Beyond Hypothermia

A professional hit woman without past, name or recollection of her childhood is hired to kill Mafia leaders in Asia. In Hong Kong, she kills a powerful Korean mobster and his bodyguard is in disgrace with the gang. He promises to chase and eliminate the killer. Meanwhile, the assassin falls in love for a cooker of noodles, but afraid to expose him to her enemies, she avoids encountering him. But the bodyguard presses her partner to betray and set up her in a restaurant. Chased by the whole gang, the assassin needs to fight to survive.

"Sip Si 32 Doe" recalls the genre spaghetti-western, where everybody kills everybody and in the end there is no survivors. This kind of gore Nikita has a great choreography, lots of action and many shootings and blood, and entertains. It is funny to see the number of shots on the streets along the story and no police showing up. My vote is six.

Title (Brazil: : "Hipotermia" ("Hypothermia")

Another in a recent trend of artsy girl-with-gun movies that tries to play to the male audience with hardcore girls 'n' guns action while attempting to attract the female audience with a love story framework and complex feminine psychology issues. As such, both genres are compromised, but the result is a fine looking and well crafted dramatic thriller.

A decidedly different role for the frail and tragically pretty Wu Chien Lien, as she plays a ruthless and dispassionate assassin desperately searching for her humanity. Surprisingly, she does a remarkable job with the material and presents herself as a complex combination of harsh conviction and fragile vulnerability. Unfortunately, her character is so cold and soulless that you never really connect with her or care what happens to her, which ultimately threatens the emotional impact of the film.

To paraphrase the great Sam Fuller, if an action film does not grab its audience in the first few minutes, forget it. Director Patrick Leung and screenwriter Roy Szeto certainly subscribe to that school of thought in "Sip si 32 doe," a surprisingly good action film that has some heart, too.

Of course, the plot, like in many a Hong Kong actioner, is a bit of a stretch. A Cambodian assassin with an unusually chilly body temperature doesn't remember her past, wants to break free of her manipulative aunt and find herself a normal life.

But "Sip si 32 doe" works because it's purely an action film and proves it in style. When it comes to choreographing action sequences, Hong Kong filmmakers are in a class of their own and their styles certainly have influenced Hollywood action films. It's a shame when these filmmakers are wooed by Hollywood, as John Woo, Ringo Lam and Tsui Hark were, the studios promptly rein them in and they wind up making clunkers. Either that, or these filmmakers seem to lose their edge. I'd like to believe it's the former.

Leung fills "Sip si 32 doe" with visceral moments. There's a chase through a busy street that would never have been filmed with such ruthlessness in Hollywood. The denouement is a thing of beauty. Most American action films could be this entertainingly good if only producers and directors had some imagination and guts.

Leung, a John Woo protégé, starts his film off nicely and then promptly sets the tone for his heroine as we see her go after her first mark. She's cold, calculated and, yet, charming, too. While Leung and Szeto show us details of her modus operandi - they way she quickly changes bullets to improvise or how she cautiously prepares to sleep every night, for instance - they also care deeply about this woman to let us into her life.

As chillingly lethal as the assassin is, Wu Chien-lien brings a sweet innocence to the role. This child-woman's got heart and we wind up caring about her. Her hits are carried out with heartless precision - there's an especially unsettling moment during one hit - but there's still something extremely likable about this woman. There's a wonderful scene of unadulterated joy as she photographs herself. It's Wu Chien-lieu's tremendous charm that makes us completely forget what her character does for a living.

Leung and Szeto try to offset their heroine's darker side by giving her a chance at normalcy with a noodle shop owner, Long Shek (Lau Cheng Wan). This makes for some cheesy moments in the film - Hong Kong actioners have never quite mastered the art of mixing real romance with the gunplay. The problem is that Long Shek isn't a finely defined character. He's there for just one reason and his character's not explored deeply. When Leung and Szeto try to inject some depth into Long Shek at the end, it seems thoroughly out of place. And Han Sang-Woo overplays his role as the vengeful Yichin. He's a handsome chap, but his character's way too wound up to be taken seriously.

But its flaws notwithstanding, "Sip si 32 doe," under the skilled direction of Leung, is a grand addition to the genre and proof that Hong Kong action films can have substance. It's also a heckuva lot more fun than the similarly themed "La Femme Nikita" (1990) or its American knockoff "Point of No Return" (1993).

This typical and yet unusual action film from Hong Kong belongs to the finest of its genre. It boosts breathtaking action, great drama and a catching story about a female killer, much more convincing than in the (theoretically comparable) much weaker "Naked Killer".

Outstanding cinematography add to the haunting atmosphere, and a strong melancholy touch makes the film even more impressive. Not to forget the splendidly choreographed action sequences that are staged like they do it only in Asia.

Easily on par with any of John Woo's masterly Hong Kong movies, this one is a must see for all admirers of Asian cinema and action in general.

Jacklyn Wu plays an assassin who has no memories of family, friends, or any sort of past to cling too. Her character is so detached, that killing causes no emotion or regret. The title of the movie "Beyond Hypothermia" refers to her body temperature which is 5 degrees lower then a normal human being. The only time this killing machine feels any warmth is when she is in the company of a noodle chef who makes her a gourmet bowl after each of her killings. He reminds me of the Chinese version of Benicio Del Torro. The two strike a friendship and eventual love for one another. But like most Chinese films, this love is doomed and tragedy ensues. I thought this was a better film then "Point of No Return" and "La Femme Nakita" However, there is one disturbing scene of violence which I truly detested and thought was uncalled for. On a personal note, Jacklyn Wu is undoubtedly one of the most beautiful actresses in the world. You can't take your eyes off her and her performance is mesmerizing!