On the eve of the handover of Hong Kong to Mainland China in 1997, a detective named Ma Jun (martial arts superstar Donnie Yen) does what it takes to get crime off the streets. He's berated by his superiors for the intense brutality he utilizes in bringing suspects and perpetrators in, and loudly complains that, instead of chastising him, the time spent on internal investigations could be better spent allowing him to do his job as he sees fit.
 |
Right now, Ma Jun is working a case trying to bring down a trio of larcenous Vietnamese brothers, Archer (Lui Leung-Wai), Tiger (Xing Yu, who appeared in Stephen Chow's riotous Kung Fu Hustle) and ringleader Tony (Collin Chou, who played Seraph in the Matrix sequels). To aid in this aim, the police department has planted a mole in the gang's midst...Ma Jun's partner, Wilson (Louis Koo). Wilson has just gotten wind of a lucrative robbery scheme, and surreptitiously phones Ma Jun with the information, which brings him under suspicion by the three brothers. This insider info leads to the apprehension and arrest of Archer (at the time driving his elderly, Alzheimer's-afflicted mother, played by Ha Ping, home from her 80th birthday party), but Archer's brothers quickly sniff out the rat in their midst, which sends Wilson bailing from their in-motion van in an attempt to escape. Alas, he's not quick enough, and the two brothers quickly turn the van around and strike him a head-on blow that sends him rolling and tumbling to the bottom of an incline, where his unconscious body is found by some passing bicyclists.
 Three months pass, and Wilson finally comes hobbling out of his hospital bed, supported by a pair of crutches and his girlfriend Julie (Fan Bing Bing). He still has a lot of physical therapy to undergo before being 100% again (if ever), and a guilt-ridden Ma Jun arranges a party with friends and co-workers to cheer Wilson up...but it seems that the past won't rest. Bad boy Archer has spent the past 90 days in prison awaiting trial for his crimes, and his brothers have their own plans to wipe out each and every witness critical to the case in order to allow Archer to walk out of jail a free man. A sneak attack at Wilson's get-well party leaves Wilson and Ja Mun's boss, Inspector Wong (Kent Cheng), dead and Julie hospitalized with a broken leg. Both Ma Jun and Wilson are naturally enraged by this turn of events, and aching for some payback.
When an assassination attempt at the hospital is foiled, Julie suddenly goes missing, and a frantic Wilson receives a phone call with the usual "Do so-and-so and she doesn't get hurt!" threats being barked from the other end of the line. Wilson is forced to recant his testimony against Archer and sets off to get Julie back, knowing full well he's likely going to his death. Archer is freed from prison...but doesn't even get to the end of the block before Ma Jun cold-cocks him right on the corner and savagely beats him to get the necessary information on where to locate Wilson and Julie, setting up the film's final third, where a hail of bullets and a flurry of punches, kicks and body blows will determine who's left standing.
 As one could ascertain from the above plot description, Flash Point is pretty basic cops 'n robbers stuff, told with a brisk efficiency (only running a scant 87 minutes) and a bare minimum of characterization and narrative diversions. But, honestly...who attends this kind of film for the freakin' plot?
Yes, a smattering of additional scenes could have fleshed out the film's characters (when a young, female police officer is inadvertently gunned down in an elevator during the hospital assassination attempt, her loss hardly registers, because she was barely introduced beforehand, and her death isn't mentioned after), but sometimes it's nice to have a familiar genre exercise presented with a minimum of extraneous stuff gumming up the works (remember how top-heavy and bloated and overladen with unnecessary side characters the last two Lethal Weapon sequels became?).
 What really distinguishes Flash Point isn't the routine plot machinations, but the film's showcasing of M.M.A., or Mixed Martial Arts, a particularly brutal form of hand-to-hand combat wherein the two opponents mix and match various styles in order to keep their foe constantly off-guard. Following some nice, John Woo-style bullet squibbage as Ma Jun is hunted through a field of tall grass by the Vietnamese brothers, there follows an extended physical showdown between Jun and Tony wherein every punch, kick, cracking limb and body blow makes the viewer cringe in empathy. There's no elegant, Yuen Woo-Ping wirework here, no clean fighting, just two fierce, determined combatants whaling the tar out of each other, and it's a great, vengeful showdown that puts a perfect capper on the film.
Presentation
Like previous releases from the Dragon Dynasty label, Flash Point's technical presentation is superb. An artifact-free, anamorphic widescreen transfer is immaculate, and the Cantonese 5.1 audio (also available in DTS, adding more oooomph to every gunshot and cracking limb) rocks. There's also the obligatory English dub for that old-school Godzilla effect. Turn it up, man!
Extras
Disc one offers an excellent audio commentary with Hong Kong cinema expert Bey Logan and star Donnie Yen. As always, Logan is a tremendously knowledgeable and erudite host, filling the track with a true fanatic's encyclopedic viewpoint of Hong Kong action films (one can get a great sense of similar Asian action flicks movies to rent based on his recommendations). Yen (in slightly shaky English) offers his viewpoints on M.M.A., growing older in the fiercely competitive action movie field, and working with his fellow actors. This is an informative track that's a great listen.
Disc two starts off under the submenu Behind The Scenes Gallery with the featurettes Collateral Damage: The Making Of Flash Point (18:11), Flash Point Explored (28:29) and Perpetual Motion (3:03). These offer the usual talking-head interviews (in subtitled Cantonese) with the film's cast and director discussing capturing the feel of M.M.A. on the big screen, the decision to use as little wirework as possible, and other subjects, intercut with the obligatory set footage. They're making-ofs...better than some, not as good as others. You'll likely watch these once and forget them for the most part.
 The submenu Deleted Scenes (3:03 total) offers up a trio of very brief scene snippets, including "Three Men And A Little Lady", "Nowhere To Run" and "Dissention In The Ranks". At least the poor, murdered police girl gets a proper eulogy.
The Ultimate Fighters menu has Gladiators (3:05, repeated set footage scored to the same crappy, repetitive rock beat that's tracked incessantly through every featurette on this disc) and M.M.A. On Display (7:05), with a cutie-pie host named Kea Wong visiting a gym and asking one of the wrestlers to help demonstrate some common M.M.A. fight moves.
Lastly, Promotional Gallery features On Deadly Ground: An Exclusive Interview With Leading Man And Action Director Donnie Yen (31:30), a terrific sit-down with the action veteran discussing (in English) his 20+ year career, the many injuries incurred on-set by him and others (he always requested fresh stand-ins to replace the injured parties so as not to slow filming), introducing M.M.A. to the filmgoing populace, and other topics. If you only watch one featurette on the disc, make it this one. Also here is a clip from the film's Gala Premiere (2:41), as well as the film's teaser (1:16) and theatrical trailer (2:44), as well as three TV Spots (0:18, 0:18, 0:33)
Bottom Line
Does Flash Point distinguish itself, plot-wise, from countless other police thrillers? Hell no. Is it a buttload of martial arts fun? Hell yes.
 |
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
| Flash Point |
|
|
|
|
| 3.5 |
|
|
|
| Feature - Brisk, unpretentious, slickly-presented... everything you want in a good beat-'em-up. |
|
|
|
| 4.5 |
|
|
|
| Video - Excellent fine detail and color saturation. |
|
|
|
| 4.5 |
|
|
|
| Audio
- The grunts, groans, and cracking bones all sound great, especially in DTS. |
|
|
|
| 4 |
|
|
|
| Extras - Terrific commentary and solid featurettes, although more deleted footage would have been nice. |
|
|
|
