Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In - 4K Blu-ray Review

[Michael Scott]

Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In



Movie:
4K Video:
Video:
Audio:
Extras:
Final Score:



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Movie
As many of you know, I’m a HUGE fan of old school 1980s and 90s Hong Kong films. I grew up watching the classic chop socky of the 1960s and 70s Shaw Brothers films as a young kid, but came into my own teenage “awakening” with the rise of the 80s and 90s Hong Kong action flicks with Donnie Yen, Jackie Chan, Yuen Woo Ping, Sammo Hung, Corey Yuen, and Maggie Cheung. Those horribly crappy action movies with a paper thing plot, over the top action, and silly effects, all over shadowed by the INCREDIBLE stunt work and martial arts prowess of the time period. Back then Hong Kong action cinema was revered with near god like adoration, and many of the legendary action directors that we know in Hollywood either moved FROM Hong Kong, or literally had their entire film making style mirrored from their martial arts heroes in the orient.

Sadly Hong Kong cinema is no more, or at least heavily castrated compared to what they were decades ago (happening after the re-acquisition from mainland China), being relegated to 2nd tier status in the Asian action world. Now South Korea reigns supreme, but there are still glimpses of hope from Hong Kong. But at the same time, I’ve been burned time and time again with promises of “oh this will totally be as great as what we did 30 years ago!” only to be disappointed time and time again. The early 2000s had a smattering of god films like Dragon Tiger Gate and other Nicolas Tse related films, but recently we’ve had to move on to Korea to get our action fix. HOWEVER, Vis a Vis, concordently, Twilight of the Warriors Walled In seemed to have more than empty promises behind it. Wilson Yip was supposedly producing, Louis Koo was taking front seat, and there were a LOT of people overseas telling people that they better watch out for this one. I took that with a grain of salt, but after it released here in the states at the tail end of the summer I was hearing NOTHING but rave reviews. Still, I’m a cynical old action junkie and have heard early ravings fizzle out before, but I was still holding out hope and I’m REALLY glad I did hold onto the last vestiges of my childlike hope, cuz it paid off…..big time.

Based upon Manhua comic “City of Darkness”, Twilight of the warriors Walled In comes to use after languishing in production hell for over a decade. Rumors had swirled around for years in the early 2010s that it was coming out with Donnie Yen as the star, only for things to fizzle out and rumors to settle down until a few years ago. Now it was rumored to be starring a much younger cast as the leads, and getting a TON of money being thrown at it. The film pays homage to the infamous Kowloon walled in city that was demolished back in the early 90s, taking us back to the late 80s where triad mobster ruled Hong Kong. Years ago the gang wars were vicious and violent, with mobsters killing rival gangs with impunity, until a single boss by the name of Cyclone (Louis Koo) killed the most violent of the bosses named Jim (Aaron Kwok). After that the triads settled down and segregated the area off, leaving Cyclone in charge of the run down Kowloon Walled City (a lawless multi tiered enclave within the greater Kowloon area).

Leaping forward several decades, we’re now in the late 80s where a young orphan by the name of Lok-kwan Chan (Raymond Lam Baby Blues) is desperately trying to earn enough money to get a fake ID so he can get out of Kowloon. After getting scammed by the scummy triad boss Mr. Big (Sammo Hung), Lok-kwan steals a bag of dope from Mr. Big and takes refuge in the infamous walled city. There Cyclone takes pity on the kid and takes him in, allowing him to work in the city to pay for his crime of encroaching on his turf. But under the surface is a secret that spans back decades. You see, the murderous Jim was not just killed because he was out of control, but because he murdered the wife and child of one of the elder crime lords Chau (Richie Chen), and Cyclone did what he had to do to keep the peace. Chau himself has been searching for Jim’s wife and child to take and eye for an eye, only for it to come to light that Lok-kwan IS the lost child that he’s been looking for. Now it’s an all out war as Chau wants a piece of Lok-kwan, and the rest triads realize that they can move in and take what they want during the chaos. Now it’s brother against brother, triad against triad, and only a few are going to come out alive.

I can’t believe I’m saying this, but Twilight of the Warriors Walled In actually DOES feel like a 1990s action film. Not 100%, but so close that I felt like I was a kid again. The main story line is absolute trash (just like the 90s Hong Kong films) and is almost superfluous in the grand scheme of things, so go in knowing that it’s going to be silly (not comedic wise), goofy and sort of sloppy in the narrative. Things are telegraphed a mile away that Lok-kwan is somebody that’s going to be super important, and the reveal about his parentage is seen coming a mile away as well. But who cares, the whole point of the movie is ambiance and to set up some incredible martial arts scenes, and we all know it. Luckily for us the fight scenes are jaw dropping. I haven’t seen this sort of martial arts gonzo assualt since I was a kid (I think Dragon Tiger Gate was the last time I saw something this crazy), with brutal multi person fight scenes and stunts that only Hong Kong can pull off. Punches, kicks, Wuxia, comic book elements, and some hilarious over acting make this is a gem that I can not get enough of.

The third act takes a right angle twist that I actually didn’t see coming, and completely changes the tone of the movie. Not a horrible thing, but it felt a bit weird and some of the previous plot points made LESS impact as a result. But the big shift was not only the switch up of villains, but the addition of Wuxia wire work for the fights, and Dragon Tiger Gate superhero powers get integrated as well. I admit to feeling a bit weirded out for the first couple of minutes, but then the silly gets absorbed back into the rest of the action and you just roll with it.




Rating:

Rated R for violence throughout, language and some drug content.




4K Video: Video:

Shot on Arri Alexa based cameras with a 4.5K resolution base, the digital intermediate master for the home video release was stuck at 2K instead of a native 4K. That little eyebrow raise aside, the 4K UHD upscale actually looks really good. Well Go USA has given the film a very health bitrate (it fluctuates a lot, but I saw several times where it broke 100 mbps) and the end result is really good. The entire city is drowned in murky blacks, grimy back alleys, and shadowy confrontations, so black levels are supreme here. Shadow details are actually quite good, and I didn’t notice any banding going on (for a Well Go USA release that is high praise!). I did notice some crush here and there, but overall not so much. Colors are bright and pop when needed, with ambers and browns dominating the “outside the walled city” sequences with Mr. Big and the other Triad bosses. Visually, this is a treat, but I did notice some CGI effects and set pieces that sort of took me out of it at times. Still, a great looking image for a 4K upscale.







Audio:

Weirdly, we get two nearly identical object based tracks for the main Cantonese language track. One in Dolby Atmos and the other in DTS:X. Comparing the two side by side they’re not that different, with just slight tweaks in level adjustment and a few effects sounding different. Personally I stick with Atmos because DTS:X has fallen by the wayside and more and more receivers do better with Atmos, but that’s simply personal taste and either track will do fine. We have a brand new dub made specifically for the U.S. release from a few months back, but it’s given a 5.1 DTS-HD MA mix and is not as good in both voice acting AND dynamics as the Atmos track.

This is a rich and full figured track, taking full advantage of heights and surrounds with the near non stop chaos of fisticuffs. Bass is powerful and deep, slamming you in the chest when Cyclone slams someone through a stone wall, or the thud thud thud of 7.62x39 rounds as King maniacally shoots up the place with akimbo AK-47s. Dialog is clean and loaded up front like expected, and the dynamics are superb. The mix can jump from a quiet conversation to battle roars and massive impacts in a matter of seconds, and the immersion levels are off the charts. My entire room felt like it was caving in during the final assault on the walled city, complete with pants flapping bass and general mayhem form the battles.




Extras:

• Behind-the-scenes content
• Cast interviews
• Making-of featurette

Final Score: ​

I haven’t had this much fun with a Hong Kong action movie since probably the original SPL with Donnie Yen and Sammo Hung. It’s over the top silly, has a paper thin plot that really is there to set up more fight scenes, and is just chock full of INCREDIBLE martial arts prowess. If I had any small complaints to levy against the film it’s that Sammo Hung’s fights were obviously supplemented by a stunt double (I don’t blame him, dude is his 70s and has certainly paid his action dues in spades over the last 50 years) and there were more quick cuts than I’d like. The sheer amount of martial arts talent on screen would have been better served with more wide angle, single cut scenes, but it’s not horrible at all. Just enough to where I noticed and said to myself “cut less, show more”. But at the end of the day this is a BLAST from the past that made me feel like I was watching Jalal Merhi and Billy Blanks movies on a weekend with my older brothers back in the 90s, or watching old 80s Cynthia Rothrock and Corey Yuen films on late night TV. The 4K UHD from Well Go USA looks and sounds fantastic, and I’m REALLY hoping that the rumors are true that this was just the 1st film in a planned trilogy. Highly recommended for anyone who loves classic Hong Kong action flicks

PSA: my 4.5/5 rating is graded on a curve, as I’m not trying to compare this to something like The Godfather or On the Waterfront. This is a film for those of us who loved those gawd awful 80s and 90s flicks with bad acting, cheap set designs, but absolutely incredible stunts and martial arts prowess of days LONG gone thanks to CGI, lawyers, insurance, and Super Hero films.


Technical Specifications:

Starring: Louis Koo, Sammo Hung, Richie Chen, Raymond Lma, Philip Ng
Directed by: Soi Cheang
Written by: Kin-Yee Au, Tai-Lee Chan, Li Jun
Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1 HEVC
Audio: Cantonese: Dolby Atmos (Dolby TrueHD 7.1 Core), Cantonese DTS:X, English DTS-HD MA 5.1
Subtitles: English, English SDH, French, German
Studio: Well Go USA
Rated: R
Runtime: 126 Minutes
Blu-ray Release Date: November 19th 2024

Recommendation: Great Watch