The killer drives a vintage convertible. He exits a tunnel that recalls the one at the end of Wong Kar-Wai's Fallen Angels. The architecture of corporate power dominates the sky. The year is 1992, the day is sunny, the traffic is light, the wind is in the killer's hair. In five years, the British will turn this rich and dense city over to the Chinese. In a few moments, the killer will enter a quiet library, walk to the literature section, pull out The Complete Works of Shakespeare, walk to a man who is reading at a table, sit in front of this man, open the book, pull out of its hollowed pages a pistol with a silencer, aim, say some final words, and fire—blood all over the walls and floor. The killer will then close the book, return it to the shelf, and leave the library.

This is Hard Boiled, a John Woo movie about two cops—one who is deep undercover, and one who is volatile and has long forgotten how to laugh and love. The undercover is cop is played by Tony Leung Chiu-Wai; the volatile one by Chow Yun-Fat. The undercover cop releases steam by sailing on his boat; the volatile one by playing the cornet at a jazz club. The undercover cop wants to leave Hong Kong and settle on a peaceful Pacific island; the volatile one cannot imagine living anywhere else in the world. He will live and die in this city.

The only thing the two cops have in common is an enemy, a ruthless arms dealer (Anthony Wong) who wants to rule Hong Kong's underground. This man has to be stopped. He is pure evil. He is poisoning the city with his illegal guns and dirty money. The movie ends with one of the craziest gun battles in cinema. Grand Illusion, Thurs May 24 at 9 pm.