Not being familiar with Hong Kong action cinema, it's difficult for me to compare or analyze this film to many in its genre. I do enjoy martial arts films on occasion. Unfortunately, I'm not as steeped in that category of films, as much as I would even like. The premise of this film reminded me of Taken (2008), starring Liam Neeson, in which he plays a father whose daughter is kidnapped by a human trafficking ring and the father has to track down his child, fighting and killing anyone who gets in his way. That Neeson film was all about establishing Neeson as an action star with a lot of high-octane stuff in it, but that film leaned also on the mystery, the intrigue and thriller aspects. This film is arguably just an excuse for a series of fight sequences. The narrative is pretty thin, along with the characterizations. The only thing that really matters is the choreography, which is intense, and at one-point, nonstop.
Xie Miao (Fight Against Evil 2 and Ip Man: The Awakening) stars as Wei Wang, a handyman living in some unnamed Asian country. We don't know the country. All we know is that it isn't China. He's a handyman but we see him working as a plumber. He's a single father and his daughter who seems like she's around 10-years-old accompanies him on his jobs. It's likely the summer, so she's out of school. He's widowed, meaning the mother to his child is dead, and both he and his daughter struggle with this. Wei Wang is from China but left, most likely after his wife died. His daughter wants to return because that's where the mother was from, but he doesn't want to return, probably because it's where she died. When his daughter is kidnapped off the street in broad daylight, Wei Wang begins his dogged pursuit to find her.
Joe Taslim (Mortal Kombat and The Raid: Redemption) co-stars as Navin, a journalist working in this unnamed Asian country, trying to uncover the people behind the human trafficking ring. He's even more motivated because his wife is also a journalist who was investigating the trafficking ring but she disappeared. Navin thinks those involved in the ring took her because she got too close, so now Navin is desperate to find her and is willing to go undercover himself to do so. While he's undercover, he runs into Wei Wang who assumes that Navin is part of the traffickers, so it puts Navin and Wei Wang at odds.
Much in a way that's similar to John Wick (2014), the film is about Wei Wang going through pretty much every single person in this human trafficking ring, from the guys on the bottom, the henchmen, all the way up to the guys at the top, the ringleaders. Instead of constant gunfire, this film is all about hand-to-hand combat, so it's all about the choreography and I would say that it doesn't disappoint. It's obvious that Xie Miao is an absolute master. He's extremely skilled and extremely strong. He's simply amazing to watch. Xie Miao started working as a martial artist, as a child, training and working with Jet Li. He's very much akin to Jet Li. I'm not an expert on Jet Li, but I would say that probably the main difference between him and Xie Miao, particularly in this film, is the brutality. Jet Li was very much a Buddhist, which shined through in his films where his fights felt clean for the most part. That's not the case here with Xie Miao where the fights here are very messy, brutal and bloody. Those fights, each one, are really trying to embody the spirit of its title where no punches are pulled, even when it comes to children. Trigger warning, children are killed in this film, that's how intense it is.
What I didn't mention is that Wei Wang is mute, which is never explained in the film. At first, I assumed he was deaf because he only communicates using sign language. A lot of deaf people are also mute and mainly communicate using their hands. Yet, it's evident that Wei Wang can hear. He's not deaf, not at all or even in the slightest. He simply communicates using sign language and is simply choosing not to speak. He could have some issue with his vocal chords or maybe he has some kind of other issue, but the film never takes the time, not even in one throwaway line to explain why Wei Wang is mute. It would've been interesting if the film incorporated his muteness into the action in some significant way or if his ability to speak was somehow a factor in the fights, but it's not. I wonder what the logic was with having him be mute if it doesn't make a difference in the script. Cynically, it makes me think that because this film is being backed by an American company and is mostly in English, that they wanted everyone to mostly speak English. Yet, from what I can tell, Xie Miao doesn't speak English, so having him be mute could be the filmmakers way of circumventing that.
It doesn't make much of a difference because Wei Wang wouldn't need to speak a lot anyway. The majority of this film is him fighting. There are times when Navin tries to talk to him and even tries to get him to come up with a plan of attack, but literally Wei Wang eschews any conversation and rushes headlong into anyplace where the bad guys are. He doesn't wait. He doesn't hesitate. He's not even scared. He simply walks up to the bad guys and starts fighting. It's two hours of almost non-stop fight sequences. However, there are four sequences that standout in particular. The first is the one where Xie Miao proves himself on the level of Tom Cruise in his ability to run and chase after a moving truck. The other is a scene inside a nightclub, which has a MMA cage. That nightclub scene introduces Mr. Song, one of the mid-level bad guys. It also introduces a bit of humor to these fights, which is reminiscent of Jackie Chan but again way more brutal. The third is a warehouse scene, which shines a light on Brian Le who plays "Ho," a low-level bad guy but probably the toughest one. Brian Le is a stunt performer who, along with his real-life brother, has been involved in numerous projects including the Oscar-winning Everything Everywhere All At Once (2022). He's the bald-headed beefcake who wields a sledgehammer. What they do with him ultimately is incredible.
The fourth and final, fight sequence of note is the actual final fight sequence, which takes place inside a police station. It's funny because the sequence comes after another, which itself feels like the climax of the film. Yet, the way that penultimate sequence is staged, it sidelines Wei Wang and Navin in a way that felt weird for a climax. It becomes clear though after that penultimate sequence that the film is gearing up for the real climax and that real climax, which occurs in a police station is incredible, not simply for the choreography and the increasing amounts of blood and gore but also for its length. That final fight sequence probably goes on for a half-hour without any breaks, any pauses or any moments of relief. It truly is nonstop fighting and action that is extended beyond belief. It just keeps going and going, until it gets to a point that the length is the point, pushing everyone involved to their absolute limits and then even further. It is the very definition of enervating but in a good and very impressive way. Shout out to Joey Iwanaga, the handsome businessman who causes the melee, as well as Yayan Ruhian, also from The Raid: Redemption who adds to the craziness of that melee by wielding a bow-and-arrow. Both of whom absolutely kick-butt on screen.
Rated R for strong bloody violence and language.
Running Time: 1 hr. and 53 mins.
In theaters.
