MovieChat Forums > Dip huet seung hung Discussion > Best Ever Unintentional Comedy?

Best Ever Unintentional Comedy?

posted 6 years ago by FilmBuff (6691)
13 replies | jump to latest

I know this movie is adored and revered by many, but let's be real: this is a hilariously bad film. I watched it in a theater in the '90s, and twice since then on DVD, and it never fails to amuse. If anything it gets cornier and funnier with the passage of time.

When it comes to beloved films, even when I don't think they're as good as most people do, I can usually at least see elements of whatever it is that makes the film popular. With The Killer, I'm amazed that anyone can take it seriously.

I get that Asian cinema is different than American cinema, and there are plenty of non-American films I love. Seven Samurai is probably my favorite film of all time. But this film... what gives? Who can watch this and not rofl?

[–] DracTarashV2 (4475) 6 years ago

The Wicker Man (2006)
The Happening
Twilight
Judge Dredd (1995)
Battlefield Earth

Or how about an obvious answer, The Room. That’s the ultimate one! Dude behind this disaster of a movie poured his heart out trying to make a genuinely gripping drama. It ended up being the furthest thing from it.

Now The Killer is a different story, if you ask me. While it has drama thrown in it (yes it can be unintentionally funny), it is mainly an action movie that’s supposed to be stylish and fun more anything else. That brings us to this movie’s director, John Woo. Assuming you’re unfamiliar with him, Woo became known for his pleasantly over-the-top Hong Kong (later Hollywood) movies, and more often than not his movies received praised for their groundbreaking action and unique style, e.g., excessive violence, frequent use of slow motion, treating gun-play as a visual aesthetic etc. He is considered one of the most influential action directors of all time. On that note, considering that The Killer is one of Woo’s more drama-driven films, making a movie that was more simple and serious probably didn’t come naturally to Woo. Either way, I think it has an emotional payoff.

As it is, treating this movie as an excellent action/crime piece would maybe help anyone appreciate it better. The movie is beloved, yes, but it’s beloved in a different way than say, a cinematic masterpiece like Seven Samurai is. Like some of Woo’s other movies, I can see why this is considered a great movie in its own right. For an action/crime drama, I see nothing wrong with it.

[–] FilmBuff (6691) 6 years ago

I'm very familiar with John Woo and his films, and while most of them have some groan-inducing moments of maudlin schmaltz, The Killer takes the cake.

I'd credit Sam Peckinpah with much of what you're attributing to Woo, but even if we agree that he had a great eye for staging shootouts and action sequences, by no stretch is The Killer a great movie. It may not be as awful as The Room is said to be, but I think only a hardcore fan of Woo can watch this film and remain blind to its cheesiness.

Hard Boiled is what I consider Woo's best film, and even that one inspires more than a few facepalm moments, but not enough to ruin the movie. I'd rank that among my favorite "action" films. The Killer belongs on MST3K.

[–] davodikum (5970) 4 years ago

I thought it was really good. I found it hard to read the subtleties fast enough, but they were there and they were gone. And white subtleties on white background, hard to read. But still loved it. Chow Yun fat is my new favourite actor.

[–] actionkamen (23176) 3 years ago

You mean subtitles, right? not subtleties?

[–] davodikum (5970) 3 years ago

Nah I ment wat I sed cuz.

[–] filmgeek99 (592) 3 years ago

It's definitely over-the-top and a bit hokey in places, but the film is far too well made and well acted as a whole to be labelled as a "so bad, it's good" camp classic. John Woo may not be a particularly subtle filmmaker, but the man is effective at communicating themes in a hyper-charged, stylized way.

For as over-the-top as it may get, this is one of the few action movies that really succeeds at showing the ugliness and horrifying nature of violence. How many other action films can you name where our hero dies in such a horrifying, unglamourous way?

[–] FilmBuff (6691) 3 years ago

Latrine's death in Top Secret comes to mind, as it was equally hilarious.

You can really watch The Killer with a straight face?

[–] filmgeek99 (592) 3 years ago

Yep, just like the vast majority of folks can. A film being over-the-top and hyper stylized isn't necessarily a bad thing. This film may be a bit hokey, but it was done in the most sincere, operatic way possible. And like I said, there is genuine artistry to be found amid all its over-the-top flourishes. You sound like someone who enjoys laughing at intentionally melodramatic movies just for the sake of being snide and cynical. I can just imagine you being that guy who laughs super loud when watching someone perform Shakespeare on stage.

[–] FilmBuff (6691) 3 years ago

I doubt the vast majority of folks have seen The Killer, and honestly, if it were watched by a large audience not predisposed to be forgiving of the cheesiness of films like The Killer, it would end up as a midnight cult movie to laugh along with.

And no, you're presupposing an awful lot about me, and it's wrong. I've traveled to attend Shakespeare festivals, and enjoy the Bard's work immensely. To compare Shakespeare, almost certainly the greatest writer to have ever lived, to The Killer is absurd.

[–] filmgeek99 (592) 3 years ago

It's been over thirty years since this film has been released. And yet, not once has this film ever been screened for the same crowd that enjoys The Room or Birdemic. They even tried labelling the film as a comedy to offset its cheesiness and bad dubbing when it was first released in the US and yet, the vast majority of folks saw it as a legitimately good film, and not a camp classic like how you saw it. Some of the best known action/crime films that have come out since then (Reservoir Dogs, John Wick) are said to have taken inspiration from this film. You can mock the film all you want, but the general consensus is clearly not on your side. Unlike some of John Woo's later works (which have earned a bit of a camp reputation), it's generally viewed as a legitimately good film.

I never said this film's writing is on par with Shakespeare. What I was saying, is that it's easy to deride anything with a heightened sense of dramatics as "cheesy" or "campy" by modern standards. I was using the example of Shakespeare because by modern storytelling standards, his work would be considered extremely cheesy if it weren't for how he's considered the OG who created many of the storytelling techniques we take for granted today. What I'm ultimately saying is that being operatic and a little cheesy isn't necessarily a bad thing, as even the Bard's work could be taken that way if one chooses to see things only in the most cynical, facetious lens possible.

[–] pjl69 (2431) 3 years ago

The action was ok, I guess, but it borrowed music from James Horner's Red Heat. Took me right out of the movie.

[–] thingmakersback (1184) 5 months ago

I love this film but it really is so far over the top that most of it can be seen as camp. And the moment when the two mortally wounded characters crawl towards each other in the dark and rain... I can't help laughing, and that is not just me. The moment is just one operatic flourish too many.

[–] SandyR (7350) 2 months ago

Might be a cultural thing. I doubt people in Hong Kong find this movie funny.