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Once, he (Chow Yun-Fat) was the King of Killers, but after a massacre
in which his wife was killed and he had to look into the frightened eyes
of a child he just couldn't shoot, he reformed. Since then, the Killer has
built a hotel in the middle of nowhere, which he dubbed the Peace Hotel, a
place in which everyone on the run was welcome, and where nobody dared to
intrude to make trouble, just because of the Killer's reputation. Enter
Shau (Cecilia Yip), a woman on the run from Ting Moon's (Chin Ho) gang,
who somehow tries to weasel and cheat her way into the Peace Hotel, but
her bluff is soon called by the Killer. Now he should just toss her out
for being a liar and a cheat, and for having no money, but keeps her on
anyways asa cheap labour. Soon enough, Ting Moon and gang show up to
retrieve Shau. They dare not enter the hotel, but put it under siege. This
puts a strain on the relationship of the Killer and his guests, who see
their safe haven endangered, which in turn puts a strain on the
relationship of Shau and the Killer, and eventually she falls out with him
to such an extent that she leaves the hotel to face Ting Moon and company
- and she gets beaten to death by them before the Killer makes up his mind
and interferes. He beats up the whole gang and drags the woman back to the
hotel, and he brings her back to life against all odds. With the strain
of Ting Moon's siege gone, the Killer and Shau become lovers, and
everything should be great ... but then Ting Moon learns Shau is still
alive, and he comes back with his men. The Killer has anticipated that and
has sent Shau away. He also lets Ting Moon's men beat him up so Ting Moon
can keep face, and hopes to solve everything this way ... but no, Ting
Moon puts the hotel under siege again - and we also learn about his
motives: He was the boy the Killer refused to shoot 10 years ago before he
mended his ways, and now the boy has grown up and wants revenge. And Shau?
She was just an actress serving as Ting Moon's bait - and successfully so. Witht
he hotel under siege again, all of the Killer's guests/friends leave, then
Ting Moon's gang attacks. Shau, who has actually fallen in love with the
Killer, rides in to the rescue, but most of the rescuing is done by the
Killer himself and his trusted machine gun. And this time he does not
leave Ting Moon alive, either ... but dies in the process. And with him,
the Peace Hotel dies as well ... A well-filmed, well-paced
movie that features plenty of action and welcome nods to classics of Hong
Kong cinema (especially King Hu's films) and spaghetti Westerns alike ...
and yet, Peace Hotel is not exactly a good film. Problem is that it
is based on a very feeble and far-fetched story, and it lacks both
fleshed-out characters and irony, which is badly needed for a film of this
ilk. In fact, only Cecilia Yip as Shau does try to bring the story alive
with a lively performance, but the rest of the cast of characters seem
just like empty shells. Plus, the main conflict of the film (between the
Killer and the boy he didn't shoot) is weirdly downplayed and allowed to
hide behind everything else, which derives the film of much of its
emotional impact. In all, this is not the worst movie ever though, it
has its moments, it's just a film that could have been much better.
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