Veronica Chan's one and only film as a director, is one that seems to split fans of the genre as to whether it is worthy of a watch as a Hong Kong action thriller, or one to be passed. For me, A Taste Of Killing And Romance gets a thumbs-up!
While it may not offer anything overly new in its storyline of one hired killer falling for another, the film covers its clichés and flaws with some great action scenes, and nice cinematography by Fan Chuen Lam. The action choreography is handled by the one-and-only Stephen Tung Wei, who offers plenty of nice shoot-outs and stunt work that come often enough throughout the film. The fantastic Bruce Law backs Wei up with some great vehicle and fire stunts also.
While Anita Yuen may seem miscast, she doesn't do a terrible job as a killer-for-hire, and has great on-screen chemistry with star Andy Lau as the likeable assassin. Both walk through life looking pretty and carefree, as if their jobs are non-existent, quickly falling in love before realising it may be time to look for new employers if they want to keep this going - which is obviously not going to be as easy as it sounds. I did find, however, that it was this flirty fun and light-hearted take on the relationship that seemed to hinder the characters in question, and shift the tone of the film somewhat.
The great Waise Lee plays the hardened cop, dedicated to bringing down Lau any way possible (so much so that it causes Andy to have a bizarre nightmare of his take-down), but it is third assassin, Mark Cheng, who steals the show as the violent opposition who takes no prisoners going so far as to smother a crippled granny with cling-film, choke a little girl with bleach, and stick a dog in a washing machine!
Although she is no Ringo Lam or John Woo, Veronica Chan offers a pretty decent film for her first and last time as director. A Taste Of Killing And Romance may not be the best of the bunch, and while flawed and void of anything spectacular, it still entertains...
Overall: Stylish, yet confused. Violent, yet romantic. A Taste Of Killing And Romance is worth the watch at least once for some great moments!
