Donny Yen can kick my ass. He can probably kick the asses of 90% of the world's population. With this in mind, you might be more than a little cynical to find that I really enjoyed Flash Point. I mean, after all, can anything positive that is said about a man who can kick almost anyone's ass really be taken at face value? Might I be saying good things about Flash Point simply so Donny Yen won't track me down and pummel me through the floor of my office and smash my face in with my computer monitor? There is that possibility, I won't deny it. However, Donny Yen hates cynicism, and so it would be beneficial to your health to join me and agree that Flash Point is really dang good. More reviews should start off with threats, I think Donny Yen would agree.
Donny Yen is his own biggest fan, and rightly so. The dude is ripped and moves like lightening, and at 44-years old he is more fit than most men half his age; he just keeps getting faster and more powerful. If this trend continues, I can't wait to see him fight God - Slammin' at the Gates of Heaven, 2047. If there was ever a showpiece for Yen's mixed martial arts skills, Flash Point is it. As a kind-of-kind-of-not sequel/prequel to S.P.L. (or Killzone if you live in R1 territory - Donny really needs to take care of the jackass who picked this atrocious title - and by “take care of” I mean punch in the throat), Flash Point follows the same kind of set up, but goes for a more balls-out action approach. While S.P.L may have disappointed those expecting a non-stop action fest (it is a surprisingly effective drama, punctuated with action), Flash Point may slightly disappoint those looking for a deeper narrative (and be prepared to have Donny waste your face for being less than thrilled).
Sorry Donny, but the first half of the film is not so great, I mean, only when compared to the totally amazing, awesome, jaw-droppingly badass second half. You know, anything compared to a diamond is sure to appear flawed. The problem is that the film tries to be more complex and aloof than the story calls for. It tries to be a mini-Infernal Affairs, but lacks that film's wonderful characterizations (although Donny Yen could totally own Andy Lau and Tony Leung in the ring). Infernal Affairs this is not, and why it tries to be is a bit puzzling. With S.P.L., the same filmmaking team proved that they could craft a highly effective, character-driven drama, but with Flash Point they missed the mark. But what's worse is that the narrative is far too convoluted for its own good, and the absurd amounts of HK-gangland cliche rubs thin, fast.
However, once the fists and knees start flying, the “flash point” if you will, the film brings the goods with an almost non-stop slamdance of bone-crushing, flesh-pummeling action which culminates in one of the greatest final showdowns I've ever seen. Actually, each of the fight scenes in this film feel dangerous and powerful. There are no throwaway conflicts here, but each subsequent bout of flying fists, wicked kicks, back-breaking reversals, and knees to the head escalates the dramatic-drive and tension. Donny Yen actually has to fight for his life in this film because the thugs he faces are almost as dangerous as he is. The final fight between Donny and Collin Chou is something straight out of an action fan's most wonderful dream. It actually reminds me of the part in It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World when Jonathan Winters tears apart the gas station. Yen and Chou totally beat the living tar out of one another, expertly, and painfully, using the environment to get the upper hand. This is a true, three-dimensional fight, one in which the use of setting greatly enhances the final product.
Wilson Yip, the film's director, has fostered a style that depicts things in a hyper-realistic fashion. I wouldn't call his visual flair unique, or particularly interesting, but it is definitely exciting and effective. I don't know how much of the film was actually directed by Yip, and I would bet Donny took control a lot of the time. I don't say this to disparage Yip, I think he is a fine director, but instead I say this to point out that Yip and Yen are actually a team. These two filmmakers have something incredibly fortunate going on right now. Where at one time I thought that Johnny To was the only one who could keep Hong Kong genre films alive and vital, I am now ready to add the Yip-Yen team, I mean the Yen-Yip team (sorry Donny) to this embarrassingly short roster of important contemporary Hong Kong filmmakers. It's nice to be excited about an HK flick again, and I don't think it is any wonder that I said the same thing last year after viewing S.P.L. Flash Point rocks, and rocks hard. Just make sure to stick through the less than stellar first half because the pay off is more than worthy of your time and money.
