Flash Point

Plot

An agent battles against three brothers of a powerful Vietnamese gang.

Release Year: 2007

Rating: 6.8/10 (4,581 voted)

Critic's Score: 38/100

Director:
Wilson Yip

Stars: Donnie Yen, Louis Koo, Ray Lui

Storyline
Ma Jun, a cop known for dispensing justice during arrests, teams with Hua Sheng, who's undercover, to try to bring down three merciless Vietnamese brothers running a smuggling ring in the months before the mainland's takeover of Hong Kong. The eldest, Xian Wei Cha (called Zah), is arrested in an operation that exposes Sheng and almost gets him killed. His girlfriend, Qiu Di, who's been unaware of Sheng's profession, wants to see him quit. Jun pursues the gang tirelessly, sometimes ignoring police protocols. Zah's trial approaches, witnesses are in danger, and a showdown is inevitable.

Writers: Kam-Yuen Szeto, Lik-Kei Tang

Cast:

Donnie Yen
–

Det. Sgt. Ma Jun

Louis Koo
–

Wilson

Collin Chou
–

Tony

Ray Lui
–

Archer Sin

(as Lui Leung Wai)

Bingbing Fan
–

Julie

(as Fan Bing Bing)

Kent Cheng
–

Inspector Wong

Yu Xing
–

Tiger

(as Xing Yu)

Qing Xu
–

Madam Lau

(as Xu Qing)

Ben Lam
–

Sam

Lan Law
–

Madam Ma

(as Law Lan)

Ping Ha
–

Tony's Mum

(as Ha Ping)

Irene Wang
–

Cindy

Austin Wai
–

Four Eyes

Wai Ai
–

Hero

(as Al Wai)

Chi Wai Wong
–

Baldy

(as Wong Chi Wai)

Taglines:
They made it personal… He'll make them pay.

Details

Official Website:
Official site |

Release Date: 2 August 2007

Box Office Details

Budget: $8,000,000

(estimated)

Opening Weekend: $3,271
(USA)
(16 March 2008)
(10 Screens)

Gross: $3,271
(USA)
(16 March 2008)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

88 min

Did You Know?

Trivia:

In the parking garage scene, it took Yu Xing 39 takes in order to complete the simple shot of him leaping over the gate when attacking the man in the car. Donnie Yen attributed Yu's difficulty to nerves, as this was his first movie with Yen and the scene was his first to be shot in the film. An outtake of Yu crashing through the gate and breaking it is included in the movie's final credits.

Goofs:

Anachronisms:
Even though the movie takes place around 1997 there is a BMW X3 a visible and the X3 wasn't available before around 2004.

User Review

Modern kung fu done right

Rating: 9/10


If you're like me, after watching roughly 3 billion similarly themed
period piece kung fu and wuxia movies, you're relieved when a
contemporary kung fu flick comes along. This seems to be Donnie Yen's
bread and butter. Sure, he was excellent in Hero opposite Jet Li and
even Circus Kids was entertaining, but his performances in those films
just don't match up to SPL or this film, Flash Point. He seems made for
modern kung fu.

I'll leave plot explanation to others as it's a pretty standard
cop-on-the-edge film that seems to have been done to death by Hong Kong
over the past 15 years or so. What sets this apart is Yen's phenomenal
and somewhat unique brand of kung fu and, for the first time (to my
knowledge) his surprisingly good jiu jitsu. The flashy kicks and
punches are standard Yen affair, but it's a bit of a shock to watch him
pull off a slick arm bar, arm triangle, or leg triangle.

Yen's performance is only strengthened by a very talented supporting
cast. There's no push-over fights here…it's like everyone is really
fighting for their lives. That alone should be enough to get you past a
fairly overdone plot (it's not bad, but if you've seen it once you've
seen it 1,000 times). It's definitely worth the 85 minutes of your time
if you're even remotely a fan of the genre.