Flash Point

Rating NR Formats DVD Genre foreign Starring Donnie Yen, Louis Koo, Collin Chou Directed by Yip Wai-Shun Publisher Mandarin Films Distribution Co.

Kung-fu movies are usually about the action. Whether or not plot and characters have any importance whatsoever, some good martial arts sequences can bring entertainment value to an otherwise throwaway film. Putting action sequences above all other filmmaking aspects is exactly what the Hong Kong action film Flash Point achieves, leaving the viewer entertained yet wondering what the point of the movie was.

Plot in a nutshell: A gang kills and hurts people close to Sergeant Ma Jun, blandly acted out by Donnie Yen. Ma Jun gets ticked off and takes matters into his own hands by unloading his bag of fancy gunplay and fighting skills. We’ve already seen this “taking matters into one’s hands” scenario one too many times, such as in Lethal Weapon 2 and The Punisher. It’s nothing new.

And the characters? They’re as two-dimensional as a piece of paper. Relationships and human traits barely exist, and as a result it creates characters that don’t differentiate between one another. There isn’t a single character who is really likable, but are just there to move the story along to get to the action. Ma Jun is a cop who uses brute force. His partner is there to be lured into a trap after gang members kidnap his girlfriend, who by chance is placed in the movie for a forced romantic subplot. There’s no humor, chemistry, or reason to care about any of these characters, and they might as well belong in a Chuck Norris film.

The saving grace of the film comes through in the form of some awesome action sequences. The gunplay is just a furious and brutal as a Die Hard film. The martial arts are even better. Donnie Yen wasn’t the greatest actor in this film, but I wouldn’t want to mess with that guy. His fists are FAST. The fighting was precisely choreographed and really fun to watch. I laughed in amused disbelief when a criminal uses a wooden table as a shield and Donnie Yen kicks right through it to nail him in the chest. Fans of martial arts films will want to own this one strictly for these sequences.

The downside is that sometimes the film speed slows down and captures unintentionally comical facial expressions. When Donnie Yen clenches his teeth while putting his fist through somebody’s skull, he appears constipated when in slo-mo. If the image remained at the normal film speed, then Yen wouldn’t look like a fool. Slow-motion is practically an art form that should be mastered before applied in cinema. Director Yip Wai-Shun should’ve taken that into consideration.

On the 2-disc DVD, there are extras galore for the kung-fu film buff. A behind-the-scenes gallery, deleted scenes, an insightful interview with director Yip Wai-Shun, and other goodies are enough to last for hours. Lots of work went into making this film, and the process is an interesting one to follow.

Overall, only the most hardcore martial arts buffs will want to own this action extravaganza. If it wasn’t for the amazing action, this film wouldn’t stand a chance anywhere. To check out Donnie Yen in a kung-fu film with heart, rent Hero instead. It has action just as good as the sequences in Flash Point, but also comes with interesting characters and a clever story. Still, Flash Point is a good time killer if you’re in the mood for pointless, yet super-cool stylized violence.