Revisit the heyday of HK cinema (Neon lights, drab depressing city settings, gang wars and bloody and brutal martial arts) with the new film TWILIGHT OF THE WARRIORS: WALLED IN (Jiu Long cheng zhai · Wei cheng). Based on the Hong Kong comic City of Darkness, the film occurs in and around Kowloon Walled City (an extremely densely populated and largely ungoverned enclave of China within the boundaries of Kowloon City, British Hong Kong). This city as hard as it is to believe existed back in the eighties. Criminal gangs do battle for dominance in the walled-in city. The gang wars, which lay dormant for a time are re-ignited with the arrival of the mysterious Chan Lok-kwun (Raymond Lam). The battle for control of the city reaches a fever point with a take-no-prisoner all-out action affair with spatters of heavy drama.
Firstly, this film is subtitled in English for those who don’t like reading, but for those who do this is a very complex and intriguing story with mixes of martial arts magic. TWILIGHT OF THE WARRIORS: WALLED IN is complex in its storytelling, dealing with the social commentary of the time (poverty and gang violence). It also details the unwavering friendships that take place with these social constraints. Friendships are put to the test when buried secrets are uncovered, this story needs the audience’s complete attention, blink and you may miss a piece of the puzzle.
Louis Koo (Tornado), Raymond Lam (Chan Lok-kwun) and Sammo Hung (Mr. Big) do most of the heavy lifting when it comes to presenting characters the audiences can connect with. The supporting cast is very palpable, especially the big bad guy King, played by Philip Ng. Ng’s performance is not to be missed.
As impressive as the story is the martial arts action sequences, which are mind-blowingly violent and waiver on the impossible. Stunt coordinator Kenji Tanigaki fills the screen with mixed martial arts magic and uses various techniques with minimalistic gun-fu action (until the third act). Fans of HK films will recognize martial arts legend and actor Sammo Hung who puts his killer moves to the test.
The set design is a life-sized replica of the Kowloon Walled City is magnificent, it recreates the look and feel of the original city which is quite an accomplishment. The action throughout is made more impressive by the claustrophobic narrow alleyways. The production crew and set designers deserve high praise for bringing Kowloon Walled City back to life.
TWILIGHT OF THE WARRIORS: WALLED IN isn’t without faults, some of those being long dialogue sections that could be trimmed down. Besides that, this film is a throwback to a time in HK Cinema when films made the audience overflow with excitement. This is a film that needs to be seen and appreciated. It encapsulates all the makings of a great film experience.
Well Go USA Presents: TWILIGHT OF THE WARRIORS: WALLED IN In North American Theaters August 9
