Fans of Hong Kong action rejoice – Donnie Yen is back! After a successful run of historical martial arts epics such as “Ip Man,” Yen’s new movie “Special ID” sees him return to the kind of contemporary crime action that made his name. This comeback is a little later than expected, due to a troubled production involving recasting and a prolonged post-production, but this Friday, American audiences will get to see the results, which are…mixed.
Yen plays Chen Zilong, a Hong Kong detective who has been undercover so long that the distance between his real and assumed identities has started to blur. His police boss is getting worried that he’s losing control over his operative and the triad gangs are beginning to question Chen’s motives. However, both sides are concerned when Sonny, an ascendant sociopath who just happens to be an old friend of Chen, reappears in the mainland and kills an established crime boss. Both the triads and police alike send Chen North to find Sonny. Once in mainland China, Chen must work alongside a by-the-book detective, Fang, who is initially disgusted by Chen’s rough tactics. Fang and Chen work together to track down Sonny, who soon uncovers Chen’s secret identity and makes the fight personal.
The film’s story is disjointed in places and some scenes feel like leftovers from discarded drafts of the script. Yen gives a good performance as Chen, providing predictably outstanding fight choreography, but also bringing some levity to quieter moments and convincingly portraying a man caught between two worlds and unable to truly fit into either. The only person he really cares about is his mother, with whom he has a best friend relationship. This atypical plot point for an action movie was initially welcome, but soon devolved into overwrought sentimentalism.
But let’s be honest – few if any people will see this movie for the plot or relationships. It’s a vehicle for an action legend, and the action delivers. The film opens with a thrilling fight in a mahjong parlor, where Chen uses multiple floors of the building and innumerable props to destroy a large group of triads. In the second half of the film, Tian Jing, as Fang, displays an explosive action prowess despite her diminutive frame, showcasing a different style of combat than the brutal force used by Sonny and Chen. Fang’s best scene is a spectacular car chase where Fang and Sonny duke it out while Sonny is driving a Land Rover through busy streets in a sequence that words cannot do justice to, and that’s just the lead up to Chen and Sonny’s final battle.
“Special ID” is not a perfect movie and the exposition between the action scenes tends to drag, but if you’re looking for a solid action movie, “Special ID” fits the bill.
