Donnie Yen’s slickly produced, lightly plotted 2007 actioner hearkens back to the 1980s-’90s glory days of Hong Kong cinema. In fact, it’s even set in the ‘90s, allowing the team to bask in the already nostalgic no-holds-barred excess of pre-handover HK film. While the plot is so flimsy as to be inconsequential, the fight scenes as staged by action director Yen deliver a heady dose of kinetic thrills.
Buy Flash PointYen is a rogue cop who takes extreme measures to nab baddies, frequently running into trouble with the brass due to his unorthodox methods. He’s in charge of a task force trailing a trio of drug-smuggling brothers who need to be shut down before Hong Kong is returned to Chinese rule. We’re dropped into the action with little backstory, and none of it makes much sense anyway, just know that Yen is a badass good guy and fists are going to fly.
While Yen is the top-billed star, he’s ably assisted by Louis Koo as the real lynchpin of the film. Koo’s character is a cop deep undercover with the drug lords, risking his life at every turn to bring intel back to his team and shield his family from involvement. Koo isn’t much of an action star, hired more for his pretty-boy looks and hair than stunt work, but he brings piercing intensity to his high-stakes role, largely delivering retribution with guns rather than punches.
This is prime Yen, with the star in peak physical condition and happy to remind us about it at every turn. His stunts are designed to show off his remarkable physicality, and his poor sparring partners are fully game to be mowed down with flourish. There’s no wire work here, it’s all achingly realistic one-on-one mixed martial arts battles. He’s also not afraid to lean into cheesiness, playing one scene shirtless for no discernible reason other than fan service. With the film at almost 20 years old, it’s a testament to his ongoing conditioning and the excellent production values that it looks like it could have been made this year. It won’t win any story awards, but fans with a yen for prime HK action will be fully satisfied.
The Blu-ray is a fine showcase for the high production values of the film, enhancing its thrilling photography and bone-crunching DTS-HD Master Audio sound. The disc also includes a healthy selection of bonus features, including a making of featurette, deleted scenes, a shooting diary, footage from the gala premiere, and trailers. In a nod to Jackie Chan films, the end credits also include a selection of action bloopers. The principal audio track is the original Cantonese, but an English dub is also included.
