Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In
One of the trickiest things to do in a film that is set during a specific period in time in the late 20th Century is to not tip your hand too much, lest it feel like you’re doing it ironically, or it becomes so over-the-top to be parody. Soi Cheang’s film, “Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In,” tip toes that line beautifully, and its 1980s Hong Kong feels indistinguishable from the classics of the era that energized the action genre moving forward. It might be one of my favorite action movies of the past few years.
The film is based on a novel, City of Darkness, by Yi Yu, and I love that it uses its setting- both the time and place- as a way of getting to something mythic about certain cities at a key moment in their history. In the story, we find out that the deal has been made for Hong Kong to be handed over to China from the United Kingdom in 1997. While that event is over a decade away in the film, the way Cheang stages the war between the Mr. Big, a crime lord whose sole interest is accumulating wealth and power, and Cyclone, a martial arts master who controls a portion of the city known as Kowloon Walled City as a battle between opposing fighters seeking to hold dominion over a land destined to change in the future. That makes their fight futile in the grand scheme of things, but for everyone involved, it is the most important thing they will do in their lives, even if, decades later, no one will remember what they did. That sense of life passing these men by, and how their actions only matter in the moment, is one of the things I loved about this film.
“Walled In” begins with a prologue where we get the history of Kowloon Walled City, a portion of Hong Kong that is largely ungoverned like the rest of the city. Through images and title cards, we are told how Cyclone (Louis Koo) took control of Walled City during a 7-day war between gangs. Our story begins proper when Chan Lok-wahn (Raymond Lam), having denied an obviously fake ID he purchased from Mr. Big (Sammo Kam-Bo Hung). He manages to escape Big’s crew by ducking into the Walled City, where he runs afoul with Cyclone’s men. But, he finds a home in the Walled City, and becomes one of Cyclone’s most important fighters in keeping the peace in the area. When uncomfortable truths come to light, however, his standing is in question, and he finds himself truly in the middle of the larger conflict unfolding.
In addition to Yi Yu’s novel, this film is also inspired by a graphic novel based upon it by artist Andy Seto, and in the way that Cheang stages the action, that graphic novel style is evident in every frame. True to its source material’s name, the film is shrouded in darkness, and there does not seem to be any light that shines through in Siu-Keung Cheng’s stylized cinematography. It’s a touch that works because it gives the film an atmosphere of film noir even as it displays violence and melodramatic themes akin to John Woo and Jackie Chan’s 1980s films. This movie has been in development since the 2000s, and based on what I’ve read, that would have been like a Hong Kong “Expendables” film; I like that we’re getting it in this time period, because it doesn’t feel like actors playing their greatest hits, but an organic reaction to the films of that time, done with affection by everyone involved.
“Twilight of the Warriors” is an action film that has familiar tropes and ideas, but it has packaged them in a thrilling, energetic way that will have fans of the genre applauding every step of the way. If you can check it out on the big screen, I can imagine it will be worth your time.
