The Hong Kong action flick TWILIGHT OF THE WARRIORS: WALLED IN delivers mostly what one expects… in a good way. Though set in 1980, the parts of city in which the action occurs are ominous, labyrinthine and bleak as the future dystopias found in a BLADE RUNNER or JUDGE DREDD setting. The criminals are running the show while the authorities look elsewhere, having abandoned hope of protecting and serving on their turf. Or surviving any attempt to do so.
Raymond Lam stars as Lok – a nice young man just arriving in the big city, only to be immediately cheated out of his savings by one of the gang bosses – Mr. Big (Sammo Hung! No kiddin’!). He flees from them, innocently charging into the eponymous enclave, run by Mr. Big’s rival, Cyclone (Louis Koo), from which there’s no exit. Like a roach motel in which the lucky ones get to work for the gang. Cyclone takes a liking to Lok and gives him a menial job, from which he slowly rises due to (as must be the case) his superb fighting skills. The rest of the plot is standard stuff – settling scores between the gangs, friendships formed and betrayed, other honchos entering the chaotic picture, all while Lok struggles to maintain the integrity that makes us care what the heck happens to him.
So what’s to recommend? Primarily, the fights and stunt work are frequent, long and excellent. Adrenalin junkies will be quite satisfied. The complex sets within the complex are a character unto themselves, setting the mood and defining much of the action, including some exciting moments of parkour.
The huge novelty is seeing Sammo Hung as a sadistic villain. Martial arts fans know him as the amiable fat guy with deceptive agility, long revered for his good-guy roles in comedic and dramatic chopsocky fare, and his impressive track record as a stunt designer and supervisor dating back to the 1970s, including a bunch of collaborations with Jackie Chan. Besides his work in US films, he headlined a light-hearted TV cop series, “Martial Law”, in the late ‘90s. That all gave me a bit of emotional whiplash from witnessing his assholery in this gig.
Don’t focus too much on the story, which is mostly by-the-numbers until a highly-unlikely twist. This one is to be savored for the action, in which it shines far brighter than the dark, gloomy sets.
TWILIGHT OF THE WARRIORS: WALLED IN, in Cantonese and Mandarin, with subtitles, opens in theaters August 9, 2024.
3 stars out of 4.
