SPL (2005)
Reviewed by: Anticlimacus on 2007-11-12
Summary: Awesome!
This fantastic action/drama focuses on character development for the first hour or so, then showcases a spectacular showdown between Donnie Yen and Wu Jing amidst the neon lights of a Hong Kong alleyway, as well as a good final fight between Donnie and Sammo Hung.

The martial arts choreography is simply amazing, and the filmmakers did a fine job of building emotion into the fights, which are brutally violent. The sheer intensity and explosiveness of the action in this film far surpasses most other films in the genre.

It's truly interesting how Donnie Yen has transformed himself from an overrated hack into (arguably) the most impressive action star in Hong Kong over the past few years. Seriously, his pre-2005 resume is pretty awful (with the exception of Iron Monkey). I assume that Wilson Yip is a big reason for this, and I'm truly glad that Donnie has finally hit his "prime" - albeit in his 40s.

Reviewer Score: 10