SPL (2005)
Reviewed by: Beat TG on 2009-02-16
Summary: Good blend of drama and MA action
Having read director Wilson Yip's statement about current HK movies being rich on strong acting and poor on action scenes and vice versa and further commented that he wanted to make a movie to showcase as much strong acting and action combined, I felt the same way. The opportunity didn't take long until he hooked up with "washed-up" MA star and (otherwise) acclaimed action choreographer Donnie Yen (In The Line Of Duty 4, Tiger Cage 2, Once Upon A Time In China 2, Iron Monkey, Blade 2 and Hero) and together created an excellent formula that can be considered original in many aspects.

The results are some of the most explosive MA action scenes of recent times combined of course with great acting, top-notch cinematography, a very catchy music score (that accompanies the more dramatic scenes) and a wonderful cast consisting of Simon Yam, Donnie Yen (his acting performance was quite a surprise), Sammo Hung (the big surprise comes from him though), Liu Kai Chi, Ken Cheung, Austin Wai and unlucky MA performer Wu Jing.

Wilson Yip and Donnie Yen work really well as a team and as proved recently in Ip Man (which I would consider their best collaboration to date), this team just keeps getting better and better. Hopefully, they can continue to reach new and higher levels as much as possible before Donnie's age is catching up.
Reviewer Score: 10