So you have read the plot synopses people have left. This film is about two hit men. O is Japanese, and he has a samurai approach to life. He is disciplined, clean, detached, and efficient. He kills without remorse and he kills without relish. Tok is an up-and-coming hit-man of a very different sort. He is wildly showy. He has style. He loves overkill. He loves his work, and he hates his rival, O. O is the top hit-man on the East side of the Pacific Rim, and Tok wants his title.Some have commented that this is the same old hum-drum from the Hong Kong studios. I have to disagree. "Full Time Killer" is slick and polished in a way that most of the New Wave of HK action films are not. "Full Time Killer" does follow the common formula of two rivals hunting each other and hunting the same girl, but it is not the story that I thought set this film above others of the genre. Andy Lau gives a memorable flamboyant performance as Tok, a joker and a devil at the same time. O's repression and sense of honor make him the sympathetic rival, particularly when it becomes clear that he isn't restrained from engaging his enemy, but rather he doesn't know how to act on his own behalf.Plus, you have to love how the lead flies in those gunfights.I hope I didn't read too much into this film, but I recommend it to everybody. For 102 minutes I had a 10/10 experience.

Full time killer is a mismatch of a film. Tries to be one thing, then another, then back again and so on. The film centres round two hit men and a women, with one aiming to finish the other off so he can be the best hit man around. The romance angle is not heavy but is poorly developed as she is in between the two of them.Acting by Andy Lau is also awful, and his part is so OTT that it is cringe worthy. The film is also done in 3 languages, with the spoken English being embarrassingly bad at times. Should have been kept alone in one language.Saying that, the movie has a few redeeming features. The main hit-man "O" is wonderfully done and is the main (only?) reason you will watch till the end. Else, the sniper scenes are good, but not great.Each to their own, but to me this was a poor effort, which even with a good starting idea was poorly executed. Maybe next time.

It is the story of two professional assassins who live to kill. Both are act without remorse or second thoughts, are highly effective and completely relentless. Takashi Sorimachi plays O, the Japanese killer who is considered the best in his (admittedly limited) field. He kills efficiently, dispatching the target, his bodyguards and anyone who could identify him. He is quick, clean and much in demand by those who employ him. Andy Lau is Tok, a Chinese killer who wants to replace O but who is considered too showy and flamboyant. When O executes a hit he simply walks away and disappears into the crowd. Tok escapes on a stolen motorcycle while a police station explodes in the background.They are brought together by Tok's envy of O and Tok's desire to replace him as the most sought after assassin in Asia. While they stalk and spy on each other, they are also linked by Miss Chin, played by the gorgeous Kelly Lin. She is O's housekeeper and Tok's girlfriend. Simon Yam is Inspector Lee of Interpol who leads a team going after both of the killers and who (literally in one case) are always just a step behind them.There are references galore to other movies: El Mariachi and Desperado, Blood Simple, Hard Boiled, Point Break, The Godfather, Samurai and probably plenty of others that I missed. Even the Warner Brothers cartoons of Chuck Jones are referenced—one of the more outrageous assassinations by Tok has "Largo Factorum" from The Barber of Seville accompanying the action, in much the same way that Bugs Bunny committed mayhem to the tune of Mozart, Wagner or Rossini.The action scenes are excellent. There are cars that blow up when shot, pistols that are accurate at 500 yards and huge shotguns that appear from beneath short leather jackets but even with these clichés the action set pieces created by Johnny To are exciting, fast paced, very violent and seamlessly shot and edited.Sorimachi is properly dour and brooding, almost phlegmatic. His understated acting personifies the loneliness and isolation of his character. Lau, in keeping with his character, has a much more florid style—Tok could be a full time smirker as well as a full time killer.While not exactly a return to heroic bloodshed—there aren't any heroes here—Fulltime Killer uses many of that genre's conventions. Very much worth seeing and recommended.

**POSSIBLE SPOILERS BELOW**I was impressed overall with 'Fulltime Killer'. There are obvious similarities to 'Assassins' starring Sylvester Stallone & Antonio Banderas; its basically the same premise: you have the no. 1 hit-man who's established, and the 'up and coming' young flamboyant hit-man who wants the no. 1 spot...hence the showdown between the two. I'll admit the story kinda went left field with the whole 'former cop write their story' angle. The only real difference between the two films (aside from the minute difference in storyline, characters, etc.) is that 'Fulltime Killer' has the Hong Kong action flavor, and it works. I like what the makers tried to do technique-wise....it adds to the stylish element presented here. It's your basic assassin showdown movie, and overall its executed well. Entertaining...not the best, but good.*** out of **** stars.