Two Hong Kong films with A-list casts are slated to hit the big screen this weekend, aiming for audiences who will enjoy 90-minutes of entertainment filled with action and suspense. Sha Po Lang (殺破狼) by up-and-coming director Wilson Yip (葉偉信) is an action-packed crime drama starring kung-fu masters Donnie Yen (甄子丹) and Sammo Hung (洪金寶), while Shu Qi (舒淇) and Lin Jia-xin (林嘉欣) try out maternal roles and face the terror of losing their babies in the horror flick Home Sweet Home (怪物).
Steering away from the conventional good guy vs. bad guy format, Sha Po Lang employs a realistic approach, adding more human dimensions to the characters. Chan (played by Simon Yam (任達華)) is a senior detective leading a crime investigation police unit. He believes in putting criminals behind bars even when jailing the bad guys requires unlawful actions. On the other hand, as Chan approaches retirement, his replacement, Ma (played by Yen), is an uncompromising martial arts expert who insists on bringing down bad guys with hard evidence.
However, Ma's integrity stems from a feeling of guilt after he beat a suspect to death a few years previously.
The two work together trying to capture the underworld leader Po (played by Hung), a cold-blooded murderer but a model husband and father at home. A piece of video evidence emerges, suggesting Po murdered an undercover agent and the police move in.
To convict the underworld boss, Chan deliberately covers up evidence that proves Po's innocence and he forces the real killer to commit suicide.
Po, anxious to join his family for Father's Day, bribes high ranking officers and secures his release. Chan and Ma go to Po's home for a showdown and the ensuing bloodbath ends in a surprise denouement.
China-born martial arts actor Yen took up the role of action choreographer for the film and combined elements of various martial art forms such as judo, boxing and wrestling to create combat rich in content and forms. Without props and visual effects, all the action scenes are done with masterful martial arts moves.
An action film is likely to fall flat without the backing of a well-developed plot. This is where director Yip comes in. According to Yip, Sha, Po and Lang represent three malignant stars in ancient Chinese astrology, destruction, conflict and greed. The meeting of the three doesn't necessarily bring out evil, it can also lead to virtue. Under this premise, Yip successfully brings out the elements of drama and character development in a Hong Kong action genre often known for its one-dimensional characters and simple plots.
Home Sweet Home revolves around two female figures: a wife with a middle-class upbringing and a hysterical woman who goes mad and becomes a monster that haunts the middle-class family.
The 35-year-old May (played by Shu Qi), is a housewife whose husband and six-year-old son mean the world to her.
One day their son goes missing without a trace. May follows her maternal instincts to solve the mystery and tries to get her son back, but the clues and evidence lead her to a dark secret hidden behind the placid facade of the residential community -- a monster (played by Lin) dwells in the same community and kidnapped May's son.
Lin's performance and the abhorrent appearance of the monster contribute significantly to the suspense and thrill of the film. Lin's monstrous image was done by make-up artist Mark Garbarino, who has proved his masterful skills in TV series Six Feet Under and Hollywood movies including AI Artificial Intelligence and Mission Impossible 2. The latest Golden-Horse best leading actress Shu Qi also makes a smooth transit from her usual on-screen persona as a sexy young women to a down-to-earth mother confronting the fear of losing her son and the breakdown of her family.
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