The Big Hit

Dir: Che-kirk Wong (aka Kirk Wong)
Scr: Ben Ramsey
Executive Prods: John Woo, Terence Chang, John M. Eckert
Prod Co: TriStar Pictures
Cast: Mark Wahlberg, Lou Diamond Phillips, Christina Applegate, Avery Brooks, China Chow
1998 | Colour | Blu-ray | English | Chinese Subtitles | 91min

After Face/Off, John Woo and Terence Chang renamed their company Lion Rock Productions and started a collaboration with TriStar Pictures. Their debut feature was The Big Hit, helmed by New Wave director Kirk Wong, with whom Chang had worked in Hong Kong on Gunmen (1988). Woo and Chang served as executive producers, with Roger Garcia as one of the co-producers and Raymond Lee as Second Unit Director. Lau Chi-ho and his team choreographed the stunts, giving many Hong Kong filmmakers their Hollywood debut.

The story is about one week in the life of contract-killer Melvin (Mark Wahlberg), a gangster torn between a not-so-righteous gang, a money-hungry fiancée and a materialistic girlfriend. He gets involved in the kidnap of a rich businessman’s daughter Keiko (China Chow) and—surprise, surprise—develops feelings for her…Wong animates action with tension and comedy, culminating in a climax with a literal and figurative explosion, its black humour and absurdity a refreshing antidote to the glut of assassin films of the time.

© 1998 TriStar Pictures, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

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