Killzone

Starring: Simon Yam, Donnie Yen, Sammo Hung, Jackie Wu

Synopsis:

Chun (Simon Yam) is a senior detective nearing the end of his career and possibly his life. Kwun (Donnie Yen) is the Inspector due to take over from him. Chun takes it upon himself to look after the daughter of a witness that has been murdered by the orders of crime boss Po (Sammo Hung). It gives him new perspective and new drive to take down Po and his empire but might be the last thing he ever does.

Killzone (SPL) suffers from style over substance. I really thought as the film opened that we were going to be treated to something with the same depth as Infernal Affairs, but with Martial Arts. Whilst the action is top notch and the film beautfully captured, the lack of character development is frustrating. What the movie does do is get away from the Infernal Affairs clones that have come out of HK cinema in the last few years and inject some serious martial arts action scenes to divert from the endless conversations and introspection. Simon Yam gets some quality screen time and is the main focus of the movie. I enjoy watching Donnie Yen but he doesn't enjoy the same amount of character development as Yam. That said it is clear what is going through his character's head as Yen is professional enough to know he has a handicap in the movie and emotes through his expressions when possible to show what the dialogue is not good enough to convey.

The cinematography is beautiful. Hong Kong filmmakers love their city and make every effort to show the skyline and it appears a number of times in Killzone. Locations have been chosen strategically to add to the overall look of the movie and this choice helps keep the movie interesting and atmospheric.

A standout scene in the film involves the events that follow a conversation between Detectives Chung and Kwun as a youth smashes a bottle on the ground in defiance of an ordinary street cop. Chung intervenes. A great scene but puncutated by another problem I had with the movie. The scene just fades out, as if the writers couldn't adequately complete the events that unfold because it was too difficult. A couple of scenes suffer from this odd stylistic choice or approach.

Other standout scenes involve the knife wielding assassin, played by Jackie Wu. He looks as if he's straight out of a manga book but his fight scenes work very well.

The fight scenes are well choreographed, espcecially the showdown between Po and Kwun. It reminded me a little of the comic book fight between the Kingpin and Daredevil in that you wouldn't expect the bigger man to have much of a chance against the fitter looking fighter and the distinct difference in fighting styles.

The ending might surprise and does not deliver an easy get-out for the main characters. Impressive.

Verdict

So, despite a focus on the negative, I enjoyed Killzone and recommend it to fans of the genre. There is much to enjoy and I hope I have captured why in my review.

7 out of 10 (Wayfarer)

NB: Cine Asia are presenting Killzone with the same amount of extras found on the US Dragon Dynasty disc, which are as follows:There are a host of special features on this double disc release;

Dolby Digital Cantonese and English 5.1 Audio Tracks# English Subtitles# Audio Commentary by Hong Kong Cinema Expert Bey Logan# Promotional Gallery# Kill Zone: The Making-of Documentary

# Behind The Scenes – Anatomy of a Scene• AlleycatsOption to view with Bey Logan commentary• Challenge of the MastersOption to view with Bey Logan commentary# Interview Gallery:• Born to Be Bad: An Exclusive Featurette with Incomparable Martial Arts Legend Sammo Hung

I must highlight the 40 minute Donnie Yen interview. He goes into detail on how he approaches and choreographs fight scenes and the direction of current action movies. His opinion on fast edited action scenes by Hollywood Directors is interesting.The featurette on Sammo Hung gives a rare insight into how he prepares for roles, including his role in Killzone and reflections on his lack of work recently!