Since this film had been on my radar for a while, I tried real hard to avoid the trailers and anything that could be conceived as a spoiler. But from some brief glimpses of early scenes, Walled In seemed very much a serious crime drama with the usual story beats almost every other Hong Kong crime drama had served us in the past. Fortunately, Walled In is a little different.
The film contains action which is a combo of hard-hitting realistic hand-to-hand combat intertwined with wireworks and fantastical techniques. Mind you, it took me a while to realize that this whole film is based on a comic book. Once you are aware, a lot of things will make sense. The way people behave and the way they fight. Some characters even have powers. Like Philip Ng, who plays King. He resembles a random villain straight out of a manga. Of course, some events should be taken seriously. There is a lot of brutality and darkness in the film. But once you get into the story, you will also find out how light the story actually is. At first, it may appear that the film is a little convoluted and heavy-handed. But, I guess, they tried to confront you with the realities of life in Kowloon. It's hard to imagine, that people really lived like this. Once you are familiar, it's time to tell the tale about a crime boss wanting revenge for the death of his wife and son. The father of the son was already killed, but apparently this is not enough. The son, who doesn't even know who his father was, has to suffer. It's exactly the kind of writing you expect from a comic book. In real life, this just doesn't make sense.
Besides, this story is the motor that propels Cyclone's underlings to come into action against Chau, King and Mr. Big played by Sammo Hung. And yes, he still can kick ass. He is 72 but shows no signs of slowing down. Just brilliant. I must admit that I had some doubts with Louis Koo having a prominent role in a martial arts flick. I mean, I am sure he is well versed in choreography, but he is no martial artist. They solved this problem by having his stunt double do most of the work. I think a couple of others also might not be real martial artists. But I read they had intense training and certainly look liked they were proficient. All thanks to action director Kenji Tanigaki who pushed them hard.
Overall, I was pleasantly surprised by how much I liked Walled In. So certainly one I can recommend, especially if you need your action fix!
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