I've read alot about the movie being conventional and cliched. That's true, and Benny Chan didn't stray away from using some classic movies, the most obvious being THE DARK KNIGHT and HEAT, as inspiration for parts of the whole story arc. Several familiar themes such as remorse, honor/courage, vengeance, sacrifice, morality etc show up here as well. It's an all too familiar trait feast when it comes to other similar movies released in recent years. Is this really an issue though? Let's be real here... The action genre (all movie genres in general applies to this too) have been dried out since the late 1990s. The last two decades has been nothing but conventions and cliches in movies. Yet these movies succeeded and carried on till this day for one simple yet significant reason: Execution. How all aspects of movie-making is done. Originality (as in showing entirely new stuff on the spot) alone today is so rare, and if there will be filmmakers to achieve that, kudos. Until then, it's all about distinguishing in a good way. This movie is a good example of this. It could very well have been another over-melodramatic and bombastic action movie one would expect from Benny Chan seen in some of his earlier efforts, such as NEW POLICE STORY and INVISIBLE TARGET. But the end result doesn't reflect any of that but it's something else. It's like Chan discussed with Donnie and came up with a new approach of direction, addressed all criticism he's been getting from viewers (me being one, always thought his filmography was hit-and-miss) throughout his career, and just went all-in with pouring effort to the best of his storytelling abilities. Hats off to Chan (RIP) for creating his absolute best movie ever.

I've also read that the movie is too long to set off the action set-pieces, having too much filler in between. I totally disagree with that notion. I'm aware that most people were expecting an all-out wall-to-wall action movie, and perhaps set expectations just too high on this one. But for me, a story like this requires time to develop all the drama, tension between the cops and the criminals, the action scenes, and the conclusion of everything. Thanks to Chan's direction, the story is engrossing, emotional, intense, reckless, and doesn't hold back from showing the gruesome nature of human beings. Every major character has logic, and every action has consequences, and it makes for pure enjoyment of every minute of the story thanks to the overall acting as well. Donnie playing a cop but a totally different one this time. I would say more compassionate and reasonable in comparison to his usual cop roles (impulsive, tough-as-nails, and invincible). In contrast, there's Nicholas Tse pulling off a very grim, and vindictive villain with his own reasons for going rogue against the police force. This movie destroys the image of Tse's usual acting caliber by portraying his character as a mysterious, dangerous foe opposite Donnie's and comes off really unpredictable. Like seeing Batman confront Joker in THE DARK KNIGHT. It's a role he's not done before and his overall performance will probably not be surpassed anytime sooner.

Now onto the action scenes. The movie contains the most brutal fight scenes performed and staged by Donnie in years, arguably since FLASH POINT. And it also has something I crave for in action movies nowadays: Variety. Empty-handed fights, weapon-wielded fights, firearms, vehicle stunts, humane stunts, explosions, building destruction; All meticulously yet painfully executed. There's CGI for objects and background involved (as seen in the making-of videos) so one might get turned off as a result. However I can assure you that it's minimal as Chan, Donnie and his stunt team's main goal was to aim for realism and practicality for the action choreography. All of it is great stuff by Donnie and company. Donnie truly is one action director that understands action in correlation to how the plot of a movie sets everything up. How to create and bring an approach of action choreography and make it fit so good based on particular stories. Whether it be comedy-based (ENTER THE FAT DRAGON), fantasy-based (THE MONKEY KING), or reality-based (Donnie's contemporary action movies). In Donnie's classic 80s/90s moderns, it was all fanciness while injecting real-life fighting techniques. In his 2000s and 2010s output, it was more brawly/gritty/ground-fighting mixed with flashiness. This time around, Donnie takes it further by making the fighting scenes very brutal adding viscerality through military combat/law enforcement-based details, and featuring less of his trademark groundwork and the classical rapid-paced exchanges compared to what he's been doing before. The outcome: It's fresh and interesting. This is yet another movie with action scenes that succeeds as far as expectations and legacy goes.

Donnie is as marvelous and boundary-pushing as always, and it seems like he hasn't slowed down one bit despite his current age. He was 58 years old at the time the movie was released... That fact alone should tell you how determined and passionate he is with action movie-making and that his attitude toward action performing to the max is a rarity today as well as unreal and incredible. That said, I also have to hand it to Nicholas Tse. The guy is usually not regarded as an exceptional action performer, at least not in the same level as the action veterans. And having worked with Donnie before on DRAGON TIGER GATE (where his action performance was showy, flashy, and cool visually), one might get the same vibes off that movie when imagining what he offers here. But like I said, his overall acting performance makes his action scenes truly stand out. Tse has never looked this good before, and I doubt he's going to top his action performance anytime soon with future roles. And hats off to everyone else involved in the action scenes (including Donnie's former onscreen rival Ben Lam from LEGEND OF THE WOLF)!

Donnie's continuous strive to add new fighting styles, different approaches of action choreographing and co-coordinating, fitting particular action styles in particular stories... It's the art of Hong Kong action film-making, and still being done! And his dedication and overall efforts shows here, yet again. The quantity of fight scenes doesn't bother me because the movie already has alot of action scenes, and in many forms. I usually don't comment much about gunfights and car chases in recent HK movies these days, especially now when most of that stuff has CGI for almost everything onscreen (FIRESTORM comes to mind). But since this movie has those, it's worth mentioning them. It's well staged, shot, executed, and you can see and imagine what's going on. And I REALLY hate to say this but the CGI actually looks good here. I think Donnie is underrated when it comes to gunfights but he's no stranger to them, having staged gunfights previously in movies such as MOONLIGHT EXPRESS and BALLISTIC KISS (his own homage to John Woo movies). The mall shout-out is pure beauty, and the best gunfight scene in Donnie's action director filmography to date. It's a great mix of slickness and intense gun action.

My final thought: This is Donnie's best cop movie since SPL: KILL ZONE, and his best overall contemporary movie since CHASING THE DRAGON or probably BIG BROTHER. Donnie was interviewed by Tatler Asia shortly before the movie was released in August of 2021 across East and SE Asia. He went in length declaring the state of Hong Kong action cinema, here's some quotes from his interview:

"The Hong Kong style of action filmmaking has impacted the world for the last four decades... From Bruce Lee to Jackie Chan, Jet Li, and myself. But now the Hong Kong film industry says 'Oh, this is old school. We can't do this anymore because young people don't watch these films'. I disagree with that totally. Hong Kong filmmakers have taken the action genre for granted -- They don't see the gem, the beauty behind our style. They are following American blockbusters instead of looking at what we've done best for the longest time."

"That's just leaves me. I think I'm the only person that dedicates 100% to the art of Hong Kong action filmmaking."

"I want to use my influence to discover some new talents -- Hopefully, they can carry the torch and pass this unique form of filmmaking."

"I still have the raging fire inside me to be a filmmaker, to be an innovative filmmaker. I want people to think 'Donnie Yen's movies are still up to par and influential to filmmakers around the world'. I want to continue to do this for as long as I can."

Donnie at 58 years (at the time in 2021) of age, and still willing to push the limits of action movies... Salute!