'The Killer' is the story of Jeff (Yun Fat), a hitman for hire who accidentally blinds night club singer Jennie (Yeh) during his final hit.  Consumed by guilt, he befriends the girl and discovers she needs an expensive cornea transplant to repair her sight.  To pay for her operation he undertakes one last job that will take the two of them away from this lifestyle but Detective Lee (Lee) has other ideas.  As Lee gets closer to Jeff he realises that they are not so different after all and a strange friendship is fused between the two sides of the law.  Sadly in this world, no amount of repentance can save you and death is always just around the corner.

This movie remains one of the all time greats within the heroic bloodshed category and even on the first viewing it's easy to see why.  Woo seamlessly blends his extraordinary talent for bloody shoot-outs with characters that contain realistic personalities, building a deeper connection between the audience and the action on the screen.  Betrayal, guilt, vengeance and redemption are all expressed through the use of realistic violence, allowing for a completely original way of forming a bond between two such charismatic leading actors.

This film (along with 'A Better Tomorrow') firmly established Woo's trademark slow motion shoot-outs that actually made gunplay look as graceful as an acrobatic kung fu flip.  By employing certain camera movements and slowing the action down at exactly the right point, Woo offers such poetic imagery that it has been the cause of countless imitations to date.  It is also ably assisted by the arsenal from hell as our heroes (or anti-heroes as it may be) arm themselves to the teeth with everything from dual pistols to sniper rifles, allowing them to wreak havoc on their enemies.

In my opinion, this still remains Woo's (and perhaps Yun Fat's) finest hour to date thanks to some superb shoot-outs, outstanding leading actors and a genuinely engaging story that employs true to life characterisations.  If you call yourself an action movie fan then you are bound to love this but if you don't then maybe you should stick to another 'Police Academy' movie instead!