Review: Donnie Yen's ode to Hong Kong's dying gunplay genre is a viciously poetic assault on the senses that breaks new ground even as it stumbles over old terrain.

Donnie plays Cat, an hitman-for-hire who regularly seeks solace with a radio talk show host on air. Listening over the airwaves is a cop played by Annie Wu who finds herself hopelessly enthralled by this mystery man, even while she is part of an investigation to solve the murders that he commits. Complications arise when Donnie's old partner (Jimmy Wong) ends up being on the same pay roll as his employer. The two had been partners on the police force in New York until Jimmy set up Donnie, leaving him in prison for six years. Now, Donnie is out for revenge but his first target is Annie who happens to be friends with Jimmy. He kidnaps her in the hopes of luring Jimmy into a trap, but being the usual sort of cold-blooded type, Jimmy is just as happy to have both of them killed. Annie eventually realizes that Donnie and the radio talk show caller are the same and a budding romance develops. After Annie's roommate is kidnapped by Jimmy, Donnie confronts his former friend. The impossible relationship between cop and criminal reaches its end as Annie and her fellow police officers arrive on the scene.

Ballistic Kiss has garnered a lot of praise and equal parts criticism over the years. Much like the hitman he plays in this film, Donnie Yen is a filmmaker of complexities and contradictions. This and his previous film, Legend of the Wolf share traits of Donnie's ambitions and excesses. The most notable aspect of this film is the attempt to infuse a well established genre with a fresh approach to the narrative and action style. Donnie succeeds on the first and fails on the second. The story by Bey Logan is more contemplative and well thought out than your average gunplay saga. The characters are pared down to their essence. For instance, Donnie's character has no life outside of his killing profession yet there is a sense that he sees beyond it to a life he would prefer to live, yet cannot exist. We see Annie's character make a connection with Donnie, but she unable to alter his path of destruction. Due the film's rapid pace, wild action scenes, and artistic editing, some of the story is a little hard to follow. Unfortunately, the relationship between Donnie and Jimmy is not as clearly stated or involved as it should have been. Jimmy lacks any depth and there is no apparent motivations for his cruel behavior other than the old standbys, power and greed.

The action shares much of its style with Legend of the Wolf. Lots of rapid editing, low levels of light and extreme angles fill the screen. At times, this enhances the frantic nature of a gun battle or fight, but a lack of more clear shots tends to desensitize the viewer to the violence. Essentially, what's missing are peaks and valleys in the action. Most of it is simply nonstop and attempts at building suspense are too contrived to be effective. Also, don't expect much in the way of martial arts action. Donnie has time for a few of his trademark kicks, but this is generally a gunplay pic and his ability to fire his pistol at least forty or fifty times without reloading will likely test even the most lenient viewer's tolerance level.

Donnie gets points for using a lot of creative shots and angles. At one point the reflection of his hand loading his pistol appears on his sunglasses while another effective shot shows Annie and Donnie in car traveling through a tunnel with a rear, suedo-fisheye perspective. Yet by their sporadic nature, some of these shots seem more like experiments in filmmaking.

As much as I'd like to, I can't really say that Donnie revolutionized the gunplay genre as some have intimated. On one hand, Ballistic Kiss has a solid story with strong character development from the leads and features some memorable camerawork. On the other, the action scenes are too unrealistically intense and lack punch while pieces of the narrative and action are simply incoherent. The final result is a film that finds some success in delivering a more complex and stylish action film, but ultimately lacks the consistency and polish to pull it off.

Ballistic Kiss certainly has its share of detractors; one of the nicknames for this movie in the newsgroups is "Ballistic Sh*t." However, it also has its share of supporters. The books Planet Hong Kong and City on Fire note it as one of the best post-handover action movies (City on Fire goes so far as to say that it "revives the Hong Kong action movie"). I would supsect Hong Kong Action Cinema author Bey Logan would also rave about the movie, but that's probably because he helped write the story and is a good friend of Yen's. Anyway, expecting the worst but hoping for the best, I dove into this movie and I find myself in neither camp. Ballistic Kiss has some inventive moments, but is ultimately let down by a weak script and some over-indulgence on Yen's part, both as star and director.

The bad bits? I've already mentioned the script, which just has really weak character motivation. It uses the age-old device of the hostage falling for her captor, even though there is no reason for her to do so. One of Cat's first lines to Wu is "Don't move, or I will break all your limbs" and later he tells her (while she is tied up) that he watches her very night before he goes to bed. Gee, what a smoothie. A sadist and a stalker -- no wonder she falls for him! The script also overuses profanity. I'm not against profanity in movies -- films like Reservoir Dogs and Goodfellas put it to some very creative uses -- but when every other word in a movie is the "f-bomb" just for the sake of putting in there (or so it seems), it gets old really quick.

The other major problem in Ballistic Kiss is the cast. Besides Yen, the leads are just plain horrible. Annie Wu, in particular, is bad. Wesley tells her early on "you don't look like a cop," and I couldn't agree more. I can see why Cat would develop a thing for her -- she's plenty cute -- but she displays no toughness at all, and as such, is totally unbelievable as a cop. James Wong isn't great either. You must have a good actor to play the villain in any action movie, and Wong doesn’t fit the bill. He uses the standard half-Cantonese/half-English for HK film newcomers and delivers both horribly. Watching this guy try to drop street slang in order to look tough is painful.

The good bits come with the action sequences, at least some of them. Donnie Yen is one of the best martial artists in Hong Kong movies, and he puts his talents to good use here. There is one implausible shootout in the film, where literally thousands of rounds are fired at close range to Cat, but he gets hit only once. In the arm. Barely. I know it's an unwritten rule that bad guys in action movies are supposed to be lousy shots, but this is ridiculous. But other than that scene, the rest of the action stuff is pretty good (though a bit overcranked) and stylishly violent. Yen also creates an interesting character. Despite the flaws in Ballistic Kiss, I was intrigued by the character of Cat. I wish Yen had taken a Ghost Dog approach to this film, and distanced Cat even further from humanity. This would make more sense given his views on the subject ("there is no innocence") and create a more unique film experience, rather than the same old heroic bloodshed with a few new tricks we have here.

From a visual standpoint, the film is a thrill to watch. The film projects a dark, brooding style, which resonates perfectly with the main character and his inner turmoil. Scenes are lit dramatically, sometimes bathed in red or green. Shadows become just as, if not more important to the film's lighting. It's a morally dubious world contained within "Ballistic Kiss", and the dark, smoke and shadow-enshrouded cinematography reflects that.

As for the action sequences, they're as kinetic as you'd expect coming from Yen. At times, they're almost too kinetic. The camera jumps, lurches, and jerks like a rollercoaster during the fight scenes, slowing only to show the blood spurting from countless bullets or a particularly dramatic movement or flourish.

Indeed, if there was ever an argument for loving a film for its style, rather than substance, "Ballistic Kiss" is a pretty convincing one. And for much of its length, the film manages to coast along on its style alone. But when the film requires that the storyline become the focus, the film falls apart, muddling along until it can throw in some visual flare and make things interesting again.

Yen plays Cat, a former New York city policeman who was framed, and left in jail for 6 years. Upon his release, he becomes a hitman in Hong Kong, believing this is the only way he can mete out justice. For him, "Noone is innocent", but society's "morals" prevent real justice from being done. On his trail is Carrie (Wong), an officer with the police who just happens to be Cat's neighbor. Not too surprisingly, Cat falls in love with her, unaware that she's trying to bring him in.

But what kind of hitman movie would this be if there weren't a few twists thrown in for good measure? On a "routine" job, Cat discovers that the man who framed 6 years ago is working for his boss, a man who is making a move for power in the underworld. And of course, Carrie gets caught between the two men, as Cat tries to get to Carrie and find a way to make peace with his profession.

To be honest, I actually liked much of the film's storyline. Granted, it's as over-the-top and stylized as the visuals. But if you're willing to accept the fact that Yen can take out a dozen armed gangsters by himself, well, you should be able to give the story a little suspension of your disbelief. Yen is surprisingly good as the brooding, alienated Cat. I've never thought of Yen as leading man (his leading roles have always felt lacking, ie "Crystal Hunt"), but I was fairly impressed. But then again, this is Yen's show, and all of the other roles get pushed pretty far into the background.

The film's biggest misstep is the romance between Cat and Carrie. When they finally get to embrace, it's a fairly groan-inducing moment. Their "relationship" is at its best when Cat is opening Carrie's eyes to the brutality of the world, revealing to her what lies behind the thin veneer of society. That exchange feels much truer to their characters' personalities.

But like I've said before in reviews, if you're watching this kind of movie for deep, powerful character interactions, you'd best look elsewhere. Granted, there are moments when "Ballistic Kiss" oversteps even its own insane style. The final shootout fulfills nearly every gunfight cliche in the book (characters shooting at people just a few feet away with automatic weapons and missing completely). And then there's the gunfight where armchairs become mobile strategic forts from which to unleash a barrage of bullets.

But even those excesses don't really account for why this movie is as reviled as it is. From what I understand, most people either like, or despise this movie. It definitely has its flaws, and some scenes (like the aforementioned armchair scene) do seem a little laughable. But there's still a lot to be liked, and Yen's direction certainly needs to be given its due. It may not be ready to take its place beside "The Killer" (even though it nails the style in spades, "Ballistic Kiss" still lacks Woo's emotional drama), but it's certainly a fine entry in the genre, and it was certainly more than I gave it credit for.

I admire Donnie Yen a lot and I really wanted to like this film. Unfortunately, it's a jumbled mess due to incoherent writing and confusing editing. Donnie once again proves that he has a good cinematic eye, and the look and feel of the film are great. His choice of lighting, angles, and filters is stunning and stylish - one might even consider this an action art film. Donnie also flexes his acting muscles a bit, giving a convincing portrayal of a distraught and moody killer who is utterly alone in the world. The action in the film is very wild and over-the-top, giving the film a very cartoony, or anime feeling. The gunplay in the film is outrageous, and even though I'm pretty forgiving when it comes to gun physics, seeing a revolver fire no less than thirty rounds without being reloaded bothered me. The brief kung fu sequences are pretty cool, but invasive editing spoils their flair a bit. However, the biggest disappointment in the kung fu department is seeing Yu Rong Guang and Michael Woods show up for cameos and not duke it out with Donnie. Talk about dashed expectations! All of the over-the-top filmmaking is perfectly complemented by a melancholic and melodramatic musical score, completing the mood and making the film seem even more like live action anime. I even liked the story and the characters quite a bit, but the dialog is confusing and often times just bad. Definitely a mixed bag, but one worth sitting through at least once.

With a half-dozen hyper kinetic gunplay scenes featuring Yen's signature martial arts ballet, the film is also a romance, portraying a couple which cannot possibly be together, even though they should be. The film treats Hong Kong action as a mood piece. Elley appropriately calls it an 'intense killer's nocturne' and Yen's penchant for Chopin shows up in this dreamy and pensive meditation on love, life and death. The plot will be familiar to anyone who's seen John Woo's The Killer, a film Yen admires, for its hit man with heart storyline. But here the similarities end. Yen's alienated killer (also portrayed by the director) believes 'no one is innocent,' and besides his angel, the female cop Carrie, characters cross and double cross each other with lightning speed. Conflicting and confused identities and impulses storm the screen.

Yen takes on the challenge of difficult fight sequences-- several times orchestrating many fighters and registering the confusion of a big fight. From the opening rooftop melee where Cat single-handedly takes on a gang to the final confrontation with his former partner, in which a fan and fluorescent light tube become weapons, Yen's action sequences please. Most outstanding and complex is the apartment shootout where assassin Yu Wing-gong comes after Cat but becomes a danger to Carrie; here Yen builds an emotional roller coaster ride. In fact, the more conventional action choreography of Yen's early onscreen appearances is here supplanted by psychological motivation, dark emotion, and intense rhythm.

Camerawork itself becomes a character. Yen uses stylish artificial lighting-- primarily smoky blues but also lurid greens and reds-- to establish and sustain tone. Through collision editing of interactive shots and panning movements, close-up, slow-mo, flash pans, and white outs, he enhances the dramatic tension and provides strong visual contrasts. other admired art house filmmakers have done the same. But Yen's camerawork reflects the conflict between Cat's intense aggression and anger on the one hand, and the vulnerability and sensitivity buried in his heart, on the other, deepening the emotional ups and downs of the story.

The literal Chinese title best expresses the film's direction-- Kill a Little, Dance a Little. As the hyper kinetic gunplay and martial arts action play themselves out, lyrical moments appear, resplendent-- Cat dancing with an imaginary partner in his apartment, a close-up of the sleeping Cat reflected in his darkened glasses, or a turning ceiling fan marking the duration of romance. Add the wistful soundtrack with lots of piano to complete a mood of longing. The film is still finding its audience while it continues to subvert the usual expectations and preconceptions an action audience brings to the movies.