TIFF Report: Flashpoint

Donnie Yen may very well have the toughest job in Hong Kong right now. His work in Flashpoint is unlike anything that I have ever seen. Yen is on a hot streak and he continues to raise the bar instead of lapping in the luxury of our lauding. Well, no, I’m sure he appreciates our praise but he is not content to stand idly by and push out another SPL or DTG. The question may be, can the bar be raised any higher? Or, does it be? Can anyone else in Hong Kong jump high enough to even reach the bar?

If there a flaw to be found in Yip’s movie it is the character of Louis Koo. Kam-Yuen Szeto and Nicholl Tang’s screenplay is flawed in the sense that everything that serves as a motivation for Donnie Yen comes from what happens to Louis Koo. So much of the screenplay centers around Koo, and to not have him resolve his own issues seems like a misstep in script. Their screenplay essentially has a personality disorder. This is how it plays out, our lead character is split into two personalities and everything that happens to one is redeemed and revenged by the other, as if the latter simply cannot rescue himself and settle matters. When you perceive that a film can survive without one of its characters and not lose its motivation that has to say something.

That being said Flashpoint is still an awesome movie with action sequences that are going to make your jaw drop and make you scream for joy. Incorporating MMA into the choreography was a stroke of genius because it is such a visceral and aggressive style of fighting. It is perfect to reflect the personality of Yen’s character, Yun. And Todd pointed to this in his review; damn, does it help when you’ve got someone across from you who knows what he/she is doing. Collin Chou is a revelation in Flashpoint as Jing Wu was a revelation in SPL. Having someone to spar with who knows what they are doing and is someone that you can trust allows for much higher levels of action. Chou has been horribly underused since his role in the Matrix trilogy. And whatever you may have heard about the film being end-heavy with action, never fear, there is enough along to way to whet your appetite for the finale between Yen and Chou.

Props for action and direction. Question marks about screenplay. Regardless, Flashpoint is another incredible addition to the action canon in Hong Kong.