A helicopter shootout, street explosions and a hijacked airplane — these are common elements in Hollywood action flicks, but they are rarely, if ever, attempted by Taiwanese cinema. That is, until now. An action blockbuster released for the Lunar New Year, Black and White Episode 1: The Dawn of Assault (痞子英雄首部曲:全面開戰) by Tsai Yueh-hsun (蔡岳勳) successfully turns up the heat with action sequences the like of which have never been seen in local productions. The fireworks are complemented by a star-studded cast led by Mark Chao (趙又廷) and China’s Huang Bo (黃渤).
There is already talk of a sequel as the current movie is billed as the prequel to Tsai’s popular TV drama Black and White (痞子英雄).
Set in a fictional metropolis named Harbor City, the movie begins with an illegal diamond deal gone wrong as small-time gangster Xu Dafu, played by Huang, finds there is more than one buyer salivating over his smuggled gems. A group of military men intercept the case of diamonds, killing everyone on the spot but Xu. He is rescued by Hero Wu, played by Chao, a young, upright police officer who believes there is no gray area in justice.
Photo courtesy of Universe Entertainment
It does not take long before the two are targeted and chased by rival hit men and militants.
The story unfolds when beautiful scientist Fan Ning (Angelababy, aka Yang Ying, 楊穎) comes along, explaining that the whole hullabaloo is not about the diamonds, but what else the case contains: an anti-matter bomb that could destroy humanity if it falls into the wrong hands.
The villains, in this case, are a militant group from Pawanda, a make-believe country in Southeast Asia, which is planning to set off the bomb in the city.
PhotoS courtesy of Universe Entertainment
Naturally, fingers are crossed that the unlikely duo will save the day.
Mostly shot in Kaohsiung with a hefty budget of NT$350 million, the movie is an ambitious project produced by a skilled crew of filmmakers.
The action choreography was created by French martial artist and actor Cyril Raffaelli, who works closely with Luc Besson, while a professional pyrotechnics studio from Hong Kong supervised the explosion scenes.
PhotoS courtesy of Universe Entertainment
Director Tsai and his team spent NT$30 million to have an aircraft mock-up made in the US. Now based in Kaoshiung, the plane is Taiwan’s first to be built specially for movies.
Needless to say, the resulting movie is packed with adrenaline-pumping action, all undertaken without stuntmen.
Chao is definitely an action star in the making. He jumps from a bridge, spins a car at high speed and drives through explosions.
There is a sparkling on-screen chemistry between Chao and Huang as the righteous cop and the smart-mouthed gangster. The two partners progress through finely choreographed set pieces that make good use of the diverse landscapes that the port city offers. From industrial docks, ultra modern skyscrapers to a bustling urban center, Kaohsiung looks like an amusement park for filmmakers, which will probably please the movie’s sponsor, the city’s government.
Though the action is top-notch, more often than not, the film prizes style over content.
The story and the motives of the characters are not properly outlined, and plot lines appear and disappear without sufficient exposition. As a result, the film gets a bit baffling toward the end as to what groups of characters are involved.
Nevertheless, director Tsai and his team deserve a round of applause for producing a slick Hollywood-style production.
Apart from Black and White Episode 1: The Dawn of Assault, the Lunar New Year season sees a slew of Taiwanese movies hitting the big screen to entertain the holiday crowds. Both Flying Dragon, Dancing Phoenix (龍飛鳳舞) [see Around Town, page 13] and Din Tao: Leader of the Parade (陣頭) focus on local culture in the form of gezai opera and temple fairs, respectively. Meanwhile, Bang Bang Formosa (寶島大爆走) and Perfect Two (新天生一對) by slapstick director Chu Yen-ping (朱延平) target people with a taste for farcical comedy. Finally, romance blossoms in The Soul of Bread (愛的麵包魂), starring rising star Michelle Chen (陳妍希), and Doze Niu’s (鈕承澤) star-studded Love (愛), will be released on Feb. 10.
May 26 to June 1 When the Qing Dynasty first took control over many parts of Taiwan in 1684, it roughly continued the Kingdom of Tungning’s administrative borders (see below), setting up one prefecture and three counties. The actual area of control covered today’s Chiayi, Tainan and Kaohsiung. The administrative center was in Taiwan Prefecture, in today’s Tainan. But as Han settlement expanded and due to rebellions and other international incidents, the administrative units became more complex. By the time Taiwan became a province of the Qing in 1887, there were three prefectures, eleven counties, three subprefectures and one directly-administered prefecture, with
It’s an enormous dome of colorful glass, something between the Sistine Chapel and a Marc Chagall fresco. And yet, it’s just a subway station. Formosa Boulevard is the heart of Kaohsiung’s mass transit system. In metro terms, it’s modest: the only transfer station in a network with just two lines. But it’s a landmark nonetheless: a civic space that serves as much more than a point of transit. On a hot Sunday, the corridors and vast halls are filled with a market selling everything from second-hand clothes to toys and house decorations. It’s just one of the many events the station hosts,
Among Thailand’s Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) villages, a certain rivalry exists between Arunothai, the largest of these villages, and Mae Salong, which is currently the most prosperous. Historically, the rivalry stems from a split in KMT military factions in the early 1960s, which divided command and opium territories after Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石) cut off open support in 1961 due to international pressure (see part two, “The KMT opium lords of the Golden Triangle,” on May 20). But today this rivalry manifests as a different kind of split, with Arunothai leading a pro-China faction and Mae Salong staunchly aligned to Taiwan.
Two moves show Taichung Mayor Lu Shiow-yen (盧秀燕) is gunning for Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) party chair and the 2028 presidential election. Technically, these are not yet “officially” official, but by the rules of Taiwan politics, she is now on the dance floor. Earlier this month Lu confirmed in an interview in Japan’s Nikkei that she was considering running for KMT chair. This is not new news, but according to reports from her camp she previously was still considering the case for and against running. By choosing a respected, international news outlet, she declared it to the world. While the outside world