Flashpoint PosterDonnie Yen’s action packed Flashpoint is a movie where he showcases MMA moves and fighting style in a cop vs bad guys storyline.

Basically  a young gang of Vietnamese brothers are doing the whole bad guy thing in Hong Kong, so the police force have sent a man named Wilson (Louis Koo) undercover to help bust the operation.

Wilson’s partner Ma Jun (played by Donnie Yen), has had a few run ins with the gang and even ends up fighting his partner to protect his cover.

But over time their crimes catch up with them as witnesses raise their hands to testify against them in court.  Naturally all of the witnesses are killed by the Vietnamese gang and their leader Tony (played by Collin Chou).

Before long Wilson suspects he may be losing his cover and ends up escaping the gang at the last minute once discovered.  He is seriously injured in the process and becomes physically unable to perform his duties.  He then tries to settle down with his girlfriend, who unbeknownst to him, is pregnant.

Wilson then plans to testify in court, but after a few failed attempts on his life Tony and his brother Tiger (Xing Yu) kidnap his girlfriend (whose pregnancy is now known to Wilson) in order to force him to keep quiet so their brother Archer (Ray Lui) can walk free.

That’s when the action takes off and Donnie Yen’s character Ma Jun is forced to go and kick some ass!

Simple Plot to House Some Good Action!

The cops vs bad guys thing has been done before, and this is nothing different in terms of plot.

Donnie Yen kicking ass...

I’ve mentioned in the past that I prefer simple storylines because they allow for deeper messages to be included in sections of the film and allow more action without confusing the average movie goer.  Although Flashpoint doesn’t seem to have much in the way of ‘messages’, the simple storyline does allow the characters to become more familiar.  It ultimately allows for the event of the film to paint a picture of Tony (and his brothers’) ruthless nature, while showing a sense of family and dedication among the police.

Ultimately sticking up for your partner and doing everything necessary to protect those valuable to you seems to be the prevalent cause behind the conflict, and most important for this movie, the action.

Flashpoint does an excellent job of letting things slowly escalate and build up, exploding at the very end of the film.  This really does an excellent job of exciting the audience for the things ahead, since you just know shit is going to the fan!

The Martial Arts & Action

Despite being a crime oriented story, the main drive behind the fights and the action (which makes the movie) is the use of MMA techniques mixed into the fast and furious choreography that Donnie Yen is becoming renowned for.

Collin Chou vs Donnie

Donnie shows off a an excellent level of groundwork with Brazilian Jiu Jitsu movements and techniques, as we see at the very start of the film when he enters the ring to spar against a suspect – whom he takes down to ground.  This is repeated through the movie showing off flying armbars, triangle chokes and other ground fighting moves.  While is technique isn’t as purely crisp on the ground as I would come to expect,  the move is still sold quite well and shows a degree of study on Donnie’s part.

Just as impressive was the use of different take downs in the this movie, and also a showcase of ground ‘n’ pound (as it’s known in MMA and the UFC).   The image of Ma Jun beating Tiger to death using ground and pound is stuck in my head as the top reference!

Donnie's flying knee

Even the nature of the stand up game is more MMA ‘ish’ with the way Donnie Yen moves his arms and guards up during his fights, but the punches and kicks are the same as usual and mix to create an awesome visual style. While some moments looked a little unnatural, they were very short and ultimately the showdown at the end of the film with Donnie Yen and the Vietnamese gang is extremely exciting to watch and well choreographed.

The Verdict?

This is a to Donnie Yen classic, with other top notch martial arts actors like Collin Chou and Xing Yu making the fights very exciting.  The storyline is interesting enough, but this one is all about the action.  My cup of tea and a definite recommendation to other action fans!

On Blu Ray –

Region A (US & Canada)
Flash Point (Blu-ray/DVD Combo)

Region B (UK, Australia, New Zealand, Europe, etc)
Flash Point on Blu-ray

On DVD –

Region 1 (US & Canada)
Flash Point on DVD

Region 2 (UK, Europe, etc)
Flashpoint on DVD

Region 4 (Australia, New Zealand, etc)
– unable to find!  Go for the Region 2 Blu ray or a Region Free Player 🙂

More info on DVD & Blu Ray regions here

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