Dragon

Title: Dragon

Director: Peter Chan

Released: 2011

Starring: Donnie Yen, Takeshi Kaneshiro, Wei Tang, Jimmy Wang Yu, Kara Hui, Wu Jiang

Plot: Liu Jinxi (Yen) is a papermaker living a quiet life in Liu village until one day when he kills two bandits attempting to rob the general store. Despite being regarded as a hero by the village he raises the suspicion of detective Xu Bai-Jiu (Kaneshiro) who begins to suspect that Liu is not who he says he is.

 

Review: While his name might leap out to most but Director Peter Chan certainly as a producer has been responsible for some of the best titles of 90’s and 00’s Hong Kong cinema including “The Eye”, “Three Extremes” and “The Warlords” he even produced the underrated John Woo movie “Heroes Shed No Tears”. Here though he equally proves himself once more to be no slouch in the directing chair either with this visually stunning martial arts movie which not only plays like Cronenberg’s “A History of Violence” set in 1917 but also provides yet another showcase for the jaw dropping martial arts skills of Donnie Yen who also handles the action choreography here.

While the film does have a pretty big twist, if you’ve seen “A History of Violence” you will know what to expect here, but just to cover ourselves lets just say *spoilers ahead*

As with its Cronenberg counterpart when we meet Yen’s character of Liu he is just a family man living a simple quiet life in the village with nothing to give us any indication that he is anything than just another villager working at the paper mill. Of course this is another story much like “First Blood” were it would be a much shorter film if it wasn’t was for the persistence of one sheriff in this case detective Xu who is seemingly half Rottweiler as once he gets it into his head that Liu might not be who he seems, he hounds him mercilessly. Even when the local magistrate tells him to let it go he continues his investigation which only becomes all the more ludicrous as it goes on with him believing that Liu is secretly a martial arts master and hence attempts to test him by knocking him off a bridge and hitting him with a knife believing that he would be able to defend himself using his Chi ability.

Of course when we do get the big reveal things quickly spiral out of control with Xu no doubt wishing that he hadn’t poked this beehive with Liu being revealed to be the former second-in command for the psychotic warrior clan the 72 Demons. Detective Xu’s belief that no criminal can change their ways brought about by an incident in his past really adds to this twist as from the audiences perspective we just want Liu to live his life hassle free but Xu at the same time maintains that nagging issues of if he could really have changed. Still Chan decides that the best way to show this in the film is by having Liu’s former clan show up looking for him which is also lead by his father played here by the legendary Jimmy Wang Yu who here is on top evil form.

Despite being a Donnie Yen movie, here the action is for the first half actually pretty restrained with his showdown with the two bandits being the sole action scene we get. This is hardly a disappointment though as like all the action sequences here it is stunningly shot and only added to by the replays we see Xu playing out in his head as he tries to figure out who Liu really is. When the 72 demons show up though the action seriously ramps up though despite seemingly being setup to have Liu and Xu taking on the 72 demons instead Donnie Yen restrains the action so that its kept to small groups and intricate choreography which really pays off while complemented further by some inventive camera work which only adds to these sequences.

The final showdown between Donnie Yen and Jimmy Wang Yu really is a piece of fanboy wish fulfilment to see these two masters finally squaring off. The fact that Yen is fighting him one armed really only adds to the sequence by giving us a homage of sorts to Yu’s role as “The One Armed Swordsman”. How he comes to loose said arm is perhaps one of the more random and baffling aspects of the film but by the time we get to this final showdown your hardly caring about such minor issues. Jimmy Wang Yu here though is on top evil form and the tension is really cranked up in the build up to this showdown which only make the pay off only the more sweet.

A fantastic martial arts movie combined with enjoyable thriller elements make this a film well worth checking out, while Peter Chan’s eye for detail and use of slow motion really only heightens the film above being just another run of the mill kung fu movie while making you wonder why Donnie Yen still hasn’t been snapped up by the Hollywood system the same way as his predecessors but then do we think he would get the freedom to make films like this there like he does within the Hong Kong studio system.

SPL: Sha Po Lang AKA. Kill Zone

Title: SPL: Sha Po Lang AKA. Kill Zone

Director: Wilson Yip
Released:  2005
Starring: Donnie Yen, Simon Yam, Sammo Hung, Wu Jing, Liu Kai-chi, Danny Summer, Ken Chang, Austin Wai, Timmy Hung, Liang Jingke

Plot: Hong Kong Police Inspector Chan Kwok-chung (Yam)has spent most of his career trying to arrest triad boss Wong Po (Hung) and now dying from a brain tumour he recived following a failed attempt on his life by Wong Po’s assassin Jack (Jing) he now finds himself along with his team using ever more questionable methods to try and bring Wong Po down.  Now joined by his replacement Ma Kwun (Yen) a police detective with his own questionable past, they must soon decide what they are willing to do to take down Wong Po.

Review: The first of a series of films which along with “Dragon Tiger Gate”, “Flashpoint” and the “IP Man” trilogy which really elevated Donnie Yen from being a favourite amongst Martial arts fans to suddenly bringing him to the attention of mainstream audiences something which had failed to happen with the few roles he’s taken within the Hollywood studio system and putting in still impressive appearances in “Blade 2” and “Shanghai Knights”. At the same time this film marked the first film in a long line of collaborations with director Wilson Yip who would also direct all these breakout films for Yen who he would also give full control over the fight scenes by hiring him as the films action director aswell.

Unquestionably though it’s an impressive cast which director Yip has assembled here with Hong Kong legend Sammo Hung doning a questionable looking ponytail in a rare yet still completely convincing villainous turn as he plays the triad boss Wong Po whose wrath is handled by his personal hitman or his numerous followers. Simon Yam meanwhile is great to see as the morally conflicted Police Inspector who as the film go on becomes increasingly corrupt as his obsession with taking down Hung’s triad boss grows.

Surprisingly the weak link here is actually Donnie Yen, who as Ma Kwun gets the fantastical “Street Fighter” style introduction as he launches a drug dealer into the air with a single punch so that he lands with an impressive crash on the roof a nearby car. Much like Inspector Chan Kwok-chung he has his own personal issues to deal with having sworn off the any means necessary style of police work after he left a drug dealer mentally handicapped from a beating he gave them. A burden he now deals with by checking in on the former drug dealer and taking him to the arcade to ironically play fighting games as he atones for his actions. This of course puts him on a collision course to butt heads with Kwok-chung who he sees heading down a similar path to the one he was on. Maybe its because the rivalry between Inspector Chan Kwok-chung and Wong Po is already so intense the introduction of Yen's character does end up feeling for the most part like something which was bolted on than worked into the plot.

Perhaps also because of Ma Kwun’s desire to hold back and do things by the book I couldn’t help  but think of Bruce Lee’s “The Big Boss” which also held back the fighting till the hero is backed into a corner and forced to fight which is essentially what we get here with film teasing out its fight scenes. When we do get the fight scenes though they are certainly worth the wait with Yip giving us not one but two grandstanding fight scenes as Ma Kwun is forced to fight the hitman Jack before finally having his showdown with Wong Po.

Originally intended as a traditional police thriller before Donnie Yen joining the cast and causing the script to be reworked as he took on action director duties aswell in doing so he also brings to the film two incredible strong action sequences which are only improved by the fact that we get them back to back starting with an Alleyway fight scene which has become one of the more discussed sequences from this film and while largely improvised by Donnie Yen and Wu Jing. While this fight is unquestionably great I have to confess to having a major fanboy moment with the finale which see’s Donnie Yen and Sammo Hung facing off in a scene which surprisingly works despite Hung’s size (the questionable ponytail is something else) and Yen’s speed and makes me appreciate the fact we got a rematch in “IP Man 2” all the more as these two masters really work well together as clearly demonstrated here even if the ending left me with mixed feelings.

Quickly paced and with a healthy dose of great action there is a lot to enjoy here, especially with its three main stars all on great form. True it might not be the deepest of thrillers but the Donnie Yen choreographed action scenes really cover for a lot of the flaws. That being said for newcomers I’d sill recommend watching “Once Upon A Time In China 2” or “Iron Monkey” first to truly get why he’s such a noteworthy talent worth comparing to the genre greats.  

Flash Point

Title: Flash Point

Director: Wilson Yip

Released: 2007

Staring: Donnie Yen, Louis Koo, Collin Chou, Lui Leung-Wai, Fan Bingbing, Ray Lui, Xing Yu, Ben Lam

Plot: Set in pre-1997, Ma Jun (Yen) a cop known for beating up suspects during arrests, teams with Wilson (Koo) an undercover cop, to try to bring down three merciless Vietnamese brothers running a smuggling ring in the months before the mainland's takeover of Hong Kong. The eldest, Archer (Lui) is arrested in an operation that exposes Wilson and almost gets him killed and setting Ma Jun on course for revenge.

Review: Ever since I saw “Once Upon A Time In China: Part 2” I’ve been a big fan of Donnie Yen, especially with the climatic showdown in that particular film being easily one of my favorite all time fights and one which we would have to wait a further ten years to see the rematch in Zhang Yimou’s beautifully shot “Hero”. Needless to say Yen has gone on to make some fantastic films including my personal favorite “Iron Monkey”, yet for one reason or another it feels that it is only really now that he is truly being recognised for the highly skilled martial artist that he is.

The third film to be made with director Yip, who’d previously worked with Yen on “Kill Zone” (which this film is a prequel of sorts to) and “Dragon Tiger Gate” and it's a powerful combination that the two men form with this success together later leading them to working together on IP Man 1 & 2. With Yip directing the main meat of the film, while he entrusting the fight choreography to Yen, who uses the film essentially as a further showcase for his love of MMA, which here he integrates with his more traditional and trademark wushu and taekwondo style to devastating effect and unsurprisingly it would lead to Yen winning “Best Action Choreography” at both the Hong Kong and Golden Horse Film Awards.

Yen meanwhile ensures that the film is kept as fast paced as possible, even if he does tease out the main fight scenes until well after the halfway mark, which makes “Flash Point” for me is similar in many ways to the Bruce Lee classic “The Big Boss” in that Yen is forced to promise that he won’t beat up anymore suspects following numerous complaints regarding his heavy handed tactics, an echo almost back to Lee’s character making a similar promise to his mother and hence like that film, it does actually take a fair bit of time before Yen gets to actually fight anyone and even then it’s only really after his undercover partner is hospitalised, following his cover being blown that Yen is allowed off the leash. 

These fight sequences are nothing short of brutal with the potent style which Yen has crafted here by combining fighting styles, not only looking spectacular on screen, but frequently leaves you asking how they actually achieved some of the footage seen here. With Yen having the control he does over the fight choreography he also ensures that the maximum effect is felt with each of these scenes, with each shot carefully planned out while also clearly not working to any kind of time limit, especially with the final showdown clocking in around twenty minutes starting with John Woo style gunplay, before quickly evolving into a full blown smack down as Yen and Chou engage in a round of Kung Fu one-upmanship. Needless with Yen calling the shots for these scenes, it also makes it easier for him to portray himself as the all conquering badass.

Plot wise this film may seem alittle plodding, especially for those of you who like your Kung Fu movies more fast and furious, especially with the fight scenes appearing in the later part of the film. The first half is played out more like a crime thriller, until Ma Jun sets out on his path of vengeance and generally kicking a lot of ass. Still this first half does also have perhaps the most original assignation attempt ever, with the use of an explosives packed chicken! This first half also highlights a lot of the films weakness such as the simple storyline and lack of form of complex characterisation, especially with the badguys who are undoubtedly scumbags from the start, while the police are hindered by continual stupidity amongst the ranks which see’s witness being provided zero protection and leaving them easy pickings for the badguys, even Wilson’s girlfriend (Bingbing) is easily kidnapped in a plot device used more for a setup for the finale, rather than anything which makes logical plotting.

Despite such weak plotting, the short run time of 84 minutes means that it’s a minor complaint, especially as when you start questioning it, Yen kicks the film up a gear by exploding into action, while Chou proves a more than capable challenger especially after being one of the best parts of “The Matrix Reloaded / Revolutions” were he appeared as the white trench coat clad Seraph. Meanwhile the rest of the cast are all likable enough with Koo providing strong support as the Wilson, whose constant fear of being discovered as an undercover copy is well played throughout with the lead up to his exposure as a cop played with nerve shredding suspense.

It might not be perfect in many ways, but the sheer strength of the fight scenes on offer here, make it easy to overlook a lot of the flaws, especially as Yen continues to showcase exactly why he is one of the best martial artists currently working today. Needless to say it’s cinematic junk food for action / kung fu fans so just make sure to leave your brain at the door.