After an orgy of murder, a man simply known as "The Killer" (Chow Yun-Fat) reforms and starts up a refuge for criminals, refugees, and the hopeless under his protection. Very little of this makes sense -- especially the production design, which has the anachronistic look an American western. (It goes a little beyond anachronism when a guy plays the trumpet, and French horn music comes out.) The fight scenes are the biggest cop-out: Chow Yun-Fat is so flabby and out of shape these days that the martial arts is a mass of quick edits and clouds of dust so you can't see what's going on. But as John Woo produced, it has a luscious visual look, and the black-and-white opening sequence is a heart-thumper.

(2/4)



[Reviewed by Steve Spinali]