Donnie Yen, Annie Wu, Jimmy Wong
Directed by Donnie Yen
Action by Donnie Yen

Contrary to what the description on the back cover of the DVD says, 'Ballistic Kiss' is less about the romance between the protagonists than about justice for a past crime and the way one looks at the world.

Donnie Yen portrays Cat Lee, a former NYPD officer turned mercenary assassin. The film opens with Cat calling in to DJ Simon's radio show, something he does every night. We are introduced to Carrie Leung (Annie Wu), a Hong Kong CID early enough, as she listens to the very segment of Simon's show while Cat is speaking live. Carrie and Cat actually live across the street from each other, unbeknownst to Carrie, and Cat is actually already in love with her right from the beginning.

Soon we learn of Cat's past, as flashbacks to his previous career are juxtaposed with a confrontation with Wesley (Jimmy Wong), his NYPD partner. We learn of Wesley's atrocity against Cat and how Wesley set up and betrayed Cat, causing Cat to serve a prison sentence. And now Cat's killing becomes personal and not merely business.

This film definitely is better than Donnie makes it sound when he talks about it in interviews. It has a distinct feel to it not like any other Hong Kong film, almost a big budget Hollywood atmosphere. Color and music figure very prominently into the whole scheme of things, further setting it apart from the garden variety HK action flick. The music seemingly never stops playing in the background, yet it is never intrusive as it accentuates what is going on on screen at that exact moment. With the colors, we see a lot of blacks and blues at the beginning. There is also extensive use to smoke and shadows. This is something to pay attention to, because as the film progresses and Carrie becomes aware of Cat's position in life and his philosphy, the color schemes will change.

When Carrie questions Cat about his actions, asking him if he ever thinks about the innocence of his targets, Cat tells her that nobody is innocent. That's something for everyone to think about. As a police officer, Carrie believes in certain things, such as innocence until guilt is proven. But Cat himself was a cop so he must have shared the ideals of law enforcement. So what made him change? Is anyone really innocent, ethically or otherwise? What would you do if you were Cat? What if the person whom you trusted most betrayed you?

Another thing I'd like to point out is Cat hardly ever appears without his glasses. At the end, Carrie puts his glasses on and we are left to contemplate what this could possibly mean. Yes, it's very cliche to romaniticize a killer, but in this particular case if we pay attention to his outlook on life then we would begin to understand why he kills.

Philosophical discussion aside, 'Ballistic Kiss' is still a good action movie, with equal parts guns and kung-fu to satisfy both sides of your action inclinations. Whether or not you agree with Cat's political agenda, this is a good film and as we can see just what kind of great things Donnie can do besides fight.