Run and Kill (1993)

A waste of 90 minutes of my life

I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.

I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

"Fight! Fight! Between the heavy and the light! The light don't win, we all jump in!" I'll never forget that chant. When I was young and whenever there was a height/weight disadvantage someone would begin chanting this. It was never really a serious threat, since the chant would make the bigger person almost always not try as hard, and usually making the fight into a tie. Why did I think of this? Because in this movie, you're rooting for the fat guy! Sure I've rooted for a fat guy before...maybe in a WWF or MMA match, but not in a flick I don't think. Upp, I did want Lardass in Stand By Me to get revenge. But in a violent, gritty, next-move-could-be-fatal type of way, never. Until now! Go Fatty! Run and Kill starts off with a guy named "Fatty" accidentally putting a "hit" on his wife. His wife cheated on him, so he went to the club got really drunk and started slurring around the wrong people. Well, what follows is a some of the worst luck a guy can go through. Run and Kill started off well with good character development, but then strayed off a little bit during the middle when Fatty was getting into more heat. Which is weird, you'd think it'd get more interesting. Not really. More characters were introduced at a fast rate, including the villain of the movie, but it all felt kinda jumbled and rushed. Truthfully, one moment I was watching Fatty do something with the cops, then suddenly I was watching a warehouse scene where guys were shooting at each other. Im still a tad confused if it was either Cops vs. Bad Guys or two warring groups. Anyways, that doesn't matter. What matters is what went on during the final 20 minutes.Run and Kill is another CATIII goodie from the director Billy Tang. Now seeing three of his movies, I can now easily pick his style from a group. That upward camera view close up on the bad guy. Nice stuff when looking for a menacing, insane look. The actors were all pretty good as well, especially Fatty and the Villain. Overall, Run and Kill was a pretty fun watch. It delivered the goods with acting, violence and camera work, but was kinda average with the story-telling. I enjoyed the story of revenge, the beginning and the end, but the middle not so much. Though I do recommend it to CATIII lovers out there.

This Billy Tang vehicle is relentlessly grim and relentlessly entertaining. I love that.Fatty (Kent Chang) accidentally orders a hit on his wife and creates a huge debt for himself that must be repaid. Since Fatty can not repay it, others repay it instead -- with their lives.Watching a fat guy stress and sweat and fall in a blubbering heap is a highly entertaining experience that must be seen to be believed. The torching of a little girl by super-villain Simon Yam (in a superbly over-the-top performance) pushes the boundaries of on-screen depictions and the gloriously violent finale, where Fatty becomes an unstoppable monster, really delivers the chills.Danny Lee makes an appearance as -- what else? -- a cop, but he's as useful as pockets on a singlet and never manages to put so much as a dent in the gory proceedings.Director Tang was on a roll with this, RED TO KILL and DR. LAMB.This is mostly an action pic, but it also falls into the horror category simply because it doesn't know when to quit being grotesque. Love that, too.

Believe it or not, this film was intended as a dark comedy. And comedies don't get much darker than this. Hong Kong's master of depravity, Billy Tang, has made an exploitation film so far over the top that it's funny. The plot is fairly complex, actually, and ingenious in how it arrives at where it does. Fatty (Kent Cheng), tired of his cheating wife, mistakenly hires a triad to kill her. Upon her demise, he is presented with the bill, which he cannot pay. He seeks refuge with a band of former Vietcong mercenaries. When the one who has taken him in is killed by the triads, the dead man's crazed cousin (Simon Yam) seeks revenge on not only the triads but Fatty as well, whom he blames for his cousin's death. This all culminates in one moment so startling that it's shocking and funny at the same time. Let's just say it involves Fatty's 12 year old daughter and a lot of gasoline. I'm not sure anyone but Billy Tang could have gotten away with this film (for an even more depraved exercise, seek out his serial-killer-run-amok flick Red to Kill). A must for fans of twisted cinema.

Run and Kill is an excellent example of what the Chinese do so well - a violent revenge thriller, in the vein of MAN WANTED and RETURN ENGAGEMENT (both also starring SIMON YAM). Kent Cheung plays a mild-mannered man who accidentally involves himself in the murder of his wife when drunk at a nightclub one evening. When he sobers up and realizes what has happened, he goes to the police, headed by DANNY LEE, who find his tale somewhat hard to believe! He soon goes home to find the gang leader who wants his payment for the murder of his wife, and when he can't pay, gets beaten up for his troubles. The plot thickens from here on, but I wouldn't want to spoil it for you. Suffice to say there are a few nasty moments involving a lead pipe, and a burning child....you find yourself really rooting for the hero (?) of the piece as he comes up against the lunatic Simon Yam. This film is based on a true story, which makes it all the more gripping if you can stand the gore and violence on display. Unfortunately, this movie isn't available in the UK, but if you get the chance, it comes highly recommended.