Starring: Donnie Yen, Louis Koo, Ray Lui, Collin Chou (aka Ngai Sing), Xing Yu, Fan Bing Bing, Kent Cheng
Director: Wilson Yip
Scheduled release: Now showing

The flashy trailer for Flash Point made it patently clear: in this movie action is king. And should anybody not realize this when walking into a screening of this visceral work that bears the imprint of star, co-producer and action director Donnie Yen as much as director Wilson Yip, they most certainly will upon viewing a couple of lengthy dialogue-free, action-packed segments before the end of the film, filled with alternately sleek and wince-inducing moves that could only be executed by expert martial artists. And, for good effect, those scenes are beautifully shot (by Cheung Man Po) so that the bulk of the action is easily observable and accompanied with the kind of pounding musical score (courtesy of Chan Kwong Wing) that gets one’s adrenaline pumping.

This is not to say, however, that the folks behind this cinematic powder keg didn’t make some effort to draw up a story with characters we can feel some sympathy for. Otherwise, the first two thirds of the film surely wouldn’t spend as much time as it does on Wilson (Louis Koo), the cop assigned the thankless task of going undercover and keeping company with Archer (Ray Lui), Tony (Collin Chou (aka Ngai Sing)) and Tiger (Shaolin master Xing Yu), a trio of former Vietnamese refugee brothers turned violence-prone baddies, and who ends up being physically disabled for his sins. Or, for that matter, contain a scene where Wilson’s plainclothes partner, Inspector Ma Jun (Donnie Yen) of the Serious Crimes Unit, an impulsive individual who tends to let his bare knuckles do much of his talking, is seen sharing a sensitive, caring moment with his mother (Helena Law Lan). Or take pains to show that the main nasties are men who have their own mother (Ha Ping) to love.

At other times though, one does get the sense that quite a few supporting characters (more than one of whom is played by a familiar face that will delight long-time fans of Hong Kong action cinema) were written into the picture to add to Flash Point’s overall body count. Or when put in danger, will compel the main characters to throw caution to the wind and spring into often spectacular, reckless action. All of which gives me the opportunity to state my appreciation for the contemporary Flash Point taking viewers back to an era when violence and death were meted out in the so-called Eastern Hollywood in an equal opportunity fashion, quite unlike that to be found in Western films, with the result that one never quite knew which man, woman or innocent child would be a villain’s next victim!

On a more serious note, this movie’s most heroic figure’s actions may prompt some cries of police brutality as he hands out some pretty rough justice with his bare fists. In all likelihood, however, I doubt that few viewers of the third collaboration in three years between Yip and Yen will really mind about that. Rather, they’ll just be thrilled and entertained by the action in a cinematic offering that takes its time to build to a climax – but wow, what a satisfyingly explosive and bone-crunching climax it is!

Yvonne Teh