Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		2.0
Overall		3.5

Flash Point Blu-ray Movie Review

Make his day.

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman February 1, 2012

Is Donnie Yen China’s answer to Clint Eastwood? Let’s just put it this way: before the credits even role in Flash Point, Yen has beaten a couple of career criminals to within an inch of their lives and seems positively on the verge of staring straight into the camera and saying, “Make my day.” Yen has often played this kind of hard bitten police role before, but the Dirty Harry comparison is especially apt with regard to his portrayal of police Sergeant Ma Jun, a detective whose shall we say unusual techniques for capturing criminals definitely lead to high arrest rates, but also have the perhaps unintended consequences of collateral damage, mostly to the criminals themselves. An early scene in Flash Point, a 2007 film helmed by frequent Yen collaborator Wilson Yip, has Jun brought before a review board which is asking him about a litany of injuries to various criminals who have been apprehended by the policeman. Jun finally shakes his head after a brief listing, cuts the examiner off short and says, “I’m guilty of it all.” In a kind of funny anticlimax, the examiner basically says “Be more careful next time” with a cursory “have a nice day”, and sends Jun out to wreak more havoc on Hong Kong’s criminal underclass. Flash Point has no grand ambitions, especially as it once again treads the familiar territory (actually seen in other Yen outings) of a mole planted into the inner workings of a crime triad. In this case it’s Jun’s friend and erstwhile partner, Wilson (Louis Koo), who is helping the police to uncover the nefarious workings of a trio of Vietnamese brothers (played by Collin Chou, Ray Lui and Xing Yu). There’s also perhaps a minor political subtext percolating just below the surface of Flash Point, for the film specifically states it’s set in 1997, before Hong Kong’s control was returned to the Chinese. Is the not so subtle point being made that British oversight (no pun intended) led to the crime-ridden streets of this bustling metropolis? But even with that attempt at topicality, Flash Point is a pretty rote actioner that undeniably provides a couple of great staged set pieces but too often falls into cliché and expected plot machinations that no real self-respecting Dirty Harry would ever tolerate.

Anyone who is a fan of Hong Kong action thrillers, and especially those involving police, will know that while this genre (and subgenre) aren’t overly innovative a lot of the time, they almost always feature amped up stylistic elements as well as usually viscerally exciting fight sequences. Flash Point is certainly a case in point in terms of both of these tendencies, and while some at least hoped for this piece to be a prequel to Yip and Yen’s SPL: Kill Zone, most viewers are probably going to find this outing noticeably inferior to the former film. The two aren’t even really linked, despite the returning collaborators. Kill Zone, despite its fitful pleasures, is a much more rote experience and actually includes some laughable dialogue that hobbles this film from a dramatic standpoint.

Yen himself seems a little labored in this role, as if he’s aware that the film may not exactly be his best showcase. Louis Koo also literally and figuratively stumbles through an underwritten role, which sees him managing improbable heroics one moment and then seemingly going over to “the dark side,” albeit for good reasons, later in the film. Flash Point tends to lurch from set piece to set piece a lot of the time, which further undercuts any dramatic momentum, and once it gets into a completely predictable and frankly silly subplot where Koo’s girlfriend (Bingbing Lee) is kidnapped by the villains and held hostage, the film just catapults over the edge of even baseline believability into pure melodrama.

Perhaps the oddest thing about Flash Point is the very strange direction that Yip and Yen (who did the fight choreography) bring to the climactic battle between Yen and the chief villain. The fight choreography itself is absolutely astounding, with the two combatants beating each other to within an inch of each other’s lives, as well as cartwheeling through a series of walls, roofs and other obstacles. What’s odd here is the actual camera framing, which repeatedly opts for close-ups of the upper torsos and sometimes just the shoulders and heads of the two characters, completely removing sight of the faster than light movements of feet and hands. Whether this was done simply because the choreography demanded it is anyone’s guess, but it deprives this rather long final sequence of some of the power it would have otherwise.

Flash Point is never able to quite overcome the limitations of its genre, not to mention its own lack of amibition. While the film is certainly enjoyable and offers several really bristling action sequences, Flash Point tends to miss the mark more than it finds it, due in no small part to a completely predictable plot, underdeveloped characters and some pretty risible dialogue. Like its title, Flash Point is a brief spark that never fully ignites.

Flash Point Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Flash Point is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Well Go USA with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.35:1. This is overall an incredibly sharp and clear presentation that offers extremely strong contrast and solid black levels. The film has been manipulated somewhat at the DI stage, with the now expected filtering and color timing that gives several sequences an ice cold blue tint. This film features a number of exterior sequences that really pop magnificently in this presentation, with great depth of field and similarly excellent fine detail in close-ups. Flash Point exhibits admirable sharpness and clarity, and aside from a couple of very brief and minor moments of shimmer on some of the Hong Kong skyscrapers, this is an artifact free presentation.

Flash Point Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Though this domestic release of Flash Point doesn't feature the lossless 7.1 audio that the Hong Kong edition did, the lossless DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 mixes (in Cantonese and English) included on this release suffice quite nicely. I personally found the English track more or less unlistenable simply due to the expected bugaboo of poor dubbing choices, where lip movements don't even come close to the dubbed dialogue being spoken. The Cantonese track, on the other hand, offers incredible fidelity and some wonderfully immersive sequences, none more impressive than the final fight, which takes up the last 20 minutes or so of the film (you read that right). The action sequences offer all sorts of great thumping sound effects pummeling the listener from the side and rear channels, and the sonic activity is excellently directional and very, very convincing. Dialogue is clean and clearly presented and the film obviously features a glut of fantastic LFE. Yes, a 7.1 mix would have been preferable, but what's here is pretty fantastic in and of itself.

Flash Point Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Deleted Scenes (SD; 3:19) has a couple of extra moments, including one with the addle-pated mother of the criminals.
• Making Of (SD; 19:23) is pretty standard fare, with lots of film clips interspersed with interviews with Yen and most of the principal cast and crew, as well as several moments of scenes being shot.
• The Fight Club (SD; 2:31) concentrates on the film's complex fight choreography.
• Shooting Diary (SD; 3:02) repeats some of the footage scene in other supplements, and is basically a brief montage with no commentary, set to the film's propulsive underscore.
• Gala Premiere (SD; 2:43) features footage from the Hong Kong Gala Premiere, including some very brief Q&A.
• Original Theatrical Teaser (SD; 1:14)
• Original Theatrical Trailer (SD; 2:42)

Flash Point Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Flash Point is one of those genre pictures that may well please fans, but which never is really as good as it ought to have been, especially considering its impressive pedigree. The film has some undeniably exciting action sequences, and Yip stages the bulk of the film very well (though his odd use of so many close-ups in fight sequences is a head-scratcher), but a lot of Flash Point just seems to coast along on its generic momentum, rather than doing or saying anything even remotely original. The film simply can't overcome its stereotypical characters and completely predictable plotline, despite some otherwise visceral elements. Yen fans will probably get enough out of this to merit a rental or even a purchase, but there are a lot of other similar, better films out there, including several helmed by Yip and starring Yen.