Review: Love him or hate him, but the fact remains that Andy Lau gets more sex than you, me, and that thing you call your palm.

And I'll tell you why: Andy Lau is a Fulltime Mad Pimp.

Be jealous all you want. Heck, I'm quite sure that most of you out there wish you were him. Fight and argue if it'll make you happy. But in this small world, one can only dream and hope to be as cool as Andy Lau.

And why am I giving this particular man the proverbial handjob? Well, to put it simply: I've seen him rise from an ex-television star to a pop sensation to a full on mega movie star.

I remember first catching him in a little movie you guys might remember called "Rich and Famous." That's right, this man who had to act alongside with Hong Kong legend Chow Yun-Fat. Now, be it Stephen Chow, Ekin Cheng, or even Tony Leung, it's difficult to remember who played along side a figure that is remembered for his great fury and cinematic presence. For crying out loud, the John Woo decade was defined by this single man alone who made shooting with two guns while sliding down a railing cool. But nonetheless, Andy Lau was trying to live through his transition from television to film and to make a name for him all the while attempting create something that might even resemble Woosian nuance.

Though most of you might remember him as Yeung Goh from "Return of Condor Heroes," Andy Lau moved on to bigger movies such as the "God of Gambler" series and the Wong Kar-Wai classics, "As Tears Go By" and "Days of Being Wild." But his biggest hit was the Hong Kong box office sensation "Full Throttle," which finally landed him the title of one of Hong Kong's golden boys. But really, he didn't need that movie to put him there; he was already becoming a huge success on his pop career alone.

Fast forward to now. Mad pimp and rising...

Really, if anything, Andy Lau makes "Fulltime Killer" one of the more fun movies you'll see all year. Not only does he make the movie ten times cooler than it's supposed to be, but it's almost impossible not to be engulfed by a film this rich in entertainment. His sheer presence alone makes the movie worthwhile. From the very beginning, when Lau walks into the jail sail and drops the grenades in the coolest way possible and everything explodes throwing you into a whirlwind of shrapnel and locomotion, you know you're in for a powerhouse of a movie.

One of my favorite scenes was when Lau puts on the face mask of Bill Clinton and goes on a killing spree all the while "Largo al Factotum" is playing, making the music transcend its classical roots to full on shotgun pumping, adrenaline fever. And the moment he pulls off his mask to snub O, Lau's face is full of exuberance, bleeding charm and magnetism in ways other actors close to his caliber only wish for.

Another reason to love "Fulltime Killer" is for its execution. There have been many movies before its time that has had similar type of characters, comparable plots and even more memorable lines, but what makes this film stand out from the rest is its utter sense of style and awareness for itself. The dynamic cinematography is a fresh relief for those who've seen static camera work mixed with ill-paced editing in an attempt to create an action oriented film rather than relying on the energy of its characters. With its smooth sailing crane work and slow motion capture, every single character in "Fulltime Killer" has a chance to walk through a moment of hipness and be surrounded in a shroud of class.

Even mister GTO himself, Takashi Sorimachi plays O with much sophistication and elegance. Being in the opposite end of the polar extreme, Sorimachi's portrayal of O is dark and brooding, wicked and intense, and keeps you sympathizing all at the same time. The dark stare he would give behind the his sunglasses, and his almost mullet like hair hanging above his shoulders creates a new entity, surpassing what used to be known as the Yun-Fatsian assassin into something completely different, something refined, redefining what it means to be cool and to kill cool.

Being the love interest of the two, Kelly Lin's role as Chin is sweet, pathetic, and beautiful all at once. We go into a poetic glance into her world as a video clerk, and how she meets up with Tok, where he lives vicariously through the movies that she rents. Ultimately, she becomes not only the verbal bridge between Tok and O (Chinese and Japanese respectively), but symbolically standing for what they look for in life, not only in a woman, but the fact that she is a settled woman and a dreamer, and both, Tok and O, are mutually drawn these two characteristics. One looks for a way out, and another looks to be recognized.

The only character I would have wished to be developed a little more is International Police Chief Inspector Lee. Played by Simon Yam (Yam Can Kill!), Lee seemed to be the slight baby backbone to this picture, where he fanatically searches for O not only as his job, but for a personal undertaking. Through it all, it only seems that Lee is an outside unbiased observer of this war between Tok and O, and though there is much loss for him on this journey of his, there is never any insight into the fervent and zealous journey he has taken. Besides an encounter he has with Tok, Lee is definitely underused and may seems sometimes to be used as a transition from one Tok and O scene to the next.

The relationship between the two assassins, Tok and O is observed in a very interesting way. As if they shared a particular kinship and mutual respect for another. They say there is honor among thieves, but could there possibly be much more among killers? Ping Ho Cheung, who penned the original novel, wrote the screenplay with Joey O'Bryan and Ka-Fai Wai and developed the relationship between the two by using a method where each character knew the other from their reputations in the assassin world. Most of the time, these two individuals would react to what they would read or study about their rival. And through their obsession, a history was building, slowly unfolding for them about each other, where they finally meet each other in a very fascinating first encounter.

Johnny To does an amazing job directing this film and it definitely represents a spotlight in his career. The last time I had so much fun with one of his movies was with "Running Out of Time," which also featured the remarkable Andy Lau. Even then, Lau's charisma wasn't full blown, but slowly appearing, emerging for the right sunlight and the perfect camera.