Saat po long (2005)

Director:

Wilson Yip

Writers:

Wilson Yip (written by) &
Kam-Yuen Szeto (written by) ...

Release Date:

18 November 2005 (Hong Kong)

Genre:

Action | Crime | Drama | Thriller

Plot:

Chan, an articulate senior detective nearing the end of his career, is taking care of the daughter of a witness killed by ruthless crime lord Po...

Plot Keywords:

Retirement | Mob Boss | Witness Protection | Gangster | Neo Noir

Awards:

3 wins & 1 nomination

Cast

Donnie Yen	...	Insp. Ma Kwun
Simon Yam	...	Det. Chan Kwok Chung
Sammo Hung Kam-Bo	...	Wong Po (as Sammo Hung)
Jacky Wu	...	Jack (as Jing Wu)
Kai Chi Liu	...	Det. Lok Kwun Wah (as Liu Kai Chi)
Danny Summer	...	Det. Kwok Tsz Sum
Ken Chang	...	Det. Lee Wai Lok
Austin Wai	...	Det. Cheung Chun Fei
Timmy Hung	...	Drug Trafficker
Tat Chi Chan	...	Policeman (as Chan Tat Chee)
Jing-kei Liang	...	Wong Po's Wife (as Liang Jing Kei)
Vincent Sze	...	Chan Wai
Kenji Tanigaki	...	Wong Po's Bodyguard
Ching-Lam Lau	...	Hoi Yee (as Lau Ching Lam)
Maggie Poon	...	Sum's Daughter (as Maggie Poon Mei Ki)

Also Known As:

Kill Zone (USA) (DVD box title)
Kill the Broken Wolf (Hong Kong: English title) (literal title)
S.P.L. (Hong Kong: English title)
S.P.L.: Kill Zone (USA) (DVD title)
Sha po lang (Hong Kong: Mandarin title)

Runtime:

Hong Kong:93 min | Hong Kong:93 min (uncut version) | Canada:97 min (Toronto International Film Festival) | Argentina:97 min

Country:

Macau | Hong Kong

Language:

Cantonese | Mandarin

Colour:

Colour

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Singapore:M18 | Australia:MA | Malaysia:18SG | Hong Kong:III | Finland:K-18 | Argentina:16 | South Korea:18

Company:

Abba Movies Co. Ltd.

Trivia:

The movie wasn't going to have MA action in the first place, but that changed once Donnie Yen was on-board and asked the producer to put additional funds in order to shoot them accordingly to the story. The result became the now famous alley fight and the last fight with Jacky Wu and Sammo Hung Kam-Bo respectively.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: Despite taking place in the late-1990s, there are ads for Apple's 2004 iPod.

Movie Connections:

References The Pink Panther (1963)

Soundtrack:

The Trick

The best Hong Kong action movie in years

SPL is definitely one to import from Asia, since the Weinsteins have picked up English-language rights, which means we can expect the film to be rescored by a cheap computer program, dubbed into English by failed children's' TV presenters and cut to buggery – which is pretty criminal considering this is the best Hong Kong actioner in years, featuring superb performances from Donnie Yen, Sammo Hung and Simon Yam and some seriously vicious I'm-not-showing-off-I-really-want-to-kill-you fight scenes. The plot is fairly standard, with Yam's dying cop on the verge of retirement crossing the line to put away Hung's very unpleasant gang lord (there's NOTHING lovable about Sammo here), implicating his replacement Yen and dooming his men as everything goes seriously wrong, but it's the execution that raises it above the norm. Aside from the brutal and convincing fight scenes superbly staged by Yen, Wai-Sun Yip's direction of the film around them is particularly strong, managing to balance a stylish but not overpowering visual sense with a gravitas and grasp of character that gives the inevitable violence more weight.

That's not to say there aren't plot holes – in one scene Hung's wife is incapable of having children and in the next she's got a one-month old child, while no police force in the world would release a criminal when they have video footage of him playing golf with an undercover cop's head even if he doesn't deliver the coup de grace – but there are fewer than usual for the genre, and if you can make allowances the strengths far outweigh them.