this effort from johnnie to is based on the novel, of the same name, by pang ho cheung - now a director of such films as 'you shoot, i shoot' and 'men suddenly in black'.

it's the story of o (takashi sorimachi) a cool, slick and efficient hired killer and tok (andy lau) as a young, brash and theatrical hitman, who watches too many action films. tok want's to take o's place as the number one assassin in asia and sets about manufacturing a confrontation.

there's lots of amusingly stylised action sequences that range from the sublime to the absurd. basically, it's a lot of fun though and it's fan-boy referencing and sytlisation, shouldn't distract from the fact that it's a pretty interesting set-up in it's own right.

it is now my second favourite johnnie to film, behind the excellent 'where a good man goes'...