KILLERS MUST DIE is a cheapo John Woo copy made in Taiwan. It's a generally low budget, slapdash affair, with an overly complicated storyline interspersed with some scenes of violent shoot-outs and the like. The general look, plotting and feel of John Woo's THE KILLER is copied throughout, and this is an inferior imitation in every respect.
The general thrust of the storyline involves a hired killer with an international background (born in Taiwan, lived in Japan, spent some time with the Italian mafia). He offs a gangster boss in a public park, and his actions are spotted by a young woman whose life he spares. Later, the woman herself becomes the target of the mob, and the assassin must go against his former colleagues in order to save her life.
It's the type of gangster storyline which has been done to death in East Asian cinema, but that doesn't mean it's worthless; recently, South Korea have been making some excellent action films based around the same premise (like A COMPANY MAN). Unfortunately the cheapness of KILLERS MUST DIE is always in evidence in the general sloppiness of the writing and the fumbled melodrama. There are some fun moments, like the bloody action scenes and the training flashbacks, and a climax where I didn't know whether to laugh or cry, but generally this is nearing the bottom of the barrel.
The general thrust of the storyline involves a hired killer with an international background (born in Taiwan, lived in Japan, spent some time with the Italian mafia). He offs a gangster boss in a public park, and his actions are spotted by a young woman whose life he spares. Later, the woman herself becomes the target of the mob, and the assassin must go against his former colleagues in order to save her life.
It's the type of gangster storyline which has been done to death in East Asian cinema, but that doesn't mean it's worthless; recently, South Korea have been making some excellent action films based around the same premise (like A COMPANY MAN). Unfortunately the cheapness of KILLERS MUST DIE is always in evidence in the general sloppiness of the writing and the fumbled melodrama. There are some fun moments, like the bloody action scenes and the training flashbacks, and a climax where I didn't know whether to laugh or cry, but generally this is nearing the bottom of the barrel.
