TWILIGHT OF THE WARRIORS: WALLED IN Review: Soi Cheang Thrills With A Markedly Epic, Brutal Adaptation
Twilight Of The Warriors: Walled-In opens in the UK and Ireland on May 24 from Trinity CineAsia.
12 min. read
Filmmaker Soi Cheang is riding high after nabbing a trio of Bests at the 42nd edition of the Hong Kong Film Awards for his 2023 crime flick, Mad Fate. His 2009 contract killer feature, Accident, is also subject to a Korean remake pending its release this month starring Gang Dong-won. These are just a few of the recent milestones he’s reached in time for his latest thriller, Twilight Of The Warriors: Walled In.
Cheang has more than earned his share of ceremony, having directed and produced some of the biggest hits of the last twenty years, including an ample handful in the action arena. He reteams with actor Louis Koo who starred in Accident, and with whom he also collaborated on director Wilson Yip’s S.P.L. franchise entry, Paradox. Remarkably, that film also introduced Koo in one of his most fight scene-heavy roles to date, joined by none other than inveterate action legend and choreographer, Sammo Hung.
Factor this in when you see the two reunite on camera, this time under the stewardship of action director Kenji Tanigaki (Enter The Fat Dragon, upcoming The Furious), and action star favorite Philip Ng (Once Upon A Time In Shanghai, upcoming Without Remorse). It gives you a solid idea about the framework of this team, one that conveys a film being made by people at the top of their game. On this end, a substantial amount of credit there goes to Andy Szeto and “Yu-Yi,” the creative duo whose “City Of Darkness” drew major comic success after 2010. Thus, with a writing team that also lists Johnnie To collaborator and Cheang’s Limbo scribe, Au Kin-yee, a new adaptation in Twilight Of The Warriors: Walled-In, now gets its current rollout in Hong Kong and China, as well as in Cannes and other select commercial territories to start.
Twilight Of The Warriors: Walled In takes off with an epic scope into 1980s Hong Kong, a city bursting at the seams with economic promise. It was also one of uncertainty, at the time given its place in the geopolitical atmosphere, particularly as a waystation for refugees who found sanction and survival within the Kowloon Walled City. Densely populated, ungoverned and prone to a myriad of crime and violence, the Walled City is also home to a turbulent history shared between Hong Kong’s rivaling and allied triad leaders – a history that attrributes the territory’s ownership to crime boss, Cyclone (Louis Koo).
A brief flashback ensues during the film’s intro to highlight just a little of what that history entails before moving the story forward. From then on, the film dives into the neon-lit millieu of Hong Kong nightlife – its underworld ruled by the tyrannical Mr. Big (Sammo Hung) who manages a nightclub fight pit where clubgoers place their bets.
His latest catch is Chan Lok-kwun, a.k.a. “Lok” (Raymond Lam), a refugee desperate for cash to get an I.D. card. His fighting skills catch Mr. Big’s eye after winning a match, and Lok is soon offered a place in Mr. Big’s gang, only to turn it down as he’s less interested in triad life. Instead, Mr. Big volunteers to use Lok’s winnings to help him score the I.D. he wants, only Lok doesn’t fully see Mr. Big’s duplicitous intentions until it’s too late.
A few weeks pass and Lok returns to Mr. Big’s lair, only to realize he’s been scammed by Mr. Big and his right hand man, King (Philip Ng) as an act of reprisal for turning Mr. Big down. In retaliation, Lok dashes out of Mr. Big’s warehouse with a costly stash, ensuing a harrowing footchase that finds Lok unknowinly wandering into the notorious Walled City, and crossing blows with the City’s most brutal criminals, as well as the skilled stewards within Cyclone’s ranks, and to even his surprise, Cyclone himself.
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A new impasse is created here, one that Cyclone ends up mediating in an effort to avoid an unnecessary scrimmage with Mr. Big and his men. Notwithstanding Cyclone’s leniency, however, Lok now finds himself indebted to his newfound community, having already established something of a reputation. From then on, the day-to-day rigors commence for Lok as he comes to learn about, and acclimate to the equilibrium of life within the Walled City.
It’s a package deal that comes with caveats full of grays, including matters of justice and retribution – mainly when Lok’s latest move is an act of vigilante payback against a murdering junkie. Lok also manages to attain a small circle of friends in Cyclone’s lithe, blade-wielding second-in-command, Shin (Terrence Lau), as well as, resident pugilist and Boss Tiger’s (Kenny Wong) best fighter, Twelfth Master (Tony Wu), and the sinewy, facially-disfigured neighboring physician and porn dealer, AV (German Cheung).
Just as Lok seems to have finally gotten a grasp at life in the labyrinthine City and having a place he can call “home,” it’s less than an hour before the movie takes an ominous turn. This aspect of the story goes to the aforementioned history among the triad leaders, underscoring a deadly battle several decades earlier.
Cyclone’s victory at the time laid the groundwork for his authority over the Walled City and its security (he’s also a community-friendly barber who you’d imagine would prefer being one given his world-weary state). It also foundates his shared blood-brotherhood with fellow boss Chau (Richie Jen), who serves among the City’s four seniors as its biggest landlord. Just as news breaks of the Sino-British Joint Declaration, Cyclone’s bond with Chau is sooner tested when a long-awaited act of vengeance threatens to seal Cyclone’s fate, as well as unwittingly give rise to a new menace in the Walled City.
Relatively fast-paced in its delivery, the result is an equally explosive confrontation that wallops the Walled City. The story bookends with a months-long underdog spell, preambling a climax of redemption and retribution as Lok and his friends gallantly charge in to save the inhabitants of the Walled City once and for all.
Cheang’s attention to detail is a welcome invite for viewers who want to be immersed in 1980s Hong Kong through a cinematic lens. It’s an albeit fictitious setting which otherwise still taps in to the relative and cogent perspective by Yu-Yi who took inspiration for his novels from the very City he used to pass by growing up. Combined with the tumultuous socio and geo-political backdrop, and a fitting score by Kenji Kawai (Seven Swords, the Ip Man franchise), Cheang’s ability to craft the kind of murky, downtrodden millieu he was able to erect in the exemplary Limbo lends feasibly to the kind of atmospheric impact Twilight Of The Warriors: Walled In provides.
The movie is also careful to not rest on the City’s more idealistic fervor. The structure itself was a nightmare, and the film rightly adheres to that ambience, albeit without diminishing the human element of its diasporic citizenry. It’s a key element of the film’s foremost setup, personified through Cyclone as its peacekeeping authority, ever mindful to newcomers like Lok that the reason he’s able to sleep at night isn’t the City, but the people in it.
It’s a fact that most certainly goes for Cyclone, a man who maintains a rapport with his neighbors. His unassuming figure is also his greatest strength as someone who can not only take a punch, but dish one out. It’s a caveat that comes handy when needed, even as he stands to suffer determinedly from the limits of his own waning health.
The larger aspects of Cyclone’s place in this underworld also stand with the heavy burden he’s carried for thirty years, and in that time, knowing a possible truth could come back to haunt him. The movie builds up to this milestone epically, establishing a requisite rapport and even closer chemistry he shares at times with Chau, and even fellow underworld hitman, Jim Chan, played in a guest capacity by Aaron Kwok who also worked with Cheang on his The Monkey King trilogy.
Standing at the forefront of the upheaval is actor Raymond Lam in one of his bigger roles to date, following select credits on titles like Detective vs. Sleuths, and Jet Li starrers Badges Of Fury and The Sorcerer and the White Snake. Effectively, Twilight Of The Warriors: Walled In reteams Lam on screen with Koo following their appearances in Wong Jing’s back-to-back New Kung Fu Cult Master revivals, as well as Koo’s fourth ICAC crime chapter, P Storm.
From a Western perspective, Lam’s role here all but solidifies his rise in star power. Most folks in my time zone won’t know who he is, and so his performance here will gel nicely in a character that manages to hold his own for a production of this scale. Lam and Koo tend to make a palatable pair in Cheang’s tale, presenting a measured father/son-like kinship that has its exceptions and conditions. The same can be evenly implied with Koo and Lau who also shared the screen in Longman Leung’s Louise Wong-led biopic, Anita.
This dichotomy is laid thick for anyone attentive to how the bosses treat their underlings, including prominent character actor Wong and headliner Wu as Boss Tiger and Twelfth Master. The analysis extends even greater to Mr. Big and his wily and otherwise puissant lieutenant, King, a gangster whose fighting skills render him remarkably impermeable, and stronger than most opponents. Those toutes nos félicitations go to actor Ng, who fleshes out the most fun and energy in crafting a memorable villain with a menacing screen presence that brings near-insurmountable odds to our heroes, along with a cheeky nod to late Cantopop legend, Leslie Cheung.
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The action and stunts serve up a variety of goods ranging from fisticuffs and weapons scuffles, to high speed pursuits and soaring spectacle to couple with the more dynamic moments. The editing here isn’t much different either from what Cheang has done on his past work – namely Kill Zone 2(or S.P.L.: A Time For Consequences), which should give you an idea on what to expect. There’s a worthwhile amount of gore to make note of as well – stabbings, and severed fingers and such – warranting a fair mention for action fans looking for the red stuff. Koo gets to throw some hands in as well, including in a penultimate scene with Hung, in addition to Jen capitalizing off of his own screenfighting prowess to serve the narrative.
The most outstanding facets about the action here are, in fact, Koo and Hung. If you told me ten years ago, even after Johnnie To’s Throw Down, that Koo would be sought after as a leading man for a martial arts action movie, my face would have turned into a question mark. That said, Yip’s Paradox summarily disproved any naysaying to the matter, lending Koo an extra layer of depth unexpectant by most fans – something to which you can also credit Hung. Alas, even with the obligatory use of doubles, Tanigaki’s action direction packages a well-orchestrated show of mighty fighting action for fans to take away from in Cheang’s manhua-inspired tale.
More pertinent to the story is the unwavering message that alludes to a few core plot items. Cheang’s use of a kite to depict, among other things, the imminent seachange that’s bound to occur for the City, sticks with you firmly throughout the movie. Reflectively, the parallel diegesis here further iterates the conflict among the characters, serving preamble to the development and evolution of the characters as the stakes are raised and the climax approaches.
Obviously, films like this will hit differently for anyone engaged, fandom aside. The nostalgia goes heavy at times which breathes some excitement, as do the backstories and high drama that unfold. Peculiarly, there’s at least one character in the shadows who’s named and otherwise uncredited by the film’s end, and there’s no post-credits scene to hint further at who played him. I have my suspicions, though, and hopes that one day this could bolster a continuation of some kind.
To all else on the matter of Cheang’s newest action adventure in the comic book arena, Twilight Of The Warriors: Walled In will guarantee you nothing short of a movie packed with riveting storytelling, heroes to root for, villains to jeer at, action sequences to enduldge to your heart’s content. To add, it also gives us a Lifetime Achievement laureate to celebrate in the process, and for all intents and purposes, a movie that will hopefully brim Hong Kong’s future as a potent market for the kind of grand action cinema and fanfare it once was, or something close to it.
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Native New Yorker. Been writing for a long time now, and I enjoy what I do. Be nice to me!
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