SPL - Trying to Be Cool and Ending Up Cold

Apr

14

SPL - Trying to Be Cool and Ending Up Cold

≡ Category: Category III, Classics That I Hate, Movie Reviews By Country |
≅ Written by: Michael Kydonieus

Country: Hong Kong
Genre: Martial Arts/Drama
Director: Wilson Yip
Year: 2005

Rating:

Let’s get one thing straight. I don’t hate SPL. It’s just that it’s considered to be a classic of modern HK filmmaking, and I was ultimately disappointed by it. I feel like it’s my duty to let you know why, especially if you like the movies I tend to like.

Sammo Hung, Simon Yam, and Donnie Yen have collectively provided me with something like 100 hours of movie-going pleasure, so I expect a lot when the three of them share the silver screen, and when you factor in SPL’s stellar reputation, I was pretty excited about it. So, what went wrong, exactly?

I dunno. The violence onscreen is often quick and perfunctory, but everything else seems to happen in slow motion, like the actors are underwater, as if this will somehow translate into profundity. You’re denied the visceral pleasure of movement. Director Wilson Yip’s intention seems to be to elaborately build tension and deny the audience the pleasure of release, as if that’s clever or something. He uses post-modern tricks like camera flare and freeze frame to get across information efficiently, but these tricks result in distancing the audience from the action, inviting them to view the film as spectators rather than as participants.

I’m aware that this sort of stately, measured filmmaking is a hallmark of the new Hong Kong cinema and a reaction against the kind of hyperkinetic filmmaking that used to characterize Hong Kong movies. There is a self-conscious effort by the likes of Johnny To to be “cool,” to not demonstrate overt emotion, to emphasize intellectual gamemanship over spectacle, to simmer rather than boil.

Unfortunately, with rare exceptions (Infernal Affairs, Election 2), these directors can’t pull it off well enough to make it worth the effort, and even when they do, their movies can’t compete for entertainment value against the old slash and burn Hong Kong style.

Well, how about character and story? Without the pleasure of spectacle, that’s the raison d’être of movies like SPL. It’s okay, I guess. As our story begins, gangster Wong Po (Sammo Hung) evades prosecution in a fairly heinous way. Now Inspector Chan (Simon Yam) will do pretty much anything to get his revenge. The only trouble is that he’s nearing retirement, and will soon be replaced by Inspector Ma (Donnie Yen). When Inspector Chan hits on a scheme to frame Wong Po, will the righteous Inspector Ma be dragged into Chan’s vendetta?

In all fairness, I have to say that the scripting, as opposed to the direction, is very tight. Every incident has a purpose–there are no wasted gestures. Every decision of the characters draws the net tighter and tighter, leading them to their ultimate destinies. The ending, involving a twist of fate that metes out harsh poetic justice, is kind of fun, but it’s still a case of too little, too late. Even that is marred by a crappy special effects shot.

The acting is okay, considering that it’s in that undemonstrative style that is so popular these days, but it can’t compare to the juicy character acting of the golden age of Hong Kong cinema (1985-1995).

How about the action scenes? Well, there is one fairly painful slaughter (it’s difficult to call it a fight), involving a blade about the size of a bayonet, that’s well choreographed and performed. Then there’s a nifty clash in which the weapons are a baton and a knife. And then there’s the ending martial arts battle, which isn’t bad, I guess. There are some decent throws and impacts. But there’s altogether too much cutting, closeups and camera trickery. Filming martial arts fights are a lot like filming a dance. Most of the time, the camera needs to be at mid-distance or you miss the poetry of the movement, not to mention the strategy. But director Wilson Yip doesn’t seem to care a whole lot about that.

Yip obviously cares most about rubbing our noses in the character’s fates and can’t be bothered with mere entertainment. I have no doubt that director Wilson Yip made exactly the movie he wanted to make, but the irony is that for all of its slick cinematography, solid Foley editing, competent music score, and solid technical values, it can’t hold a candle to a slapdash, routine triad thriller from the late 80s as far as emotional impact is concerned.

By the way, if you don’t want to take my word for the quality of SPL and would like to check it out, it’s out of print, but as of this writing, there are a few copies left on Amazon.com. But you can always put it on your Netflix queue.