Hong Kong martial arts has come a long way since its formative years, the days of the Shaw brothers, Yuen Biao and Cheng Pei-pei. As they evolved, Chinese action came to embrace the fullness of cinema. The stories were still combat-driven, but became dense with more sophisticated plot lines. As martial arts films became more popular in the United States, we not only imported some of Asia’s best talents (Yuen Woo-ping comes to mind), but Hong Kong filmmakers began taking some western film sensibilities back home.
A mafia drama is nothing new to cinema, but with the backdrop of East Asia, a western aesthetic, Wu Xia sensibilities, and some of China’s greatest martial arts actors, Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In offers not only captivating mystery, but an addictive and distinct style of violence.
Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In is in theaters now.
REVIEW – An Action-Packed, but Inconsistent, Story with Heart
Taking place in densely populated fortress-like city of Kowloon during the late 80s and early 90s, Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In is essentially the story of two men: Chan Lok-kwun (Raymond Lam), a refugee searching for the promise of a home, and Cyclone (Louis Koo), a mobster who promised his father that he’d give him a hone before he was murdered by a rival crime lord, Chau (Richie Jen).
Where many films fall into cliche by focusing on the protagonist’s journey for revenge, Twilight of the Warriors breaks the mold by flipping the script. Lok-kwun’s role is a defensive one, and he’s constantly faced with vengeful forces that not only want to take his life, but to steal the remaining hope he wrestles with that he can find freedom in the Walled City.
In a sense, Twilight of the Warriors is a film in two parts, which means it has two different approaches, two three-act structures and two very different climaxes. The first one is gritty and hard hitting. We see the underworld of Kowloon and some of its criminal activity. Chan Lok-kwun’s journey begins with a bag of stolen cocaine, which he steals from crime lord Mr. Big (Sammo Hung) Thinking it is cash, he escapes into the Walled City, a crime riddled fortress-like city in the heart of British Hong Kong, run by the benevolent kingpin they call “Cyclone.”
This is where things get interesting, and where Twilight of the Warriors proves that there is honor among thieves. While Cyclone is technically a gangster, he rules with a particular code of ethics, enforced by his patrolman Shin (Terrance Lau Chun-Him), part-timer “Twelfth Master,” and resident medic “AV,” who all act as guardians of the more oppressed residents of the Walled City from rival gangs and government officials. Cyclone pays off Chan Lok-kwun’s debt to Mr. Big for the stolen drugs, which puts Chan in Cyclone’s debt. And, as a worse for wear, down-on-his-luck undocumented immigrant, orphan, this gives Chan a chance to earn his keep and (for the most part) stay out of trouble in the gang infested areas he resides in.
This half of the movie is where the heart and soul reside. We follow a man striving to earn enough to leave the city, morph into a man who wants nothing more than to call the city his home. In the process of finding stability, Kowloon’s charm rubs off on us viewers as much as it does on Chan. Surrounded by kind-hearted criminals, vigilant shop owners and loyal children and proteges, the film’s heartfelt writing provides some food for thought with its unorthodox, but sincere, portrayal of community self-policing, and questions the traditional definitions of family.
When a woman in the community is abused and killed by her boyfriend, Chan and the rest of Cyclone’s enforcers grab some masks and take justice into their own hands. And, as gritty as the scenes can be, elements like this are where the film delicately straddles the line of fantasy and realism to a satisfying degree. Early on, the film hints at its Wu Xia elements in small doses: single punches send fighters flying, certain hand techniques provide invincibility, and everyone has stamina for ages. But, combined with insane choreography, group fight scenes and intense chases, there’s a perfect balance where all of it makes sense in this world.
Twilight of the Warriors groups a very talented bulk of Hong Kong actors and action stars, including Louis Koo, Sammo Hung, Richie Jen, Raymond Lam, Terrance Lau Chun-Him, Philip Ng, Tony Tsz-Tung Wu and German Cheung. Lam carries the weight of Chan Lok-kwun with a soulful and disarming performance. Sammo Hung as Mr. Big is an ambitious rival crime boss, but I felt his character could’ve been expanded even more.
I love seeing action stars and/or previously comedic actors step into dramatic roles, because they tend to bring a certain nuance to their portrayals that is perhaps discovered more clearly on the opposite spectrum of acting; for example, Dave Bautista’s dramatic turns. For screen legend Sammo Hung, his stints as evil overlords have been incredibly satiating, including his role as Wong Po in Sha Po Lang (SPL: Killzone in the United States). Terrance Lau Chun-Him does a solid job as Shin, the lovable and loyal protege to Louis Koo’s Cyclone, and the rest of the cast form around these players good and snug.
While the credits include a who’s who of Chinese talent, what also stands out is who isn’t there. The film has a particularly glaring lack of female characters. Besides one of the shopkeepers and her adopted daughter, who appear in only a handful of scenes with barely any dialogue, there are no women characters of consequence in the movie.
One of Twilight of the Warriors’ biggest strengths is its creative portrayal of found-family dynamics amongst the chaos of crime and decay. Cyclone is the adoptive father of Chan, Shin and the rest of the gangsters, creating a brotherhood that’s equally as deadly as it is endearing. Plus, it asks how you would deal with two conflicting vows as a man of honor? Cyclone promised allegiance to Chau (the only crime boss above both Mr. Big and Cyclone), but is also sheltering the son of his sworn enemy—who was Cyclone’s friend before his untimely death.
Cinematically, Twilight of the Warriors is a gorgeous film: beautifully color graded, deftly shot, and well choreographed. I wish it would’ve lingered and delved into more of the ‘civilian’ life and shown us how Cyclone and Mr. Big’s operations affect the residents of Kowloon City, but it was glossed over for the most part in favor of Chan Lok-kwun’s story. The action is signature Hong Kong/Wu Xia style: hard hitting, high-flying and aptly gory.
Kenji Kawai brings an animated and lively score to complement the scenes and, one thing I especially love for the genre, his score doesn’t shy away from being too heavy-handed during the drama. Subtlety isn’t the goal as much as feeling, and Kawai adds to every instance his music appears.
The thing about Twilight of the Warriors is that it is based off a manhua/novel, and the second half of the film absolutely embodies that. The final arc reunites Chan with Shin, Twelfth Master, and AV, three months after a daring evacuation attempt for Chan. Even though the team is partially crippled and banished from Kowloon, they reunite to defeat King (Philip Ng), Mr. Big’s power hungry right-hand man, who overthrows him for control over the city, and avenge Cyclone. The film takes all of its comic book influences and runs with it, with the final battle involving spirit powers, super-human acrobatics, and even some form of Avatar-esque air-bending.
The tone for this storyline is a touch cartoonish compared to the first half of the film, and part of me wishes it would have stayed more consistent. That being said, it does what it does extremely well, and the action is without question a visual feast. As the scenarios and damage to the characters gets more and more incredible, the tension reaches its peak.
Twlight of the Warriors is primarily about a community taking care of its own, from the inside out. There is a legacy that Cyclone leaves behind as a beloved figure in the community, and it is a mantle he passes on to Shin as his sworn successor, with Chan, AV and Twelfth Master as his own guardians of Kowloon. For all its theatricality, at its core, the film shows us that love comes in many forms—not just romantic—that can touch people in the ways you least expect, even after you’re gone.
Pros
- Very well paced. The film lingers and leaves us to think and feel during its more pivotal scenes before jumping into the inevitable action
- Perfectly executed adaptation of a manhua story onto the big screen and extremely faithful to the source material, even with the time constraints
Cons
- With noticeable cues from American action films, there are too many jump cuts in the action, which tends to break up the flow that Hong Kong-style choreography traditionally has
- I wish the story would have expounded on the effect each crime lord had on the inhabitants of Kowloon, elaborating on was the difference between King’s rule versus Cyclone’s.
RATING – 3.5/5 Pocky
Elijah Isaiah Johnson is a writer/illustrator/animator. His most recently published works include the Amazon best-seller Nightmare Detective, Noir is the New Black, the Comixology Indie best-selling series Leaders of the Free World, The Formula and much more.
