It’s been several years since the announcement of a third chapter in the Sha Po Lang crime saga with S.P.L.: War Needs Lord. At least tentatively though, the closest we have here is Wilson Yip’s 2017 neo-noir action crime thriller, Paradox, billed as more of a tangible side story apart from the two previous installments, S.P.L., and S.P.L. 2: A Time For Consequences.
Going forward, we now have a look at new martial arts thriller, Unleashed, fresh out of the mainland and headed for an April 19 streaming date exclusively on IQIYI.
Christmas will undoubtedly come a bit earlier for Donnie Yen fans looking toward advance screenings this month for Wilson Yip’s Ip Man 4: The Finale. Expect some heavy-handed press by then with some of the film’s own stars touring select territories to promote the film, including the ‘Man’ himself in what he now elucidated will be his final kung fu movie according to his statements to South China Morning Post in the past week as of this article.
As announced by Sun Entertainment Culture Ltd., production is officially underway in Hong Kong for action drama, Unleashed. The film is one of a raft of Hong Kong titles that have been drawing buzz this past week at the American Film Market with Entertainment Power Co. repping the film internationally for buyers.
Casting further continues for the current production of Ip Man 4 this week as actor Chris Collins has joined the cast. Character details are unknown whilst following suit with fellow Wolf Warrior co-star, actor and martial arts star Scott Adkins who signaled his addition to the film once again starring martial arts action star Donnie Yen.
Produced by Raymond Wong from a script by Edmund Wong, the folkloric period martial arts drama sequel inspired by the life and legend of the late Wing Chun Grandmaster now sees him traveling stateside to the U.S. where his Wing Chun protégé, Bruce Lee, has begun challenging the norms of not allowing Westerners to learn martial arts. Kidari Entertainment is distributing the film locally.
Collins is a former U.S. Marine, now based in Hong Kong where he trains and instructs with specialities in martial arts and firearms. The Wolf Warrior co-star can be seen last taking on Tony Jaa in Wilson Yip’s SPL spin-off, Paradox, which is now available in the U.S. courtesy of Well Go USA, as well as the current theatrical release of Nick Cheung’s crime thriller, The Trough.
Ok, so I can finally announce that I am working on Ip Man 4. I am so excited to be working with such a legend as Donnie Yen. I have Always been a huge fan and to finally be able to learn from him in his iconic role is a dream come true for me. An amazing martial artist with a scientific approach to cinematic action and of course a family man. #ipman #ipman4 #donnieyen #hongkong #hk #hkig #martialarts #kungfu #wingchun #wingtsun #hkwta #actionmovie #movies #superstar #legend #china #sifuchriscollinsA post shared by chris collins (@sifuchriscollins) on May 8, 2018 at 1:14am PDT
Hong Kong cop Lee (Louis Koo) goes on a search in Thailand for his missing daughter Chi (Hanna Chan). Thai Chinese police officer Chui Kit (Wu Yue) lets Lee join the investigation, having no idea that Lee is going to use the mass media to hunt for clues. A short clip which accidentally filmed Chi’s capture is uploaded to the police website, but subsequently deleted. Chui Kit and colleague Tak (Tony Jaa) tracks down the clip owner, but the evidence is destroyed before they can stop it. The duo begins tracking down the culprit. As they get closer to the truth, they realize that the case is more complicated than they expected, and the mastermind behind the scene is not someone they can deal with…
Check out the trailer!
Wilson Yip’s latest, Sha Po Lang: Paradox, is on deck for an August 25 release…
Yep. You read that correctly. Apparently the film’s Chinese title as shown on the newest poster now unveils the film’s standing as something of an installment of the Sha Po Lang crime saga. I can’t really explain why but given the sort of nebulous treatment of the narrative and how the characters added and otherwise written as well as the seemingly stark, spiritual aesthetic applied here, I can understand why Bravos would want to go this route.
It sort of works, kind of like an anthology piece or a spin-off piece considering there is actually a third Sha Po Lang film in the works subtitled as Lord Needs War as of 2015. I guess we’ll wait see how this plays out, but the message is definitely clear either way with Yip at the helm and backing a hearty cast that includes Louis Koo and the seeming return of Tony Jaa back in the protagonist cop role under a different character, and actors Wu Yue and Wolf Warrior co-star Chris Collins among the cast and action legend Sammo Hung serving as the foundation for the action.
Hong Kong cop Lee (Louis Koo) goes on a search in Thailand for his missing daughter Chi (Hanna Chan). Thai Chinese police officer Chui Kit (Wu Yue) lets Lee join the investigation, having no idea that Lee is going to use the mass media to hunt for clues.
A short clip which accidentally filmed Chi’s capture is uploaded to the police website, but subsequently deleted. Chui Kit and colleague Tak (Tony Jaa) tracks down the clip owner, but the evidence is destroyed before they can stop it. The duo begins tracking down the culprit. As they get closer to the truth, they realize that the case is more complicated than they expected, and the mastermind behind the scene is not someone they can deal with…
Check out the new poster below and stay tuned for a final trailer as Bravos Pictures readies a round of TV spots and all sorts of promos to keep the hype going. (H/T: Asian Film Strike)
You must be logged in to post a comment.