MartinHafer This film tells parallel stories about two top assassins--one very professional and one who is incredibly flamboyant and seems to have a death wish. At first, it was very hard for me to tease apart the stories, as they merged here and there and intertwined and even went backwards and forwards in time. Ultimately, the younger flamboyant assassin attempts to kill the more experienced killer--sort of a fight to the death to see who really is #1.I love Asian films but I hate the over-the-top violence of some of these films. It's funny but a week ago, I watched STREET FIGHTER (Japan, 1974) and later read the DVD box to see it had been rated X--but this film was STILL a lot less bloody and violent than many modern Asian films (such as those of John Woo or Chuen jik sat sau. There just comes a point for me when there is so much killing and blood and Nihilism that I just can't watch the films--this film was nearly that violent. Plus, there is a lot of puking and foaming at the mouth (this part really isn't explained--after all, WHO foams at the mouth and WHY?). So, before watching, understand the film IS well-made but I really cannot recommend it due to its unrelenting violence that really gets in the way of the plot at times. However, there IS a very good story behind all the violence and I must admit the film has high production values.

Scarecrow-88 O(Takashi Sorimachi)is Hong Kong's #1 assassin and a former Olympian for China, Tok(Andy Lau, quite a hoot as the flamboyant killer who enjoys the idea of being good at what he does and not suffering any guilt by doing his chosen occupation)wants to fill that position. The film is primarily about their adversarial duel, but also about how a young woman, recently moving to Hong Kong, Chin(Kelly Lin)seems to form a bond with both men. Chin is an interesting character for she's enticed and attracted to the danger both Tok and O represent. Another interesting footnote is that O's manager(the man who arranges the hits)is actually Tok's brother, a former Olympian himself. An aspect important as the film continues is that both Tok and his brother suffer from a form of epilepsy that causes a foaming of the mouth and possible degree of unconsciousness. This rears it's ugly head at times, like the harrowing subway sequence, while Tok is working.Flashy, fast-paced, action-packed, violent, and a lot of fun. It is spirited with good, energetic camera-work and sharp sense of style. It never lags and always keeps moving towards the climatic, inevitable duel between the two in an inspired sequence within Tok's chosen location of a fireworks factory!

xanitra I have discarded Hollywood for a while, and turned my eyes on to the East. Here in Scandinavia, a company called Asion Vision has released a bunch of DVDs from Asia. This movie is from Hong Kong. Fulltime Killer is one of them. Fulltime Killer is the best action movie I've ever seen.It's got all the action you'd come to expect from movies like Resorvoir Dogs, Pulp Fiction, and Assassins but doesn't underestimate the audience with bland script, and terrible plot. This movie really is something else, where you don't get the "aha" sensation, before the very end.For us guys, plenty of action with +100 IQ points inserted, and for the girls there is a, well, a bit twisted lovestory. But a lovestory it is.See this movie!!! If I could write a letter to the guys that made this, and say "thank you" in Hong Kong'ish, I would... But this review will have to do. Ah, I am going to see this with my wife soon who hasn't seen it yet. I can't wait! YeehaA!!

lyricsonflight I'm a fan of Asian gangster/noir films, so I maybe biased somewhat in giving this movie thumbs up. I can totally see why this movie might come across as totally lame; it has half- baked plot with a rather strange pace, underdeveloped characters, and a little substance overall. The movies feels like some Japanese manga comic. But I guess that's the whole Asian gangster/noir genre in general(actually many are pretty bad, I think). Even then, Fulltime Killer was pretty memorable for me. Maybe it is because some of its cool and innovative cinematography? Maybe because the movie had some strange but strong feel, an atmosphere to it. Maybe it's because I thought Kelly Lin was such a hotty. I can't really say. But Fulltime Killer got under my skin. I saw it over and over again.