Pre Fantastic Fest
Flashpoint Movie Review

Ill be sweet and to the point on this movie. I had pretty high expectations. Ive heard a lot of positive buzz and read a few reviews praising the movie. The trailer looks sweet as hell also. This also is the third collaboration between Donnie Yen and Wilson Yip in the past two years. I haven't seen either Killzone aka spl or Dragon Tiger Gate but have heard semi positive things about both of those. Unfortunately it didn't live up to my expectations. There were a lot of positive things about it but overall its biggest flaw was it was boring. I admired the feel of late 80's early 90's Hong Kong action feel but it somehow felt out of place during a majority of the movie. It did have a gritty action feel but was hampered by some ridiculous out of place looking wire work.
The plot is very simple. There are some Vietnamese gangsters that find out one of their own is an undercover cop and they severely injure him. It is Donnie's partner and they are out to seek revenge on them. Thats basically it! There are some other minor plot points but that's pretty much the bottom line.
As far as the positives, the fighting is pretty awesome. Its somewhat a mix of old school kung fu with some more modern brutal (Ong Bak) type of fighting. Besides the obvious wire work of a few moves it is pretty enjoyable. There is a lot of gunplay but nothing thats eye popping or stand out. Donnie can still kick some serious ass. Its a shame he never received more English speaking roles despite the fact he can speak perfect English.
If you're a fan of Donnie Yen or harken back to the old days of Hong Kong action cinema with a modern twist then I recommend checking it out on dvd when its released in the U.S. Even though I love martial arts I cant rate this any higher than a Bomb Hidden in the Chicken 5.8 out of 10.

Heres cuties Xu Qing



Im a fan of Fan Bing Bing


Heres the trailer