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‘Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In’ Review: Blazing Action Delights Get Marred by Languid Soap Opera
In the Cannes midnight selection 'Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In,' Hong Kong director Soi Cheang unites with Sammo Hung for a soap opera action film.
When he ends up double crossed by remorseless triad leader Mr. Big (legendary actor-director Sammo Hung), the desperate outsider steals a satchel of the head honcho’s cocaine and makes a run for the Walled City, which Cheang and cinematographer Cheng Siu-keung capture as a darkened citadel, hostile to anyone who approaches. Lok-kwun may be safe from Mr. Big’s cronies, who know better than to step into enemy territory, but he soon has to deal with the city’s own martial law, courtesy of the enigmatic crime boss Cyclone (an aged-up Louis Koo), an effortlessly cool barbershop owner, introduced to us as he kicks, flips and catches his cigarette all in one smooth motion. And while sweeping political change looms on the horizons — the film features news broadcasts aplenty hinting at the city’s fate under impending British mandates — this state of transition becomes far more factual than emotional, given the degree to which Lok-kwun and his pals have to deal with the winding, generational plot, instead of the world that’s right in front of them.
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