Never Die

Chow-Yun Fat stars in this Hong Kong spaghetti western as 'The Killer', an unstoppable bounty hunter and mercenary who has decided to retire after his wife's death. Setting up the 'Peace Hotel', the Killer offers sanctuary to anyone who is on the run from someone who wants them dead. But his altruism is tested to the limit when a young female swindler (played by Cecilia Yip) arrives, on the run from a gang that wants her dead. Soon the Killer is forced into an unpleasant choice - to send her on her way, or violate his own rules and risk an all-out war with the gang.

Well directed, good casting and decent acting. I like the narration at the start telling the story of him you get to know a bit about his character and why he did the thunga he did.

The action is decent but ruined by poor editing. Good film as i said but could have been much better.

Overall a decent Western action film.

There are 2 essential things wrong with this movie.

First, the 'girl always lying joke' that gets repeated over and over again in the first half of the film. The first couple of times it vaguely amusing, after that its just monotonous.

Second, its no secret Chow Yun Fat cannot fight. He is not a martial artist. Now by the time Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon is released they come up with a work-around for this problem. In Peace Hotel they don't. So they set CYF as this great fighting hero who slays many but when we see evidence of this it is simply awful. Jet Li for example would have been a much better choice for this particular role.

The idea for the story is a good one but it fails to get the job done.

First time director Ka-Fai Wai, a seasoned TV writer, and producer John Woo team up to create a very interesting vehicle for Chow Yun Fat. Styled like a spaghetti western, the film is set in the chaotic times after the fall of the last emperor and start of the Chinese republic.

Chow Yun Fat plays the Killer, a gang leader with a tragic past. During a fight with a gang, his wife is killed. The Killer goes nuts and kills everyone including his own gang. Years later he opens the "Peace Hotel", a place for criminals on the run to find refuge and reform. In enters a woman claiming to be his dead wife. The residents of the Hotel are fooled but of course the Killer isn't and is very angry at her deception. His anger is compounded when she steals his belongings. He is about to throw her out when a huge gang shows up on horseback. They are after her for killing their beloved leader. The Killer changes his mind and shelters the woman. Despite his kindness, the woman continues her deceptive ways. The gang demands that the woman be delivered to them in 21 days or else they are going to storm the hotel.

A very well made production, the sets are great, the acting overall very good and Ka-Fai Wai's direction is very assured for a first time effort. There is a good sense of humor throughout. Chow Yun Fat is great and carries the film from start to finish. The music is good, very reminiscent of Morricone or the great chambara themes although the obvious use of synthesizers for all the instruments lowers the quality a little. The biggest problem for me was a couple of very big plot holes (at least that's how I saw it) which is sad since the film is very good. The action is not central to the movie and those looking for elaborate martial arts will likely be disappointed. The big action scenes are shot in blurry close-ups with lots of dust and shaky camera work. Celia Yip's character gets beaten and slapped around a lot in this film (the character repeatedly provokes most of the abuse) so you might think twice before watching this with a girlfriend.

A good film for Chow Yun Fat fans and anyone looking for unique examples of HK film making.

When people hear the name Chow yan fat, they associate him with John Woo, of course this is not bad thing. Chow yan fat certainly is the master of heroic bloodshed. But he is foremost a very charismatic and good actor. In Peace Hotel you get an example of very good acting by him. He really carries the movie. The story plays in the wild west of China ( an eastern instead of western, this gives the whole story a very original approach)in which several gangs are at war with each other and where there is one neutral place where everyone is welcome, and where no one will dare to use their weapons. This is because they respect the owner of this " Peace Hotel " (Chow Yan Fat). Everyone believes he is a very notorius killer (the rumour in the movie goes that Chow Yan Fat came to that hotel and killed everyone in sight without remorse and since that event he stayed in the hotel, to maintain the piece. It is a delight to see and find out why Chow Yan Fat did all this and why he stays at this hotel! At first Chow Yan Fat is very sympethatic, but later on you can see that Chow Yan Fat can be a bad motherf###. There is also some very interesting character development from the other actors. The action is brutal and fierce, like it is in real life, so do not expect beautiful filmed action sequences. But do not fear them also, because they fit the story very well.So go watch this movie, if you are ready for a very different HK action movie.

Peace Hotel is a western set in China in the 1930's and is probably best described as a cross between 'A Fistful Of Dollars' and 'The Killer'. Chow Yun-Fat (in his last film in Hong Kong before going to America) plays a retired killer who opens the 'Peace Hotel' where people can hide from their enemies with no questions asked. He teams up with Cecilia Yip with whom he had last starred with in the gripping World War II drama 'Hong Kong 1941' (1984). She plays a confidence trickster who is wanted by a large and dangerous gang that threaten to destroy the refuge to get to her. Both are excellent in this film and have a great on-screen chemistry.

The music by Healthy Poon and Cacine Wong is effective and in a similar vein to the Ennio Morricone score in the spaghetti westerns and the theme song by Alex San (music),Erica Lee (lyricist)and Cass Pang Ling (performer) fully deserved its win at the 1996 Hong Kong Film awards.

Those watching this film expecting highly choreographed gun-play sequences due to the presence of John Woo as executive producer will be disappointed as the action is infrequent and is filmed in a confusing style that probably better represents the confusion of a real fight. Peace Hotel is more character-driven than action orientated anyway and is all the better for it. Written by Chow Yun-Fat and Wai Ka-Fai (who is probably best known for co-directing 'Fulltime Killer' (2001)) there is some great dialogue and more character development than is usual for a film in the genre.

Peace Hotel may not be as good as some of Chow Yun-Fat's earlier work with John Woo, but it makes an attempt to be different and deserves credit for that.