SPL: Sha Po Lang (2005) Mini Film Review

SPL is a Hong Kong action film that features Donnie Yen, who will later on become a megastar who acts in the Ip Man trilogies and even the Rogue One. They also include Sammo Hung, a veteran who is famous for his choreography and wushu skills. So, can SPL be another action film that is just full of actions without stories? Or can it separate itself from other similar films in the genre? Read on to find out!

Premise

The basic premise is pretty cliche in the Hong Kong action genre where police and gangsters are involved. So we have Chan Kwok Chung, a police officer who vowed to get revenge on Wong Po, a triad boss that killed his witness’s family. He takes care of the surviving child but is informed that he has a tumour that will kill him eventually. With limited time left, he and his group try to find all sorts of ways, legal and illegal, to frame Wong Po and puts him behind the bar. Meanwhile, Ma Kwun, a new inspector who is set to replace Chan, dislikes his methods but they have to eventually make a choice when events begin to unfold uncontrollably out of their hands.

Screen Shot Sha Po Lang movie — Nothing is ever black white, especially in villains and heroes…

Review

First of all, I would say the movie is pretty dark. It is way darker than some other action films. Its theme is very grey, with justice and evil being two sides of the same coin. We are shown the perspective of both Wong Po and Chan and Ma Kwun, these three stands by their ideal and have reasons to avoid arrest, capture and defend Police Honour respectively. Their characters are fleshed out well along the way. Surprisingly, even the minor characters gain some screen time as well, enabling us to see both their serious side and loving sides, especially where their families are concerned.

Action wise, this film has it all. This is especially with Sammo Hung & Donnie Yen battling it out in the middle and ending part of the film. Each punch, jab, throw and strike feels solid and heavy, with the sound effects balance realism and exaggeration at the same time. You will be awed at some of the scenes where knifes fly and raw wushu skills come to play. There are great shots of slow-motion and quick cuts which increase the tension and action paces. Also, the actions are paced properly and not overused in the film, which is quite rare in such films nowadays.

SPL: Sha Po Lang (2005) Mini Film Review

Story

Pacing

Characters

Soundtrack

Reader Rating0 Votes0

What's good?

Dark action story with brutal scenes

Expertly choreographed action sequences

Fully fleshed out characters

Minor characters are given important screentime as well

Veteran Actors deliver the expected performances

What's bad?

Soundtrack is just okay and uses pretty cliche tracks

4.1

Dayum!

Veteran actors coupled with great choreographed action scenes

This is a surprisingly good action film that has a balance of the atmosphere, story and characters quality. Even minor characters give the needed human touch to the film. You should definitely watch this film if you are a Hong Kong action movie lover that equally loves a dark story.

Author Details

Author Details

Anthony L Tjandra

An everyday guy who is the founder of Controller Companies. He started it when he was frustrated to find that the stuff he bought had no reviews available online. Thus, this website is created with the sole purpose of reviewing stuff that he has seen, bought, used or enjoyed! Now, he is probably doing another review while you are reading this.