STUNTMAN Review: Old School, New Rules, Lasting Reward
Stuntman opens in UK and Irish cinemas on October 11.
I’ve been able to see nearly twenty of the films involving actor and action choreographer Tung Wai. Nowadays, I and a plethora of Hong Kong movie aficionados familiar with his work can include his latest starring role in Stuntman, an ode to the legacy of dauntless stunt professionals in film and television, including and namely those in the city where chance moments to revive the bygone era of action cinema are otherwise at times fleeting.
It is a struggle accentuated accordingly by Herbert Leung and Albert Leung, stunt professionals themselves who’ve since taken the mantle for their directorial debut. To add, the casting is spruced up with the likes of actor and stunt and action multi-hyphenate Tung for the lead role alongside fellow frontmen Terrence Lau and Philip Ng, both back for another row on the screen since going toe-to-toe in Soi Cheang’s latest blockbuster, Twilight Of The Warriors: Walled In.
Culminating the story of an aged and out of work action director fallen from grace, Stuntman introduces Sam (Tung), whose latest invite to a memorial with his old martial arts brotherhood puts him back in the sights of long time friend and filmmaker Cho (To Yin Gor). Sam learns that Cho is back in the director’s chair for one last film after recovering from a stroke, and that he wants to go out with a bang, with a production that aims sternly to capture the 80s pomp of Hong Kong action. What’s more is that he wants Sam in on the project.
Therein lies the catalyst for the rest of Stuntman as Sam, albeit reluctantly, accepts the action choreographer gig before bringing aboard Long (Lau), a burgeoning stuntman who is faced with choosing between the life of the stunt hustle, and committing to his brother Kit’s (Max Cheung) more stable delivery business. The job also which sets in motion a new challenge for Sam of trying to balance between his return to film life after so many years out of the business, and rectifying his already damaged relationship with daughter Cherry (Cecilia Choi) who is busy planning her upcoming wedding with help from her stepfather, Chow (Wong Sze Yan).
Further surmounting the drama in Stuntman is the oil-and-water lack of synergy between Sam and the crew, including the stunt team and their action star, Wai (Ng), whose shared history with Sam makes him more than knowledgeable of Sam’s troubled past and subsequent reputation as a cruel and abusive to his colleagues. What ensues, frankly, is what can best be described as a return to old habits for Sam when a scheduling mishap sees him and Wai butting heads.
Regressive and unhinged, Sam’s breakneck and regressive workpace starts throwing the production for a loop. It’s an inflection point that brings into focus the kind of pure, poetic turmoil foreseen from the moment Long walks onto the set that day wearing an “I ♡ STUNTS” t-shirt. The film does allow for moments of respite as both Sam and Long get to enjoy some camaraderie with the rest of the crew. Nonetheless, with Sam’s inability to keep his predispositions in check, it is not long before disaster strikes, creating a PR nightmare for the producers, and negatively affecting his chances at reconciling with Cherry.
Stuntman gets its handy share of flashbacks which don’t feel at all stifling to the rest of the story. These scenes begin right at the top following an intro that fans of the genre would acknowledge as a deliberate in similarity to one beloved Hong Kong film classic, shown constructed with a touch of 80s to its presentation that sticks the landing almost about as much as Ricky Ko did in his own topping with 2021’s Time. More importantly, they fill in the essential moments that fully paint the picture of the impasse that brought Sam and Cherry to where they are in the current timeline, crafting a procession of development for Sam in his beleagured quest for introspection and hopeful redemption.
One aspect worth pointing out on the latter regards least one of several plot devices used in Stuntman which Sam tries to utilize in hopes of reconnecting Cherry. It’s indicative of a protagonist who still grow despite being so instinctively adherent to his old ways, and it sets up near-perfectly another phase in the second half that is equally heartbreaking.
Tung brings a performance that is seasoned with nuance and intrigue that is both compelling and fascinating for a Hong Kong film fan who’s only lens into the machinations of these kinds of productions has almost always been a behind-the-scenes featurette or commentary on a DVD. I’m pretty sure there are plenty of stories Tung himself and others like him can tell if he hasn’t already, and so it’s fun discerning his performance from what’s been documented. The same goes for Ng who brings veracity to the role of Wai, particularly as an actor also faceted in stunts and action and whose career still shares space with concurrent and otherwise active mainstays of Hong Kong cinema still staying the course.
Lau’s performance is met with just as much gumption as a drama steward who meets the stunt aspect of his role halfway, performing seemingly as much of his own stuff as he can to exhilirating and convincing effect. His character aligns near perfectly with that of Tung’s in their shared affinity for film and stunts, but with an asterisk that iterates a crucial and engrossing message positive to Hong Kong audiences and fans abroad.
Stuntman marks a reverent effort by the Leungs, with an action drama that speaks ardently to anyone who has enjoyed watching the Yuen Clan or any one of the Seven Little Fortunes in their career progressions on the big screen, or the mentees carrying their legacy in some form or another. It’s also a neat, poignant little co-sign to a great year for Hong Kong cinema following the contextual ceremony gracing Twilight Of The Warriors: Walled In which is now Hong Kong’s contender for next year’s Academy Awards. While Hong Kong cinema will never be what it once was, Stuntman is a humble reminder that the torch being passed to filmmakers today still bears a bright flame.
Native New Yorker. Been writing for a long time now, and I enjoy what I do. Be nice to me!
