Chik loh goh yeung

I've always wondered why films like this have little appeal to the female sex. I always thought it was a lack of enthusiasm for thinly-plotted junk food movies that are full of action, sex and violence. This movie has tough women in the lead roles while the men are all submissive, dorky or just plain scumbags. Wouldn't that appeal to most women? I now see that this movie was made by men to appeal to men who want to be submissive to charismatic, sexy and deadly beautiful women. It's a male fantasy world of super women that are tough but sexy, deadly but tender. It's no wonder this film appeals to those like me who have often watched movies to make up for their awkwardness in social situations, especially involving the opposite sex. But anyway this film is a darn near perfect mix of stylish sex, wild action, black comedy and gory violence perpetrated on scummy males.

If you're into so called 'chinatown' action movies then this is one to watch. I was fortunate to see the director's cut of this and it was great. There is a romance side to this but it's the guns and guts that is the main feature. Interestingly, and I what thought was good was the choice of the 'baddies'. When you see this you will find some cliches in it between some of the characters, following a well worn path, but the story and action more than make up for it. I gave it an 8 but then generally I prefer Hong Kong and Japanese action movies to American ones.

If you've been wondering what all the fuss is about Hong Kong cinema, but didn't know where to start, watch this very sexy very action packed film about a bunch of too beautiful to believe lesbian hit women. Sure, John Woo did make the best Hong Kong films around, but this is the sexiest. The female cast is mind boggling, they are so beautiful. And they are filmed so lovingly, the films colours seep of the screen. Yes, the sex/violence may worry some, but it just looks so damn fine. There is one watershed scene (for Hong Kong censorship), where a couple of women make out in a pool, after killing a guy, the bloody water spreading around them. I never said the film was subtle.

NAKED KILLER admittedly has some very cool and stylish action going on, but that's about it. The storyline is convoluted and goofy at times, and it just didn't really hold my interest.

A girl is taught to become a female assassin and the cops are out to get them. The main cop has a thing for the newly-trained hottie/assassin because of a previous run-in with her. The cops are trying to nab the assassins, the assassins are trying to not get nabbed by the cops, etc...etc...

Not much in the way of anything too sleazy or "rough" to really warrant much of the CATIII rating on this one. An OK action-film but nothing really extraordinary. If you're a fan of the "harder" CATIII material, then this one may not do too much for you. There are some hot ass chicks who show their tits a few times, and again - some well staged action sequences, but nothing for me to really write home about. May be worth a look to the CATIII enthusiasts or action-junkies, but there's better material from both genres out there. 6.5/10

NAKED KILLER is a landmark film in Hong Kong cinema, one that was successful enough to help kick-start a whole wave of 'erotic' thrillers that would fill cinema screens for the next decade. Despite the sexiness in this one, it's more of an assassin thriller, albeit with lots of erotic interludes, near-nudity, and saucy shenanigans between the cast members.

I wanted to enjoy the film, and indeed on a superficial level it is enjoyable. However, the thing that lets it down is Clarence Fok's choppy direction. This guy's films always seem incredibly dated to me because of his over-stylised editing and the like, and NAKED KILLER is no exception. I actually enjoyed NAKED KILLER 2 (directed by Andrew Lau) more because of this, not to mention 2004's SO CLOSE.

Still, NAKED KILLER provides some things of merit for Hong Kong movie fans, not least an amusing role for Simon Yam as a disturbed cop who vomits every time he draws his gun. Chingmy Yau garners all of the attention as the impossibly beautiful young woman who becomes an assassin, and she's well supported with a knowing performance from Kelly Yao as the older professional. I also spotted Jackie Chan's bodyguard, Ken Lo, playing a sleazy businessman.

As is usual for these films, the movie is surprisingly light on nudity, with the main actresses teasing throughout but delivering little; only the unknown supporting actresses are willing to strip off. Carrie Ng has a minor role as a ruthless hitwoman. The action scenes come out of nowhere and are way over the top, with the shoot-out in the car park being a particular favourite of mine, although the ending is also fun. NAKED KILLER is certainly no classic but it passes the time for fans of this sort of stuff.