" Kowloon Walled City: The Siege ", at first glance I thought it was a bad movie, and I was afraid to avoid it.
First, it is due to the decline of Hong Kong films in recent years, old themes, and the arrangement and combination of old-school male stars, resulting in aesthetic fatigue.
The second one is about the theme of "Kowloon Walled City". I have made many works before, such as Wang Jing's "O Ji Triad Files", " Chasing the Dragon ", etc.
Jackie Chan's " Crime Squad " was allowed to shoot inside the walled city before it was demolished.
The "Pig Cage Walled City" in Stephen Chow's "Kung Fu" was inspired by the "Kowloon Walled City".
Without investigation, there is no right to speak. After watching the movie, I found that "The Siege of Kowloon Walled City" far exceeded expectations.
's reputation was overwhelming during the screening period, and it may become the biggest dark horse in the May Day program.
01, 300 million investment, 8 years of hard work
started this project as early as 2016, and it was around 2019 that Zheng Baorui was able to take over.
The film is adapted from the novel "Kowloon Walled City" written by Yu Er and the comic book of the same name created by Situ Jianqiao.
For Cheng Po-sui, how to restore the Kowloon Walled City in the 1980s while also taking into account the action scenes was a great test. As Galaxy Image,
is the prospective successor of Johnnie To of , , which has been in the limelight in recent years.
not only produced two works with obvious stylization, "Wisdom Teeth" and "Homicide", but also won the Academy Award for Best Director not long ago.
Coupled with the blessings of Zhuang Cheng, the producer of "Infernal Affairs", and Wilson Ye, the director of "Slaying the Wolf", " Fuse ", " Ip Man ", it can be said to be a strong alliance. The
film was launched on November 30, 2021. It was originally planned to be shot in the Mainland, but due to the special period, it was finally chosen to be shot in Hong Kong.
invested 300 million in the entire film, and the money was spent wisely. will reproduce the Kowloon Walled City on the big screen in all its details.
Master of art design, Mak Kwok-keung, gave the film a strong visual impact. After watching it, Louis Koo repeatedly lamented that it was incredible and amazed him.
First of all, they referred to a lot of information and pictures and tried to restore them as much as possible, such as streets covered with wires, grocery stores, barber shops, old ancestral halls, etc. These details of daily life are all presented.
then paid attention to the details and collected a large number of old furniture, old door panels and wall tiles to ensure the dilapidated feel of the walled city.
The crew even produces some props themselves, such as refrigerators, soda boxes, soda bottles, wine bottles, etc.
In order to be more consistent with Hong Kong in the 1980s, the director also arranged tasks for the underworld, such as letting a tornado open a barber shop.
will also bring neighbors together to watch TV series and watch Lu Haipeng's performance, which is a bit like "Thieves of Time".
's attentive crew instantly evoked every bit of the audience's feelings for the Walled City. Not surprisingly, it has been booked in advance for next year's Academy Award for Best Art Director.
02. A fight that balances realism and comics
The spectacular Kowloon Walled City has been set up, and the key highlight is the action scenes.
In order to strike a balance between novels and comics, Zheng Baorui invited Tanigaki Kenji to serve as action director.
Kenji Tanigaki, a member of the Zhen Family Class, is the only Japanese action director in the Hong Kong Action Stuntmen Guild.
was influenced by Yasuaki Kurata and came to Hong Kong to develop in the 1990s. He has participated in Jet Li's " Fist of Heroes ", Tsui Hark's "Once Upon a Time 5", "With the Current and Against the Current" and other works.
After the new century, he worked closely with Donnie Yen, and "Slaying the Wolf" and "The Fuse" combined free fighting, mma, close combat, and ground fighting, which are still talked about by action movie fans to this day.
In " Kowloon Walled City ", the actions designed by Tanigaki Kenji, have both the realism of fists and flesh, and the exaggerated and passionate flying of walls and walls in comics.
He brought together many different forms of martial arts, engaging in street fighting in a narrow and cramped city, performing chase scenes on rooftops, as well as weapon duels and speeding stunts.
In the film, you can find the shadow of many movies. Needless to say, the above "Slaying the Wolf" and "The Fuse" can be said to be of the same origin.
There is also the bus battle in "Police Story"; one of Tornado's men looks very much like the waiter at the knife shop in "New Dragon Inn".
and finally the four sons of Chengzhai fight against the crazy Wang Jiu. They are incomplete, which is obviously a tribute to Zhang Che's "Incomplete" .
The film is 126 minutes long and claims to be a 100-minute play. It can be said that it is played from beginning to end, which is dizzying and adrenaline surges. One of the most representative actions of
is that after Louis Koo beat Raymond Lam, he clamped the cigarette he had flicked out before. It is not only beautiful and stylish, but also has a strong comic style.
Even Big Brother Sammo Hung also praised: "Wu Zhi did a great job and worked very hard."
03. The most insane villain "Wang Jiu"
Every actor in the movie is outstanding. As soon as "Big Boss" Sammo Hung appeared, Full of momentum, I dreamed back to Wang Bao in "Slaying the Wolf".
Raymond Lam's short hair, Ren Xianqi's white hair style, and Huang Debin's one eye all left a deep impression on people.
Louis Koo's tornado is the biggest tear point. He values love and justice and protects the safety of the people in the walled city.
He and A Zhan, played by Aaron Kwok, cherish each other, but their positions are different and they are destined to fight. It seems that they have returned to the moment of "Judo Dragon and Tiger List".
For the sake of friends, he kept his promise and sent Chen Luojun out even if he offended his brother Qiu.
But when it comes to the most eye-catching, it is undoubtedly the crazy villain Wang Jiu played by Wu Yunlong.
's arrogance, ruthlessness, and ambition to be on top are all hidden in his laughter.
has practiced invulnerable hard Qigong, and his force is top-notch. Tornado and Big Boss were defeated by him, and even the four sons of the city were no match for him when they joined forces.
According to the past habits of Hong Kong movies, if you want to break the hard Qigong, do you need to use the "pink egg" trick? (Unfortunately, this link was not designed)
Wu Yunlong has practiced martial arts with his father since he was a child. Later, he learned Wing Chun from Master Huang Chunliang (Yip Man's apprentice), and also learned Taekwondo, Judo, Hong Quan, etc.
previously became famous for his role as "Dragon into Tiger" in "Heroes of the Walled City". His real kung fu with punches to the flesh is impressive.
collaborated with An Zhijie in " vs. ". The two staged a battle between a dragon and a tiger, which was extremely exciting.
The "Wang Jiu" played by Wu Yunlong this time is enough to leave a name in film history.
is just like the Jet Binny in Jackie Chan movies "Fast Truck" and "Fighter"; and the robot Fujita Tsuyoshi in "Fist of Heroes".
04, The glory of Hong Kong action is back
Action movies are the most distinctive type of Hong Kong movies. Kung Fu superstars such as Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan, Jet Li, and Donnie Yen have brought Chinese Kung Fu to the world.
But as they age, Hong Kong action movies also wither, and there are fewer and fewer actors who can fight.
The 1980s and 1990s were the golden age, which gave birth to countless classics, such as the "Prodigal Son", "Fist of Heroes", "Drunken Master 2", "Once Upon a Time" series, etc.
After the new century, there are not many works available. The well-known ones are "Slaying the Wolf", "The Fuse", the "Ip Man" series and " Fury·Serious Case".
Hong Kong action movies are on the decline, but are being overtaken by films from other regions, such as Gareth Evans' " raid ", South Korea's Ma Dong-seok's "Crime City" series, Keanu Reeves' The "John Wick" series, etc.
The appearance of "The Siege of Kowloon Walled City" makes people say: the glory of Hong Kong action movies is back. Paul Cheng, Louis Koo, Sammo Hung, etc., they have regained the lost face of Hong Kong action movies.
There is reason to believe that "Kowloon Walled City" is just the beginning. Later, Cheng Baorui and Wilson Yip will start filming "The Wolf 3". Donnie Yen also has several works such as "Misjudgement", "The Fuse 2" and "Ip Man 5".
The most anticipated thing is Jiang Zhiqiang, who is preparing to launch the movie "Fury" and make it a world-class martial arts movie.
It is reported that the director will invite Tanigaki Kenji as the director. The cast includes: China's Xie Miao, Indonesia's Joe Taslim & Yayan Ruyan, and Thailand's Jiejia Yaning.
Jiang Zhiqiang has high expectations for this movie. Even if it fails, it still has to be on the level of "The Raid" and "The Rescue".
At the same time, he also hopes that through this movie, he will discover a new generation of Yuen Woo-Ping, Sammo Hung and Donnie Yen . I have to say that Boss Jiang's pattern is very big.
Let's talk about "Kowloon Walled City". Although the movie focuses on action and is a masculine drama, there is also romance between men in it, which continues the unique brotherhood of Hong Kong movies. It is worth watching. (Written by: Eleven)
