Cops-and-gangster movies like this are a dime a dozen, and this one doesn't really bring anything original to the concept. What distinguishes this movie is that it has three martial arts masters in it (the third, besides Donnie Yen and Samo Hung, being Jing "Jacky" Wu, whom I just absolutely *love* - if only he would do more movies, dammit!), who ensure an extremely cool series of climactic fights at the end. Unfortunately, there's hardly any fighting in the rest of the movie, making it quite boring. But I like the ending even when we disregard the fights, because Samo Hung's kingpin character is reminded of the true price of his lifestyle. With his loved ones dead, his final triumph is meaningless. (But hey, after he's thrown onto a big glass shelf, smashing it, how come his clothes are hardly even ripped when he gets up?!)
Anyway - the Great Big Cool Thing about this movie for me was the fight between Donnie Yen and Jacky Wu (and yeah, Samo Hung did pretty damn well for himself, too!). I just can't get over Jacky Wu's moves. That guy is so bloody good he could get bigger that both Jackie Chan and Jet Li. And I hope he eventually does. I sat and waited for him to come on screen, seeing it from a mile away when he finally did, and cheering like crazy!
The few fights in this movie are extremely fast (think Bruce Lee), and look very real (i.e. no extra-fast camera work). Beautiful. If anybody thought Donnie Yen was past his prime, they should see this movie.
Still - if Jacky Wu and Donnie had to fight for real, I very seriously doubt that Donnie would have any chance at all. In this movie, Donnie wins because he's the senior actor (and the good guy), whereas Jacky Wu is still really just starting out. But, damn, his few scenes in this movie really makes the whole thing worthwhile.
Storywise, this couldn't rise above a 5 or 6 rating, but because of the fights, the good ending and the presence of Jacky Wu (yaaay!!!), I'll give it a 7 out of 10. Some memorable scenes, but not a really great movie.
Anyway - the Great Big Cool Thing about this movie for me was the fight between Donnie Yen and Jacky Wu (and yeah, Samo Hung did pretty damn well for himself, too!). I just can't get over Jacky Wu's moves. That guy is so bloody good he could get bigger that both Jackie Chan and Jet Li. And I hope he eventually does. I sat and waited for him to come on screen, seeing it from a mile away when he finally did, and cheering like crazy!
The few fights in this movie are extremely fast (think Bruce Lee), and look very real (i.e. no extra-fast camera work). Beautiful. If anybody thought Donnie Yen was past his prime, they should see this movie.
Still - if Jacky Wu and Donnie had to fight for real, I very seriously doubt that Donnie would have any chance at all. In this movie, Donnie wins because he's the senior actor (and the good guy), whereas Jacky Wu is still really just starting out. But, damn, his few scenes in this movie really makes the whole thing worthwhile.
Storywise, this couldn't rise above a 5 or 6 rating, but because of the fights, the good ending and the presence of Jacky Wu (yaaay!!!), I'll give it a 7 out of 10. Some memorable scenes, but not a really great movie.