Film Review: Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In (九龍城寨之圍城) (2024) Hong Kong 🇭🇰
Reviewed by Andrew Chan (Film Critics Circle of Australia 🇦🇺)
2024 Hong Kong cinema needed a much needed boost and it arrived in the martial arts phenomenal epic - “Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In” with big stars and rising stars all wrapped within the walls of the legendary Kowloon Walled City in the heyday of crime and drugs of the 80s. This is easily the best martial arts film out of Hong Kong in years and the dedication shown by the director Soi Cheang, all the cast and crew is nothing short of amazing. The story may be a bit old fashioned, but it is that simplicity that makes the focus more on the characters and action on display and to experience this in the cinema, remains a rare moment of joy for all long suffering Hong Kong martial arts cinema fans.
Headed by powerhouse names with Sammo Hung, Louis Koo, Richie Ren, combined with rising stars in Raymond Lam and Philip Ng. The characters are well focused and created with depth and details. With all the great and intense performance, one person we would like to specially mention and that is martial arts sensation Philip Ng. Ng’s villainous portraying is all the more stunning as his over the top persona expanded his usual stoic range and simply stole the show with an edge combining with his physical martial arts prowess making the villain all the more menacing.
All in all, “Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In” is precisely the kind of film that is much needed to attract the local audience to come back the cinemas to experience this true martial arts epic. From all aspects, the film excels and that is to be commended for the entire cast and crew. Director Soi Cheang is now matured enough to carry this kind of epic picture through his years of venture into different genres. As for Philip Ng, a new star rises and hopefully this is his star making vehicle like “Ip Man” did for Donnie Yen.
I rated it 9/10