Bullets 'n' Babes

the climax of Flashpoint is awesome

romerojpg wrote:All this talk did spark me to look through some older Asian films, think I will get a lot done.

Check out Part 3. I think it's the best in the series.

Markgway wrote:

romerojpg wrote:All this talk did spark me to look through some older Asian films, think I will get a lot done.

Check out Part 3. I think it's the best in the series.

The Arthur Wong one?

Flashpoint is like The Godfather or Citizen Kane of martial arts action movies compared to the crapfest that is the self masturbatory Legend of the Fist: Return of Chen Zhen. Its the epitome of nice enticing trailer, but awful movie.

Flash Point is a bad movie. Barely on par with a DTV Van Damme or Seagal flick. The film's one saving grace is the finale and even by then, I was tired of the all the MMA moves. I pick Legend of the Fist over Flash Point any day.

Noooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!

DangerousLeeHandsome wrote:Flash Point is a bad movie. Barely on par with a DTV Van Damme or Seagal flick. The film's one saving grace is the finale and even by then, I was tired of the all the MMA moves. I pick Legend of the Fist over Flash Point any day.

Not much different to Sha Po Lang then, I've put that on for friends on three different occasions and it was harder to sit through each time.

Flash Point was good but not great....

... but I absolutely loved SPL, and have watched it multiple times already. Just a nice story and very good pacing. One of the better movies to come out of HK in the last couple of years.

Yi-Long wrote:Flash Point was good but not great....

... but I absolutely loved SPL, and have watched it multiple times already. Just a nice story and very good pacing. One of the better movies to come out of HK in the last couple of years.

been more than a couple of years, but yes, exactly. SPL was like In the Line of Duty 4½. The return of good and fun HK cinema. Sadly, it also seemed to be the end of the return of good HK Cinema. Flash Point was ok, sold it after watching it.

SPL is a masterstroke of Action film making. Totally on par with the classics like Heart of Dragon.

I've not seen either of them tbh, might have to give them a rental.

luckystars wrote:The Arthur Wong one?

Yeah... and Brandy Yuen.

luckystars wrote:SPL is a masterstroke of Action film making. Totally on par with the classics like Heart of Dragon.

Chi Sin! SPL was mediocre at best.

Markgway wrote:

luckystars wrote:The Arthur Wong one?

Yeah... and Brandy Yuen.

luckystars wrote:SPL is a masterstroke of Action film making. Totally on par with the classics like Heart of Dragon.

Chi Sin! SPL was mediocre at best.

You really have no idea...

About 25mins of very good action smothered by one hour of some of the lamest, most obvious and contrived melodrama you'll ever sit through. That's Sha Po Lang.

Shingster wrote:About 25mins of very good action smothered by one hour of some of the lamest, most obvious and contrived melodrama you'll ever sit through. That's Sha Po Lang.

I hear you saying that while Mark obsesses over an uncut Die Hard 4 on Blu-Ray.

No passion or feeling.

Shingster wrote:About 25mins of very good action smothered by one hour of some of the lamest, most obvious and contrived melodrama you'll ever sit through. That's Sha Po Lang.

I can understand your disappointment if you actually tried to take the drama seriously. It's been some years since the last time I watched it, so I might remember something wrong, but going by my memories SPL is just a kick ass actioner with good guys, cool guys, and evil guys. Kinda like Con Air (rewatched most of it on TV, awesome movie). It's true there's more "story parts" than in the 80's HK action films, but it certainly shouldn't be taken much more seriously than those. Some semi-cheesy melodrama fits it well.

You got Simon Yam, Donnie Yen, Sammo Hung, that young guy with a knife. You should go into this kinda movie with the same attitude as The Expendables. That one had some similarly cheesy-cool-semi-serious Mickey Rourke parts in it...

Yes.


And while other similar films (flashpoint etc.) can be considered flimsy or cheesey, SPL gets everything right.

Less DRAMA, more DRAMATIC. It's magnificent

Funny you should say that Hung as the last time I watched it with a group of friends we ended up taking the piss out of it, but either way Sha Po Lang is not meant to be a comedy; it's not meant to be a "big stars out on a mission" romp either, it's a crime drama that happens to have two great action stars in lead roles elevating it above utter awfulness. The Expendables (which is another film I find terminally dull btw) is at least self-knowing, it at least tries to be funny. There are no jokes in Sha Po Lang, just the attitude of the viewer.

Shingster wrote:Funny you should say that Hung as the last time I watched it with a group of friends we ended up taking the piss out of it, but either way Sha Po Lang is not meant to be a comedy; it's not meant to be a "big stars out on a mission" romp either, it's a crime drama that happens to have two great action stars in lead roles elevating it above utter awfulness. The Expendables (which is another film I find terminally dull btw) is at least self-knowing, it at least tries to be funny. There are no jokes in Sha Po Lang, just the attitude of the viewer.

In comparison, what did you think of Dragon Squad, Flashpoint and Fatal Move?

Well I watched the lovely

Iron Monkey - 4 out of 5

Great film, silly in places (to the max at times) and the speed up of the fights really catches my eyes the more I see it (its like they sped some up by over 50%!), still it gets so much right in the cast and action. I never remembered it only being 85 minutes! crikey flies by.

I thunk I am going to have to go though all my "Good" Donnie Yen films now, gladly I dont own the bad ones as I sold them ages ago haha I hope Ballistic Kiss was sold!

Shingster wrote:About 25mins of very good action smothered by one hour of some of the lamest, most obvious and contrived melodrama you'll ever sit through. That's Sha Po Lang.

Thank you.

luckystars wrote:In comparison, what did you think of Dragon Squad, Flashpoint and Fatal Move?

SPL **
Dragon Squad **
Flashpoint **.5
Fatal Move **

luckystars wrote:In comparison, what did you think of Dragon Squad, Flashpoint and Fatal Move?

I've not got round to watching any of them yet.

Markgway wrote:

luckystars wrote:In comparison, what did you think of Dragon Squad, Flashpoint and Fatal Move?

SPL **
Dragon Squad **
Flashpoint **.5
Fatal Move **

The very fact you put SPL in the same league as Dragon Squad and Fatal Move says it all...

SPL in itself might not be a film that is extraordinally good, but in my opinion it should hold a special place with every self-respecting HK martial arts film fan, since it was like the return of good HK martial arts film after a long time of its absence and the domination of cheap comedies and undercover cop films that were trying to rip off the great 'Infernal Affairs'.