Killer Target (1991)

A romantic and action packed story of three best friends, a group of high end art thieves, who come into trouble when a love-triangle forms between them.

Director:

John Woo

Writers:

Janet Chun, Clifton Ko

Stars:

Leslie Cheung, Yun-Fat Chow, Cherie Chung

4 nominations.

Cast

Credited cast:
Yun-Fat Chow	...	Red Bean Pudding (Joe) (as Chow Yun Fat)
Leslie Cheung	...	James (Jim)
Cherie Chung	...	Red Bean (Cherie)
Kong Chu	...	Chu (Dad)
Kenneth Tsang	...	Chow (Father)
David Wu	...	Auctioneer
Fung Woo	...	Mr. Cheung (as Wu Fung)
Pierre-Yves Burton	...	Mr. Le Bond (as Pierre Yves Burton)
Declan Wong	...	Magician Henchman (as Declan Michael Wong)
Patrick Hon	...	Hitman
Yat Kwun Tang	...	Young Red Bean Pudding (Young Joe)
Ka Fai Tong	...	Young James (Young Jim)
Leila Tong	...	Young Red Bean (Young Cherie) (as Lina Kong)
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Kin-Shing Choi	...	Guard

Storyline

Once a Thief is an action/comedy/romance movie involving the plight of three master thieves (in the mode of Pink Panther). All three were raised by the same father and in fact were most certainly street orphans. The story begins with a successful art heist followed by a pledge to make this the last crime ever for the trio. The plot revolves around the theft of a mysterious "cursed" painting and how its obsession affects the family.

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Plot Keywords:

art | thief | painting | gun fu | kung fu | 

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Taglines:

They only stop to reload.

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Genres:

Action | Comedy | Crime | Thriller

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

Hong Kong

Language:

French Cantonese English Hakka

Release Date:

2 February 1991 (Hong Kong)

Also Known As:

Killer Target

Filming Locations:

Cannes, Alpes-Maritimes, France

Company Credits

Production Co:

Golden Princess Film Production Limited, John Woo Film Production, Milestone Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

103 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The time elapsed between the first day of shooting and the first public screening of the finished film was ten weeks.

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Goofs

When Joe and Cherie are driving behind the truck, that is transporting the paintings (including their marked one), you can clearly see the rope holding the car of Joe and Cherie close to the truck during the stunt scene.

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Quotes

Red Bean Pudding: Did I make you waste your tears over me?

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Connections

Referenced in The Big Hit (1998)

User Reviews

Flawed but likable and occasionally thrilling Hong Kong caper

When first watching this I wasn't sure what to make of it so a second viewing was inevitable. I enjoyed it more second time round and even better, it gelled a little more, though it is still a fairly inconsistent film. Since it was intended by its producers as a slice of light hearted fun it significantly lacks the power of the average John Woo film and is undeniably pretty darned silly, but he still directs with such a sure hand that its hard not to get caught up in the piece. It sees the thieving trio of Chow Yun Fat, Cherie Chung and Leslie Cheung go about their heisting business before getting caught up in more serious matters, leading to violence. The film thus starts of in old fashioned art heist territory but moves into daft comedy territory and the Woo style spectacular action. The characters are at times too silly and there is comedy that doesn't work so well, especially that involving Chow Yun Fat, who plays things far too broad, the three leads are nonetheless engaging and have decent chemistry. Moreover, though the film holds to the unfortunate standard that came to pass during the 80's in Hong Kong action of eschewing the many fights or set-pieces of earlier films in favor of just a few spectacular scenes, John Woo brings a truly wild approach to what action there is. Sanity is thrown to the wind in favor of some imaginatively death defying and frequently ludicrous shenanigans, well choreographed and wrought with wondrous gusto. Outside the action the film has a spring in its step too, as well as dignified acting support from Kenneth Tsang and Ko Chung as older characters balancing out the leads. Altogether this is a dumb but frequently entertaining and occasionally sparkling affair. Serious John Woo fans may find it too frivolous, but for fans of the leads or the sillier end of Hong Kong action cinema this is definitely good stuff and worth a look.