Flashpoint

If you're like me, after watching roughly 3 billion similarly themed period piece kung fu and wuxia movies, you're relieved when a contemporary kung fu flick comes along. This seems to be Donnie Yen's bread and butter. Sure, he was excellent in Hero opposite Jet Li and even Circus Kids was entertaining, but his performances in those films just don't match up to SPL or this film, Flash Point. He seems made for modern kung fu.

I'll leave plot explanation to others as it's a pretty standard cop-on-the-edge film that seems to have been done to death by Hong Kong over the past 15 years or so. What sets this apart is Yen's phenomenal and somewhat unique brand of kung fu and, for the first time (to my knowledge) his surprisingly good jiu jitsu. The flashy kicks and punches are standard Yen affair, but it's a bit of a shock to watch him pull off a slick arm bar, arm triangle, or leg triangle.

Yen's performance is only strengthened by a very talented supporting cast. There's no push-over fights here...it's like everyone is really fighting for their lives. That alone should be enough to get you past a fairly overdone plot (it's not bad, but if you've seen it once you've seen it 1,000 times). It's definitely worth the 85 minutes of your time if you're even remotely a fan of the genre.

This was a real surprise as on a rainy day in the only Chinese cinema left in Sydney, to think i only went into Market city for some yum cha and got a whole lot more than i bargained for.

A fantastic roller-coaster ride of a film, OK so the long slow ride up to the top end of it can be daunting for those with ADD or a high blood sugar level but its sure worth it once you get there. Intense satisfying action shot from every possible angle yet still filled with a spontaneous verite energy unmatched by any Hollywood film i have seen..ever.

Its innovative style while a bit light on plot or dialogue (OK so i am stuck with subtitles which obviously lose something in the translation) overcomes any accusations of pretentiousness that could be leveled at a lot of similar films. The raw energy of the film leaks into every scene however still and explodes onto the screen when the action finally ramps up. Considering the violent nature of the film a lot of the actual killing is suggested rather than replayed in Technicolor from umpteen angles, but we still experience every kick and punch as if it were flying our way.

OK admittedly the story is about as engrossing as 300 or a lot of other HK cop films, IE runs at a primal level deeper than mere plot twists or any complicated subtext. No, its all about the man versus what he sees as injustice and occasionally about a friendship. Mostly though its about the battle for whats right even if thats not quite clear sometimes, by the end you know who the good guys are and as manipulated as you might feel you are rooting for them all the way.

OK I'm running out of superlatives and metaphors now..just go out and watch it if you like a good old school popcorn bash and can handle some underplayed buddy semantics.

Flashpoint is a beautifully shot film that moves a long at a fast pace. I was never much of a Donnie Yen fan but I have been converted to one after seeing this film. Hollywood needs to bring him back, at least as an action choreographer. The action scenes in this film are far more sophisticated than anything Hollywood is doing.

Wilson Yip did an amazing job as director. It's a shame this didn't get a U.S. theatrical release. If Hollywood is smart, they will recruit him.

Bingbing Fan is a beauty that should also be brought to Hollywood.

Flashpoint doesn't break new ground in terms of it being a typical cops and gangsters flick, but it is as good as any of them.

The fights are excellent and realistic.

Flashpoint is highly recommended for HK movie fans.

to keep it short, i was highly surprised from it's great entertainment value.

the plot is hollow (good cops vs bad guys) but the good cast, camera work and fight scenes are over the top. speaking of the fight scenes, very impressive style from Donnie Yen (with age 44) and also the bad guys hand out some damage before they go down.

the first movie half is slow, but the ending will round it up. this action flick was nice done by the film crew, they put some work & love in it, something you miss in many HK movies nowadays.

(don't miss the end credits :)

If you're an avid Donnie Yen fan, than no one has to sell this movie to you. If you like Asian action movies in general, than you'll be watching this too. What about the others, who are not that familiar with those types of movies? There's not that much back-story to hinder the action too much, neither are there real character developments, this shouldn't be a problem with you (if it is, don't watch the movie)

What should be considered, is the action, that is spot on here. Mixing many styles, Donnie Yen has created some extraordinary fight scenes for this movie. And although I'm for a little bit more character and story driven movies, I liked this one, because it was straight forward. And the action holds up to the promise it gives you ... That's all I can say, now it's up to you, to decide whether you want to watch it or not