is something I would like to see more on screen. This aside, there is nothing particularly innovative here, but nothing worth criticising either - a film I could recommend to people who don't usually enjoy foreign martial arts movies.

Jet Li plays a hitman in this movie but lacks too much of the characteristics of a hitman, instead he is overwhelmed with morality and sympathy.

The plot wasn't all that great, a Japanese Tycoon has put on his death will to award 100 million dollars to whoever kills his assassins as he suspects he will be assissinated.

What disappoints me most in this movie is the fighting choreography, as much as i hate to say it, this movie really lacks of wire used fighting. However, the movie is still worth to watch because this is somewhat a change of a movie when it comes to Jet Li. But if you are interested in really good fighting scenes with Jet Li, i'd suggest you watch Twin Warriors (Tai Chi Master) or Fist of Legend, which has just about enough wire fighting scene work, and nonetheless a pretty good story as well.

I bought this movie on DVD for just £4.00 and im very impressed with it, what a bargain !

Its funny (very funny in some parts), fast and the guy who plays Li's friend in this movie is a hilarious hapless character.

This movie has some interesting, new aproaches to Hong Kong movies. Such as a bad guy who wears extremely powerful laser-lights to blind his enemy - sounds cheesy, but ill hear your opinion once you have seen it in action, its very effective.

Jet Li's performance in this movie is by far his best, although 'Fist Of Legend' is still his best movie all-round. This movie is still well worth anybodies Fiver' (or five bucks :) .

It's an ok Jet Li vehicle, but nothing more. This is an example of a great premise that's wasted by mediocre storytelling and execution. Hitman (Contract Killer) never really rises above average.

It's about two hitmen teaming up to take down the biggest, baddest assassin around. It should've been way more awesome than it was.

Don't be fooled by the title and cover. This is probably not the kind of film you're expecting, and you may be sorely disappointed if you watch it without this knowledge. It's an action comedy first of all, and the action is spaced out and there's not actually a ton of it. It's a slower movie that gets bogged down in the middle by its story, and it spends way too much time focusing on other characters. It seems to forget that we came for Jet Li, and we get tons of background and development for Eric Tsang's character who is obnoxious and unlikable. Jet Li isn't even a hitman, which I actually liked, as I usually dislike assassin protagonists since they're so hard to root for.

Jet Li is this movie's saving grace. Had there been more action and more of Li onscreen, I would've given it at least four stars. Unfortunately though, there are basically four long action scenes, with like, two other small fight scenes. While that sounds like a lot, the movie manages to make you feel cheated. The action is excellent, but the film is let down by everything else.

The action scenes are great, though. The carnival scene was cool, the apartment chase and fight was well done, the second apartment fight was really cool, ending in an elevator shaft, and the final battle was very well done. There is some major stunt work on Li's part, as usual, and the action doesn't disappoint when it comes.

It's only for Jet Li fans, or I guess just Hong Kong film enthusiasts, but just know what you're in for. It kind of becomes a dramedy midway through, with not enough emphasis on action or Li's character. Li was the only reason I watched it, but his action scenes sure are on point. I would much sooner recommend one of Li's other 90s films, High Risk (1995) over this one.

Shaky, frenetic, inept camerawork and editing virtually destroy this movie. The director speeds up the fight scenes (as if Jet Li weren't already fast enough), cuts too quickly between shots, holds his camera too close to the actors and generally does everything in his power to make the action scenes difficult to see and enjoy; what begins as a serious martial arts movie becomes a laughable cartoon. Li is likable, Gigi Leung is excellent, but this film is not substantially better than ANY low-budget straight-to-video actioner you can find at the video store. A shame. (**)

This film is unique among the Jet Li collection because, first, Jet's voice is not dubbed (i.e., viewers actually hear him speak accented Cantonese), and, second, Jet's character, Ah Fu, is rather inept, lacking the characteristic coolness common to most of Jet's other roles. Jet Li has certainly done better films than this, but Hitman is worth a watch simply because it is quite different from all the rest.

The Hitman is Jet Li's last movie he made in Hong Kong before making his US debut in Lethal Weapon 4. It has a good support cast with Eric Tsang and Simon Yam. This is light-hearted and sometimes goofy action flick with a convoluted plot and some out of place comedy in what should be a wall to wall action film. The action that is in it is awesome with Jet Li's usual super human kung fu skills as well as a heavy dose of gunplay. Had the film been a little more serious, it would have went a long way. However, the action here is awesome and is a better movie than the Chuck Norris movie of the same name. However, not by a lot, especially if you take the action out of it.

Out of all of Jet Li's films... this one shows off his acting talent than his martial arts. This film focuses way to much on the bland plot which is why your left only to deal with his acting which isn't that bad for someone that went from wushu champion to the acting gig.

Out of all the movies in my Jet Li collection... I don't suggest this one to anyone thats looking for a hardcore fighting film. Granted the last fight scene is very intense but it's only the last 10-15 mins of the film and it's full of patented Jet Li trademarked moves like his belt as a weapon and his hilarious 'bitch slaps' to the face. Most of the film is plot and slapstick humor.

This movie is one of my favorite Jet Li movie. This has a good story line, humour, and of course..... Action. This movie is kinda different than his other films like Fist of Legend or Black Mast because in this movie Jet uses a lot of guns instead of using hand to hand fighting. I say about a scale of 6/10, he uses guns, and the rest he uses his fighting skills. Still, this movie is very entertaining and you should watch it if your a Jet Li fan.

... good, but also the main player here ... yeah OK you knew that. Not only because he's on the poster, or his name comes up first in the cast list. But I do guess that you've seen some (a few or many) of his other movies. And I say that because Hit-man isn't the first movie, someone will stumble upon, while he's/she's looking up Jet Li. Just because it's also not his best one ...

Still this is entertaining and if you don't expect any story you'll get your moneys worth ... concerning the action scenes! Suspension of disbelief is also needed (like in most action movies though) and Li's charisma isn't felt like in some other movies ... In two words: Light & fun!

When an unscrupulous Japanese businessman, Mr. Tsukamoto (Kenji Sahara), is bumped off by the King of Killers, conman Ngok Lo (Eric Tsang) takes novice hitman Fu (Jet Li) under his wing and enters a competition between professional assassins to catch Tsukamoto's murderer, the reward being a cool $100million.

Contract Killer feels very much like one of those knockabout kung fu comedies from the mid-'80s, partly because it stars Eric Tsang of 'The Lucky Stars', but also in the way that it is structured: the first hour is mostly played for laughs, with only the occasional burst of action, but the best is saved for last - an excellent martial arts battle between the 'good' guys, the villains, and the mysterious 'King of Killers', whose identity I will keep a secret.

Fans of Jackie Chan's '80s/'90s comedic output (Project A, My Lucky Stars, Twin Dragons) will no doubt get a kick out of Li's attempt to follow suit, but I found the majority of the film rather tedious, the comedy not all that funny and the intermittent action in the first sixty minutes not very impressive. That said, it's worth staying the distance for the final fifteen minutes, where Jet finally gets to show us what we all know he is capable of.

4.5/10 (generously rounded up to 5 for the lovely Gigi Leung as Tsang's daughter, who makes things a little easier to bear). Needed less of the comedy, and more and better action set-pieces during the build up. Also, the US version that I watched has terrible rap music over the action, which really doesn't suit the film.

Review: The only thing that kept me interested in this film was the chemistry between Jet Li and his newly found agent. Apart from that, there isn't that much action but the storyline is half decent. The witty script was funny in parts but Jet Li didn't really show that much emotion throughout the whole movie. He seemed to look a bit lost most of the time, which is why his sidekick played a big part in keeping this movie interesting. After a big crime lord is mysteriously killed, a big wager is put on the table to find the killer. Once the murderer is revealed, he joins forces with Li to take down the crime lords, who didn't have any intention in paying out the big reward for finding the killer of his grandfather. I was hoping for big action scenes with different hit men, but I was quite disappointed with the direction that the director took the storyline. With all that aside, it's worth a watch just to see a different side to Li and some of the scenes are really funny. Average!

Round-Up: With only one movie left in my Jet Li season, I can't wait to start collecting the old Kung Fu movies because I have enjoyed some of the action, which doesn't have the crazy flying in the air scenes. As for Jet Li, I'm definitely impressed with his martial arts skills but I'm not that impressed with the movies that he has made lately. I've watched a few interviews with Jet Li which shows that he is quite a funny man who doesn't take life that seriously, which you can see in some of his films, but he really need to start making some better movies. Anyway, I found this movie funny but not that great in the action department.

I recommend this movie to people who are into their Jet Li movies about a down and out man who joins up with an agent to track down a murderer for a large amount of money. 4/10

When I saw the cover for this, I wondered if it was some weird Chinese comedy with Jet Li. All of the stars are holding guns except for Eric Tsang, who is holding a banana. Why is Gigi Leung giving us a wink? And how come Simon Yam has one gun to his head? If anything, I knew I was in for "something" and this is one film where you can say "don't judge a DVD by its cover".

The acting is great, especially Jet Li who is normally known as a kung fu master or shoot 'em up guy. He combines both of these elements, but also shows he can be a romantic guy, when it comes to Miss Gigi Leung. No wonder the girls love him.

But Eric Tsang outshines everyone as the money-hungry guy who will do anything to make a buck, and is successful in every transaction except when it comes to having a relationship with his daughter (Leung).

The movie centers around the assassination of a Japanese businessman. Jet Li's character, Fu, comes to Hong Kong from the mainland and finds that he is unlike his money hungry friend, but knows he has to do something to survive. Somehow, the former military soldier meets up with a man named Ngok Lo (Tsang), who encourages Fu to join him in finding the killer for the reward money that's being offered. The action picks up from that point on, and the great thing about it is that it has enough kung fu and gunplay to keep you on your toes, but it doesn't go overboard either way. Inbetween this, Fu bumps into a lady (Leung) and eventually finds out she is related to his new boss. Combine that with the police investigating the murder case, and some hilarious moments from Tsang (Hong Kong's Joe Pesci?), and you have one of the best movies to come out of Hong Kong in some time. Well written, nice cinematography, and the acting is on the money. Just when you think they couldn't add any more elements to this film, they do.

It had nothing but early Jackie Chan badly dubbed over movie vibes and... I freaking loved it. Jet Li is always so serious and known for his mysterious, bad ass nature in his normal, newer American films but in this one, he is straight comedy as the movie opens up with him risking his life chasing a nickel into the street because of how badly he is struggling to earn any money. Although it is not part of his normal acting repertoire, this movie is light-hearted and very enjoyable. I would not necessarily recommend it to anyone or watch it again but it wasn't the worst movie I have ever seen either so if you want a fun, enjoyable action comedy to throw on in the background while you clean or want to spend time with the kids, this may be a good one for you.

As much as I do enjoy Asian cinema, it just pains me to my very soul whenever I get an Asian movie that has been released as an English dubbed version. And especially bad is it when the DVD doesn't even offer the option to change the audio track into the original language. And unfortunately "Contract Killer" (aka "Sat sau ji wong") is such a dubbed movie. And what perplexes me even more is that the dubbing voice actors never do a proper work. It is always done so poorly that it becomes laughable.

Anyone familiar with Hong Kong cinema will be thrilled to see Simon Yam, Eric Tsang, Gigi Leung and of course Jet Li in "Contract Killer". Simon Yam provides the serious acting, Eric Tsang provides the comical relief and Jet Li is of course doing the action.But they were being brutally butchered by a pathetic English dubbed audio track.

Story-wise then "Contract Killer" is very typical for the action movies that were coming out of Hong Kong cinema during the late 1990's. That being said, it is of course up to the individual viewer whether that is good or bad. I did find it entertaining enough for what it was, I just struggled to swallow that dubbing pill.

Aside from the dubbing horror, then the music in the movie was mostly very poorly selected; and here I'm thinking of the title track, the music played during the rather impressive elevator shaft fight scene and during the last fight scene.

"Contract Killer" appeals to anyone with a lifelong love romance with Hong Kong cinema. For newcomers there are far better Hong Kong action movies available. And as for it being a Jet Li movie, well don't get too excited, because it is not amongst his best work.