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Its nothing if not familiar: The archetype of the sleek hit man looms large in movie history.
Yet it remains fascinating psychological and narrative terrain for a variety of directors.
Theyre often based vaguely on real cases of L.A. seediness.
Set in turn-of-the-century Japan, a young woman seeks vengeance for the torture of her imprisoned and murdered family.
Meiko Kaji cuts a striking figure, slicing through her enemies with elegantly choreographed bloodshed.
From Quentin Tarantino to the women of HBOsShogun, her impact was enormous.
Hes drawn further into the undertow of her world as he falls for her.
Equally, he is drawn into a classic cop-criminal dynamic with a detective he grows to respect.
The Long Kiss Goodnight(1996)
God bless Shane Black.
Except that shes none of these things.
Shes an expert CIA killer who knows her way around a knife but has no memory of her past.
The pairs rapid-fire dialogue and odd-couple chemistry give a real sense of fun to the proceedings.
Hit man as hipster started here.
TheWickseries is a knowingly heightened, brilliantly postmodern experience of the hit-man flick.
