Customer Reviews

SPL (Sha Po Lang) HK movie DVD (Region All Free / R0) Donnie Yen, Sammo Hung (English subtitled) A.K.A. Kill Zone

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

So if you are familiar with Hong Kong action movies then you know they can be quite hit and miss. Really a lot of miss with the occasional hit. But S.P.L. is on a level of it's own. A gritty bad cop drama at it's best. Sammo Hung stars as Tong Po, the triad kingpin. Donnie Yen comes in as the new chief that will replace Simon Yam who is retiring. Simon Yam plays the bad cop along with his other cop buddies who have to take Togn Po down before Simon retires. With only a couple of days to do this they have to go to drastic measures.

I really don't want to give anything away about the story because it is truly one of the best Hong Kong action movies ever. Don't expect to laugh, expect to cry. I would put this right up there with The Killer, The Longest Nite, and On the Run as one my absolute favorites in the dark thriller genre. And oh yeah, the action features some of the best choreographed fights in recent Hong Kong history.

CHeck out the Dragon Dynasty release called Killzone, it has a ton of special features that are not to be missed by any fan of the martial arts genre.

the storyline about the guy who led other three as crime fighting unit really sucks. unless you were undercover, the regular plaincloth detectives should still be respectful, so the guy with the extreme long hairs was definitely not allowed by the force. these unit should not have the privilege to do whatever they liked to do. it's simply ridiculous, because they were like a bunch of thugs. the screenwriters should not take everything for granted and tried too hard to copy the crap from hollywood, i.e., everything is possible as long as you're playing cops.
but the ridicule was fairly compensated by the fantastic fighting scenes directed by donny yen. almost every fighting in this movie was great. i really enjoyed it a lot. so i still want to give it a 4-star rating.

The acting is melodramatic, but the fight scenes reach a level of intensity that I've never seen in other martial arts movies (and I watch plenty of them!) The fights are beautifully choreographed, yet with a viciousness and brutality that make me cringe. Through this movie, Donnie Yen has established himself at the top of a new generation of fight choreographers.

SPL aka Saat Po Long/Sha Po Lang is definitely one where you need to import the Asian DVD, since the Weinsteins have picked up English-language rights, which means we can expect the film to be rescored by a cheap computer program, dubbed into English by failed childrens' TV presenters and cut to buggery - which is pretty criminal considering this is the best Hong Kong actioner in years, featuring superb performances from Donnie Yen, Sammo Hung and Simon Yam and some seriously vicious I'm-not-showing-off-I-really-want-to-kill-you fight scenes.

The plot is fairly standard, with Yam's dying cop on the verge of retirement crossing the line to put away Hung's very unpleasant gang lord (there's NOTHING loveable about Sammo here), implicating his replacement Yen and dooming his men as everything goes seriously wrong, but it's the execution that raises it above the norm. Aside from the brutal and convincing fight scenes superbly staged by Yen, Wai-Sun Yip's direction of the film around them is particularly strong, managing to balance a stylish but not overpowering visual sense with a gravitas and grasp of character that gives the inevitable violence more weight. That's not to say there aren't plotholes - in one scene Hung's wife is incapable of having children and in the next she's got a one-month old child, while no police force in the world would release a criminal when they have video footage of him playing golf with an undercover cop's head even if he doesn't deliver the coup de grace - but there are fewer than usual for the genre, and if you can make allowances the strengths far outweigh them. Very, very impressive.

I saw this film twice, last year and now I have the 2 disc director's cut edition dvd. The film is well done, it revolves around a police team headed by Simon Yam. There is a lot of depth and substance unlike some of the action films lately.

Simon Yam's close friend was a key witness against Wong Po(Sammo Hung)who was killed in an ambush so he ended up taking care of his daughter. He finds out that he has developed a brain tumor and realizes that he is running out of time to put Po behind bars. 3 years prior to his retirement, Yam, along with his team decides to manipulate evidence against Wong Po when their undercover man turns up dead. One of his team members has also taken Po's money during a raid in one of his operations. Inspector Ma(Donnie Yen)the man who is supposed to take his place becomes caught in the middle. Although ruthless, Po displays love and regard for his family since it took him awhile to conceive with his wife.

The theme of the story is obsesssion. There are many shades of gray in this film noir, each character has depth and well developed. Suffice it to say, " DO NOT BECOME SO OBSESSED THAT YOU MAY BECOME THE THING YOU HATE THE MOST AND FOUGHT SO HARD AGAINST."

The action scenes are phenomenal. The fight between Wing Ju(Sammo's top assassin)and Donnie Yen is well done and doesn't look choreographed at all. Even the fight between Sammo Hung and Donnie Yen was great, Sammo has slowed down a bit but for a bigger, older guy, he can still move.

The theatrical release and director's cut was different endings. The theatrical cut is shorter and a bit of a happy ending while the director's cut is more tragic and more effective that is why I gave the uncut version 5 stars.

The DVD imported Hong Kong version quality is great,(DVD-9/DTS AUDIO)mastered in high definition, it looked so great in HD widescreen television. The english subtitles are well translated, and no cut offs.

Do yourself a favor and order this DVD, you'll be glad you did. With all the weak films coming out of Hollywood, it is refreshing to know ASIAN CINEMA is alive and well. Other recommendations: FEARLESS(Chinese import w/ dvd-9/DTS)w/ Jet Li, TOM YUM GOONG(Tony Jaa), THE PROMISE(ROMANTIC FANTASY) and HOUSE OF FURY(action-comedy).

If you are an avid Hong-Kong film fan, you know the names of Simon Yam, Sammo Hung, and Donnie Yen. You find not only these talents in `SPL,' well-directed Hong-Kong noir, but also very intense action sequences choreographed by martial art master Donnie Yen himself.

Simon Yam is the trusted leader of the police squad, who is not averse to using violence when confronting the crime lord Sammo Hung. Their conflict, as you see in the opening 10 minutes, is now a personal one, not the simple fight between the police and the gang, or the good vs. the bad. And Simon Yam's cop knows that he must end the war quickly, because the time left for him, he knows, is not long.

Now to this police precinct infested by crime, a new police office (in black leather jacket) comes. Donnie Yen plays the new cop who prefers to do his jobs in a law-abiding manner. But even he cannot be free from the violence when one of the squad is attacked by a knife-wielding assassin Wu Jin sent by Sammo Hung.

If you want actions, you have to wait a while. The actions start when Donnie Yen arrives. It is true that the action scenes are not many in number, but what he presents is less showy, more realistic fights using the authentic martial arts techniques (like Brazilian judo style) only real experts like Donnie Yen can show. The tension-packed fight scenes between Yen and Wu Kin in the alley are what none but Donnie Yen can achieve, and he must be proud of it, and should be rightly so.

But if `SPL' has succeeded in resetting the standard of action films in the Hong-Kong film industry - and it certainly did - that is because of the clever blend of actions and drama. Some say the story of `SPL' is weak. I disagree. The film is in fact a seamlessly-told character-driven drama, and the concluding chapter including the fierce battles between Sammo Hung and Donnie Yen ends with a big surprise. So here is my advice: Don't miss it.

I want to know if this version of SPL is the one with the Alternate Ending where Sammo Hung's character dies instead of Donnie Yen's character dying. Can anyone confirm this?

We loved this movie and liked the altered ending even better.

THIS MOVIE IS VERY GOOD. THE PLOT AND THE MARTIAL ART IS OUTSTANDING. DONNIE YEN MOVES ARE MORE BETTER THAN JET LI AND JACKIE CHAN. I WISH THEY CAN COME OUT MORE MOVIES LIKE THIS.

sammo hung is a legend in asian cinema. he went face to face with the master Bruce Lee in the opening sequence in enter the dragon. as i recalled, he often play that comedic fatso who got bullied on but somehow by the end of the movie, his kung fu skills turned him into the hero. superstar donnie yen on the other hand is undoubtedly the most underrated, under appreciated actor by hollywoods.

i love this movie because it is not what i thought it would be. it started out slow. i thought ah, this is going to be another cops vs robbers story. however, it was not like the 80's classic CHIPS where punch and john never draw their guns, just chasing the bad guys around. SPL's story line was simple but quite captivating and emotional. the line between right and wrong is blurred as the good guys protect and serve. do as i say but not as i do!!! i was pleasantly surprised at how good and enjoyable it is the minute donnie yen appears on the screen. i like the theme of brotherhood, and loyalty. the fight scenes were cool, fresh, very original and well done. donnie yen did a great job choreographing the actions and fight scenes. the camera slowed down and sped up at the right moments to show energy and emotions. the music was really cool pumping at the right moment which enhanced our sense of tension, excitement and anticipation. my favorite fight scenes was the alley fight between donnie and the assasin. it was very original and way up there similar to the one between donnie and jet li in once upon a time in china part 2. mr. yen is a legend in his own rights. . !! i watched the movie a few times already just to appreciate the speed, continuity and fluidity of the fight scenes.

well, sammo hung is a much bigger star today and still is a fatso [no disrepect intended!!!]. i still like his works and he still kicks ass. he did some pretty amazing fight scenes at the end. he did not make me laugh in this film. i was waiting for him to say something funny. warning, sammo was pretty brutal and this movie was very violent. i love the ending as often seen in classic asian cinema, where the main character is often killed off in the end. this is a movie that hollywood can't make, probably run way out of budget. hurray for asian cinema. hollywoods, take notice!!! punch and john, are you watching!!!!