Flash Point

[4.5] A must own for martial arts fans
My expectations were quite high for this one, as I had heard from several people that it is definetly a great martial arts action film. I also see a lot of comparisons to the previously released "SPL aka Kill Zone" and rightfully so, since Flashpoint has both the same director (Wilson Yip) and the same action star (Donnie Yen). Though I find Flashpoint not quite up to par overall with SPL, that's still saying quite a bit, since SPL seems to be the film to beat these days. But what Flashpoint may lack in overall tone, it more than makes up for with breathtakingly superb fight action, Donnie Yen style.

Now when I say Donnie Yen style, it's cool and it's MMA (mixed martial arts). Well, at least he's always trying to act cool (as many reviewers will point out about Yen) and I guess it works, but its never necessary. Yen is so skillfull with his choreogrpahy and skill that that's plenty cool enough for me. Flashpoint is praised for its incredible fight action, but it will...

Possibly DD's best release so far. Great special features, and no old lady interrupting the final fight. I'll explain...
First of all, this release from Dragon Dynasty is perfect. I will go over the special features at the end of the review, but I wanted to first mention that the final fight is uninterrupted. In the mainland Chinese version, there was a part where Collin Chou's mother comes in and tells him and Donnie to stop fighting. It totally ruined the flow of the fight. So I am very happy to see that Dragon Dynasty got the right version.

Now to the movie review. If you liked the action at all in SPL (Killzone in US), then you are in for a real treat. The final fight in Flash Point is easily one of the best fight scenes ever filmed. Probably top 10. It is much better than Donnie Yen vs. Sammo Hung. At one point I thought I was watching a UFC match, except they aren't fighting in a cage and there are no rules. Donnie Yen is on his back kicking upwards and trying to block Collin Chou's punches, and he manages to grab hold of Chou's shirt and gets his legs around his neck. Almost...

Lacks the Raw Intensity of SPL (Shah Po Lang) but this prequel is SOLID as a Martial Arts action film...
FLASHPOINT is the third collaboration between Wilson Yip and Donnie Yen. This is the prequel to the highly successful "SPL: Sha Po Lang" (a.k.a. Killzone, U.S. title). Directed by Wilson Yip with fight choreography directed by Donnie Yen, "FLASHPOINT" looks very promising. How does it compare with one of my favorite action films of 2005, "SPL"?

Synopsis partially derived from the DELTAMAC dvd back cover:
Pre-1997, a hero's story. The timeline is just before Hong Kong was turned back over to China. Police Inspector Jun Ma (Donnie Yen), Serious Crimes Unit. Inspector Ma is fast, precise and brutal - Ma is all-business, his superiors often doesn't agree with his methods. Ma detests crime and his life long nemeses are a Vietnamese gang of three brothers - eldest brother Archer, the bully; second brother Tony (Collin Chou), the cool calculator; youngest brother Tiger (Xing Xu), the fighter. Their skills have seen them grow steadily in the criminal world. In order to...

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