Sat sau ji wong
Tags: revenge, violence

Plot synopsis:
The film starts with a brief recollection of the "Killing Angel", a dangerous assassin that has been operating in most of southeast Asia. The Killing Angel has no known accomplices or colleagues, is not affiliated with any government, religious, or criminal organization, and to this date their true identity has still remained secret. The Killing Angel is believed to be responsible for 6 murders in the past year alone, with only one thing connecting each of the assassinations - all the victims were criminals and deserved to die.Then the movie quickly moves on to the Killing Angel's most recent killing, the well-publicized assassination of a notorious ex-yakuza crime boss. Working swiftly, the Killing Angel is able to overcome the criminal's defense systems, quickly incapacitating the boss's bodyguards and isolating his target. In a fit of desperation, the crime boss promises to triple whatever fee the Killing Angel is being paid to kill him, then goes on to warn the vigilante that there is a massive revenge fund set to avenge his killing. Ignoring his pleas, the Killing Angel silently kills the crime boss.The scene then switches over to the story of Fu (Jet Li), a small-town gang member who lives an extremely simple and modest lifestyle, albeit being a contract killer. It is revealed that Fu is very kind and has trouble killing innocent people, a trait that causes him to be disliked by the other low-rent triad members. When Fu's boss reveals that there is now a $100 million US bounty on the Killing Angel's head for the slaying of the yakuza boss, Fu is quick to volunteer for the job, but is instead insulted.Fu then attempts to enter the building where the crime boss's lawyers are discussing the terms for the revenge fund, but is detained at the entrance and ushered out by security guards. In a surprisingly quick sequence, Fu defends himself by rapidly incapacitating each of the guards. His lightning-swift martial arts skills draw the attention of Ngok Lo, played by Eric Tsang, a seedy contract booker and loan shark, who comes to Fu's aid by pretending that he is an agent and Fu is his actor. Thanks to Lo's smooth talking, the pair is able to sidle into the meeting.The meeting however, comes to a halt when government agents, led by detective Chan (Simon Yam), raid the building in search of known criminals who are meeting there. Chan, a leading detective, has been working tirelessly to expose the Killing Angel's true identity for years. The movie then switches over to another sequence, where the character of Eiji Tsukamoto, the slain crime boss's grandson, played by Renji Sato, is introduced. Tsukamoto, fed up with his grandfather's cowardice in life, now seeks his grandfather's power in death. Tsukamoto consumes a portion of his grandfather's cremated ashes, an act that causes the deceased lord's top aid to call him insane, but now all of the family's agents and gang members serve Tsukamoto as their new master.Fu and Lo get to know each other - Fu is an ex-soldier from mainland China, part of a special, world-famous unit known as the "Golden Soldiers". When Lo asks for a demonstration of Fu's skills, he is able to rapidly take down several ruffians simultaneously, but falters when he is confronted by a woman. Lo then explains the deal with Fu, and they head for an amusement park to assassinate the first person believed to be the Killing Angel. However, when they get there, it is revealed their target is a simple family man, and instead of killing him, Fu saves his life by killing his other assassins, the low-rank triad members he formerly lived with.Fu and Lo are then arrested, but they are bailed out by Lo's daughter, Kiki (Gigi Leung), an intelligent and successful lawyer fed up with her father's scandalous ways and criminal connections. Fu moves in with Lo now that he has no place to stay, and they quickly become friends, Lo claiming he used to be an infamous hitman known as the "Killing Tank" but proving he has no real combat skills or experience.The next day, Fu and Lo travel to a nursing home, in search of an old acquaintance of Lo's known only as "Uncle Leung". Unbeknownst to them however, Tsukamoto's agents have already traveled to Leung's home. While searching his apartment, a third assassin arrives, an explosives expert. The three parties have a standstill in the hallway when Uncle Leung suddenly appears. Chaos erupts as the explosives assassin blows up the apartment, and Fu and Lo immediately take Leung and start running, pursued by both the grenade-using assassin and Tsukamoto's agents. Eventually Fu and Lo are confronted by the third assassin, and he tries to kill Leung with a hand grenade, but Fu kicks the grenade back blowing up the assassin with his own grenade. Before they can escape, however, they run into Tsukamoto's lead bodyguard, known only as "the Tall Guy" (Raul Rapovski), who is guarding the entrance. The Tall Guy and Fu have a battle, where Fu gains the upper hand before the Tall Guy uses light-emitting devices worn on his fingers and shoes to blind Fu and beat him down. With Fu defeated, the three are quickly surrounded by the rest of Tsukamoto's agents, as well as Tsukamoto himself. Desperate, Lo quickly shakes Uncle Leung, telling him to tell the others Lo's innocent, but the old man emits only one word, a Cantonese obscenity, before he dies. Frustrated, Tsukamoto shoots the dead Leung in the head before turning his gun to Lo, but the Tall Guy says to leave them, advising that killing innocents will only attract more unwanted attention, and Tsukamoto and his agents leave.Back at Lo's apartment, the two are alive, but visibly shaken. Kiki and her fiancee, David, then arrive, to finish moving out Kiki's belongings, as she is moving in with David. Noticing Fu and Lo's battle-scarred appearances, Kiki takes Fu to an ice rink, questioning him as to what her father is up to again, but eventually warming up to him and the two become fast friends. When Fu returns to the apartment, Lo explains his story, and why he was searching for Uncle Leung.A few years prior, Lo had met Leung at an antique shop, where the old man had been attempting to sell some war notes. Feeling pity for the elderly man, Lo befriended him, and learned that the old man's entire family had been slain by a Japanese criminal. Since the notes were in truth worth a lot of money due to their historical significance, Lo told Leung to keep them, and only cash them in in the event that this Japanese criminal is killed. Unknown to Lo, this criminal was actually Tsukamoto's grandfather, and when he was assassinated by the Killing Angel, Leung really did cash in his notes and forward the money to Lo. Now there is a paper trail leading to Lo as the Killing Angel, which is why he was trying to find the old man and exonerate himself.As they are watching the television, there is suddenly a news report of an apartment fire. Lo is visibly shocked, and when questioned, he reveals that the inflamed apartment was actually where Lo lived a few years back. Before the two can escape, however, the power goes out. A sub-machine gun wielding hitman then breaks into the apartment, using his gun and his night vision goggles to track the two down. Fu manages to kill the assassin by kicking him out of a window, and the two leave the apartment, only to be confronted by even more hitmen in the elevator shaft. The two finally manage to escape, and discuss their further plans.The pair make a quick stop at Kiki's engagement party, where Lo apologizes to Kiki for being a bad father, and in advance for what he is about to do. The two are also confronted by detective Chan, and Fu guesses that Chan is actually the real Killing Angel, and Chan admits it. Fu remarks that he could kill Chan instantly and win the $100 million US bounty, but Chan replies accurately that Fu is not that kind of person, and should not be a hitman.Fu and Lo then arrive at Tsukamoto's complex, where Lo admits to being the Killing Angel, and Fu then pretends to shoot him. However, it is revealed that the revenge fund's lead lawyer has arranged a deal with Tsukamoto, so that no matter who kills the Killing Angel, it will be Tsukamoto who gets the bounty. The two are in trouble as Tsukamoto's agents close in, but then the real Killing Angel, detective Chan, arrives, and starts killing the gang members. After an extended series of fight sequences, Fu manages to kill Tsukamoto, the Tall Guy, and all of Tsukamoto's bodyguards and henchmen.As an ending to the movie, there is one last scene where all the survivors gather for a business meeting. Arranged by the revenge fund's lawyer, the bounty has been split between Fu, Chan, and Lo. Fu and Chan then have a conversation, where Chan states that he is getting too old for the business, and is going to give up the mantle of the Killing Angel. He wants Fu to become the new Killing Angel, recognizing not only his skills but also his inability to hurt the innocent and exact justice on evil. Fu's reply ambiguous, the credits roll.

Review: That's alot!), and they call upon all the assassins of Hong Kong to find this hitman, and kill him.Jet Li's character, Fu, is a rookie hitman who's low on cash.
The end is pretty predictable (but the identity of the killer who killed the mafia boss is probably supposed to come as a surprise.
Good acting all round (watch for Jet li's subtle quirks), standable music, nice sound, simple and unglorified directing (check out the fight with the guy with the lasers) good fight scenes, and a solid plot make this a good change of pace from most Jet Li movies.
Don't watch it for a Martial Arts Flick, just watch it for a well made action movie and you won't be disappointed.
Eric Tsang is a very successful actor in the Hong Kong market, but has virtually no following here -- which is too bad.
Jet Li (Hero, Black Mask etc.) and Erik Tsang (Infernal Affairs) star in this wire fu action flick with an identity crisis.
As the film goes on all the comedy moments are forgotten and we begin to move into a serious action flick involving a bit more gun play than the usual Jet Li film, in fact it comes across at times as a cross between a Jet Li film and a John Woo heroic bloodshed type affair.The action sequences are all to the high standard expected of Jet with a few added gun play sequences.
Li is very likable in the lead role and Tsang is very good in his sidekick role showing a different persona to his performance in Infernal affairs.Overall a fairly good hong kong action flick but the differing styles clash at times 6/10.
Mystery/action film starring Jet Li as a newbie hitman..
Jet Li has certainly done better films than this, but Hitman is worth a watch simply because it is quite different from all the rest..
This movie has Japanese swordsmanship, gadgets to blind people with, and good action all around..
The movie has several hilariously memorable characters like the head of the trust board who insists "Yes, I'm afraid of you, but I'm more afraid of starving"...I honestly felt that Simon Yam's character was a bit extraneous, he certainly doesn't have the skills that Jet Li has and he's very unimpressive without a gun in his hands.
The final fight scene is great enough to buy the movie and the very end has a nice feel-good sentiment.
The fast furious foot work of Jet Li, crossed with his amazing gun work, plus an array of comedy provided by circumstances and his partner in crime, failed dad Mr. Leung, makes this film a HK film not to be missed.
Fast action and lots of laughs too!In The Contract Killer, Jet Li supplies the charisma and quick kicks as a lowly trainee hitman going for the big score in tracking down the King of All Hitmen.Li's character is in tandem with a sly, but bumbling conman, played by the great Hong Kong character actor Eric Tsang (Men Suddenly in Black, Accidental Spy), who excels at menace and comic relief.
I bought this movie on DVD for just £4.00 and im very impressed with it, what a bargain !Its funny (very funny in some parts), fast and the guy who plays Li's friend in this movie is a hilarious hapless character.This movie has some interesting, new aproaches to Hong Kong movies.
Such as a bad guy who wears extremely powerful laser-lights to blind his enemy - sounds cheesy, but ill hear your opinion once you have seen it in action, its very effective.Jet Li's performance in this movie is by far his best, although 'Fist Of Legend' is still his best movie all-round.
If anything, I knew I was in for "something" and this is one film where you can say "don't judge a DVD by its cover".The acting is great, especially Jet Li who is normally known as a kung fu master or shoot 'em up guy.
No wonder the girls love him.But Eric Tsang outshines everyone as the money-hungry guy who will do anything to make a buck, and is successful in every transaction except when it comes to having a relationship with his daughter (Leung).The movie centers around the assassination of a Japanese businessman.
Jet Li's character, Fu, comes to Hong Kong from the mainland and finds that he is unlike his money hungry friend, but knows he has to do something to survive.
Combine that with the police investigating the murder case, and some hilarious moments from Tsang (Hong Kong's Joe Pesci?), and you have one of the best movies to come out of Hong Kong in some time.
Not a standard Jet Li actioner, but an amusing buddy comedy with a pretty intricate plot.
This film focuses way to much on the bland plot which is why your left only to deal with his acting which isn't that bad for someone that went from wushu champion to the acting gig.Out of all the movies in my Jet Li collection...
Granted the last fight scene is very intense but it's only the last 10-15 mins of the film and it's full of patented Jet Li trademarked moves like his belt as a weapon and his hilarious 'bitch slaps' to the face.
Hitman is a good solid action comedy which calls upon Jet Li to do a little more acting than usual.
The cast is good, with Eric Tsang standing out particularly, and Heiji Sato making a decent debut as the nasty Japanese guy (there seem to be a lot of these in Hong Kong movies).
Action scenes are relatively thin on the ground but what's there is of a good standard - although you might expect better from "Hong Kong's greatest action export".What's most refreshing about this film is its understatement.
The plot isn't anything special but it's pretty water-tight, and the action is all pretty believable if unspectacular.One thing I particularly liked about Hitman was the way that different languages were used throughout the film (without using dubbing as in The Black Sheep Affair).
This aside, there is nothing particularly innovative here, but nothing worth criticising either - a film I could recommend to people who don't usually enjoy foreign martial arts movies..
The director speeds up the fight scenes (as if Jet Li weren't already fast enough), cuts too quickly between shots, holds his camera too close to the actors and generally does everything in his power to make the action scenes difficult to see and enjoy; what begins as a serious martial arts movie becomes a laughable cartoon.
Away from the hunt for the killer Fu gets close to Ngok Lo's beautiful daughter Kiki.This film was a lot of fun; it combines humour, impressive action and even a little romance.
Jet Li does an impressive job as Fu and Eric Tsang is a lot of fun as Ngok Lo. There are also notable performances from Simon Yam as Officer Chan Kwan, the policeman looking for the killer, and Gigi Leung as Kiki; the rest of the cast are solid too.
Overall I'd recommend this to fans of Hong Kong cinema looking for a nice blend of comedy and action.These comments are based on watching the film in Cantonese with English subtitles.
Hitman (AKA "Contract Killer, AKA "The Contract Killer") is a 1998 Hong Kong martial arts film directed by Tung Wei. The film was produced by Gordon Chan.
The Plot: A fast talker (Eric Tsang) engages a Hong Kong rube (Jet Li) to track down the assassin of a sleazy Japanese businessman.Overall, Hitman is a fantastic martial arts film.
A lot of funny moments and of course excellent action and fight scenes from none other than Jet Li..
Typical 1990's Hong Kong action movie....
And unfortunately "Contract Killer" (aka "Sat sau ji wong") is such a dubbed movie.
It is always done so poorly that it becomes laughable.Anyone familiar with Hong Kong cinema will be thrilled to see Simon Yam, Eric Tsang, Gigi Leung and of course Jet Li in "Contract Killer".
Simon Yam provides the serious acting, Eric Tsang provides the comical relief and Jet Li is of course doing the action.But they were being brutally butchered by a pathetic English dubbed audio track.Story-wise then "Contract Killer" is very typical for the action movies that were coming out of Hong Kong cinema during the late 1990's.
I did find it entertaining enough for what it was, I just struggled to swallow that dubbing pill.Aside from the dubbing horror, then the music in the movie was mostly very poorly selected; and here I'm thinking of the title track, the music played during the rather impressive elevator shaft fight scene and during the last fight scene."Contract Killer" appeals to anyone with a lifelong love romance with Hong Kong cinema.
For newcomers there are far better Hong Kong action movies available.
I strongly recommend you to watch the original version, avoid the U.S version under the name "Contract Killer", those bastards at Columbia/TriStar don't give you the option to watch the movie in it's original language, soundtrack and runtime.Anyway, this is my favorite Jet Li film, i already watched it more than thousand of times and it never bores me.The action is cool, it both provides great fights scenes and some good (and also bloody) gunplay.Jet Li kicks ass (as always), Simon Yam gives his usual good performance and Eric Tsang is a (unexpectedly) good (and funny) sidekick, i expected the typical lame humor that you find in HK action movies, but the humor was actually good enough to give a some chuckles, the story is also good, it has some twists.Even the soundtrack manages to make the film enjoyable, it also gives the movie that typical "late 90's" flavor..
The Contract Killer is one of Jet Li's best films.
Besides the cool action sequences, the movie has effective humor (courtesy of Eric Tsang), and well...
Yeah.Anyways, long story short, Jet and Eric must find the killer of old mafioso don Tsukamoto, in order to receive a 100 million dollar reward.
Everything else is action and buddy comedy.It is important to recognize the talent and agility Jet demonstrates in his fighting scenes.
This movie is called Hitman, and Jet Li holds the main character, so you would expect that he is a well trained, bad ass hitman, who kills a lot of people.
Good mix of Crime, Comedy and Martial Arts Action !.
This movie has only been released in th U.S. due to Jet Li's popularity, but that's a shame due to the other HK actors involved with this flick.
"S.P.L.") and "Dragon Squad" as well as Eric Tsang, who I've seen in Jackie Chan films along with Sammo Hung and, man, is he a goob or what?Anywya, it's all about the training of a rookie assassin ( Li ) being tutored by a con ( Tsang) on how to make it in the criminal business world and then both decide to accept a reward that a Japanese tycoon organization is offering for whoever can kill the "DeathAngel," a mysterious armored figure who has made repeated blows on the Japan's kingpin's life/ organization members off while at the same time, a frantic cop ( Yam) is overlooking the entire murder case trail ( that relates back to the "DeathAngel" ) and plans on seeing what these two suspicious business partners are up to.
And I say that because Hit-man isn't the first movie, someone will stumble upon, while he's/she's looking up Jet Li. Just because it's also not his best one ...Still this is entertaining and if you don't expect any story you'll get your moneys worth ...
I am also into marketing and wanted to know some more information about a movie called "the Contract Killers (the movie was great!!).
I would like to know How can I find out more about the cellphone that was used in the movie "The Contract Killer".
At least if you like Hong Kong action movies in general.
And since this film is not "just" an action flick, Jet Li actually has to do a bit of real acting as well, and this is a welcome change, too..
Jet Li plays a hitman in this movie but lacks too much of the characteristics of a hitman, instead he is overwhelmed with morality and sympathy.The plot wasn't all that great, a Japanese Tycoon has put on his death will to award 100 million dollars to whoever kills his assassins as he suspects he will be assissinated.
His lawyer-daughter, played by pop superstar Gigi Leung, tries to straighten out her pop, and begins a platonic romance with Li. The movie's action, comedy, and acting are first-class: it'll have you in stitches at times, such as the teddy bear scene.
Not As Good As You Think It May Be. Hitman isn't a totally bad film, it just lacks the action we expect from a Jet Li film.
This movie is kinda different than his other films like Fist of Legend or Black Mast because in this movie Jet uses a lot of guns instead of using hand to hand fighting.
Still, this movie is very entertaining and you should watch it if your a Jet Li fan..
As for Jet Li, I'm definitely impressed with his martial arts skills but I'm not that impressed with the movies that he has made lately.
I've watched a few interviews with Jet Li which shows that he is quite a funny man who doesn't take life that seriously, which you can see in some of his films, but he really need to start making some better movies.
Anyway, I found this movie funny but not that great in the action department.I recommend this movie to people who are into their Jet Li movies about a down and out man who joins up with an agent to track down a murderer for a large amount of money.
What one can expect from a Hong Kong action flick.
What this movie is is a Hong-Kong action flick, and as one, it delivers..
Contract Killer(Sat sau ji wong) has dynamite action scenes but they are too few and far between.
Jet Li is a wannabe hit-man and doesn't know the first thing about it although he kicks ass like crazy.
So, for good martial art ass kickery, this movie delivers.
Maybe the worst movie of Jet Li. A good action flick, has a lot of problems when you want good martial arts.
I want to say that the typical movies from Hong Kong are fine, but this one has poor script, the action could be better, and the characters could be more developed.
This is great fun all the way, with fantastic fight scenes, a cool story and a wonderful finale!.
This is great fun all the way, with fantastic fight scenes, a cool story and a wonderful finale!.
The fight choreography is excellent, and the character development is quite good as well!, plus Jet Li and Eric Tsang had great chemistry together!.
It also had some great humor and the dubbing wasn't all that bad, plus Simon Yang rocked in his role as the Det.!.It has some cool plot twists, and the main fight between Jet and Keiji Sato was especially good!, plus all the characters were very likable!.
The plot is very well done, and i feel this is one of Jet's most underrated films!, plus i thought Jet's acting was fantastic!.You get to see a lot of Jet's natural ability here, and i think this movie should at least be around the 6.9, 7.0 range!, on this site, plus The ending was great.
This is great fun all the way, with fantastic fight scenes, a cool story and a wonderful finale, i highly recommend this one!.
Jet Li is amazing as always, and is amazing here, he is extremely likable, looks damn cool in Black, is quite funny, intense, was fantastic in the acting department, had great chemistry with Eric Tsang, was focused and just did an amazing job!
Eric Tsang is hilarious as Jet's agent, he had some cool lines and cracked me up throughout i loved him.Simon Yam absolutely rocked in his role,had that great look of intensity on his face at all times, and was especially awesome in the finale!
Despite greatly enjoying his performance in Yimou Zhang's 2002 film Hero, (one of my most memorable cinema visits) I for some reason have never got round to seeing Jet Li's Hong Kong action flicks.
In a local DVD shop,I saw two Li DVDs at a good price,which led to me contacting the hitman.View on the film:Doing his own dubbing for the first time in his last Hong Kong flick,Jet Li gives a very good performance as Fu (!),with Li holding the impression that Fu is always one step ahead.
Some classic Hong Kong action courtesy of Jet Li. This excellent Jet Li flick is his last Hong Kong movie before he moved to America and made LETHAL WEAPON 4, and boy, is it a good one.
For once the complicated story takes precedence over the action sequences so that this feels like a fully-rounded film rather than just another predictable fight flick.
It's a film which throws in a police story, a murder mystery, loads of assassins and bad guys, a romance, plenty of excellent comedy and of course some very fine martial arts battles.
Jet Li himself is very good in the leading role, being both wonderful in the action stakes and also more than adequate when it comes to acting as well.
The movie is well paced and remains interesting throughout, is beautifully filmed, and is just about as good as you can get for a fight flick.
Of course, the main reason to watch Contract Killer is for the Martial Arts fights, and there are some absolute killers on display.