As much as I enjoy Hong Kong cinema, then even they are allowed a swing and a miss every now and then, and this 1998 movie "Cheap Killers" is a swing and a miss indeed.
The storyline starts out well enough, simple and straight forward, but the storyline quickly takes a turn for the worse and becomes questionable and then just becomes irritating and frustrating. The movie tries to go from action into drama, but it does so without grace and style, with the end result becoming a poor mix of confusion and stupidity.
"Cheap Killers" is about two assassins, Yat-Tiu (played by Sunny Chan) and Sam Cool (played by Alex Fong) who are double-crossed and end up fighting for their lives, having to resort to living almost on the street, forfeiting their former triad fame and fortune. Hellbent on vengeance, they seek out those who pulled out the chair underneath them and caused their downfall.
The action sequences in the movie were good enough, though for a Hong Kong movie it wasn't really overly spectacular. However, when the movie took a turn into drama, then the movie crashed hard and fast. Especially because Sunny Chan and Alex Fong put on such horrible performances. Whether this is because they are incapable of acting in drama or it is because of bad direction, I know not, but the movie failed so badly with its sojourn down the path of drama acting.
It was a mystery to me why they cast Stephen Fung to play the police officer Sunny. Especially because he didn't have any authority or necessary aura to even remotely seem like he was a police officer. He is better off in comedy roles and in sugar-coated romantic roles. And why was he dressed in white 24-7? In fact, why were all lead roles dressed in white throughout the entire movie. It was just stupid. An attempt at a symbolic hero and good dressed in white? Perhaps, but it just didn't work well. I am pretty sure that police officers and triad members don't look like Broadway show thespians.
If you enjoy Hong Kong action cinema, then I would recommend that you find your amusement elsewhere, because "Cheap Killers" doesn't really deliver anything good, and it is a pale imitation of the otherwise over-the-top action and adrenaline-packed movies that come out of Hong Kong.
