After almost 20 years of shuffling through a laundry list of some of the most famous Hong Kong directors and actors, a filmed version of Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In — based on both a novel, City of Darkness, and a manga adaptation of the same name — has finally come to fruition. At one point set to be directed by John Woo, and later Johnnie To, the production found an ideal fit in Soi Cheang, a specialist in both gritty, despairing urban crime thrillers and more populist, big-budget fare. Here, he synthesizes these modes into an unlikely blockbuster — as of this writing, Walled In is the second-highest-grossing domestic film in Hong Kong history. In some ways a standard post-heroic bloodshed crime saga, with bonds of brotherhood tested by familial relations and old-fashioned codes of honor, Walled In is also a portrait of a now bygone era, featuring an elaborate reproduction (reportedly at a 1:1 scale) of the famous Kowloon City (A.K.A. Kowloon Walled City), which was demolished in 1993. It’s a stunning feat of production design, an intricate series of dense, decaying alleys and apartments, all towering toward the sky and threatening to topple at any moment. Wires, pipes, clotheslines, neon signs, and awnings all intersect in a wild bric-a-brac that rivals the visual density of someone like Josef von Sternberg. It’s a kind of German Expressionist ghetto, with only occasional glimpses of CRT televisions to situate it in a specific time period.
The film begins with a brief prologue, detailing rival gangs fighting for dominance over the Walled City. A man named Cyclone emerges victorious and claims the territory as his own. Fast-forward to the mid-’80s, and mainland refugee Lok (Raymond Lam) has arrived in Hong Kong seeking a new life. After winning an illegal street fight, Lok takes his prize money to a local gangster, Mr. Big (Sammo Hung), to buy counterfeit identity documents. But Mr. Big and his right-hand man, King (Philip Ng), are angry that Lok refuses to work for them, so they give him shoddy papers and refuse to return his money. Desperate and angry, Lok steals a bag from them and escapes into the neighboring area, the Walled City itself. Once inside, he realizes that he has actually stolen a huge amount of drugs, and immediately runs afoul of the city’s local gangsters. They beat him and drag him to see their leader — a now-aged Cyclone (Louis Koo, made to look beyond his 54 years via a shock of dyed gray hair).
Eventually, everyone realizes that Lok is not a threat to them, and he is slowly integrated into the community. Cyclone himself, for reasons not made clear until later in the film, takes a liking to Lok and further helps him with meals and living quarters. After several brief, but impactful, action sequences, the film slows down to take in the lives of the city’s residents. We see Lok learning how to prepare food for a street vendor, deliver propane tanks to other businesses, interact with neighbors, and witness Cyclone’s magnanimous leadership style. It’s here that viewers get the full breadth and width of the Kowloon sets; it’s a dark, claustrophobic world, a single opening in the center of the city allowing in the only natural light (and occasional glimpses of airplanes, a constant reminder of other people’s freedom of movement). Cheang doesn’t sentimentalize this world, even going so far as to include a brief aside where a man murders a woman and dumps her body, only to himself be dealt with via vigilante justice. But by and large, the city’s population exists in a kind of equilibrium, having carved out a meaningful existence even in this inhospitable place. Visually, Walled In is very much of a piece with Cheang’s own Limbo and even Dog Bite Dog, both desolate visions of borderline apocalyptic urban spaces that seem to make literal the soul-deadening violence at the heart of their respective protagonists. Walled In isn’t quite that bleak, but it’s close.
Eventually, the plot must kick in and take precedence over Lok’s burgeoning sense of belonging. The prologue comes back into play, as increasingly detailed flashbacks reveal more of Cyclone’s backstory; he turned against his best friend, feared assassin Jim (Aaron Kwok), who was employed by rivals to Cyclone’s boss Chau (Richie Chen). Chau now lives in luxury outside the confines of the Walled City, although Cyclone still pays him monthly rent collected from various tenants. But tension is in the air; Mr. Big wants a piece of the action, while Chau knows there is an increasingly popular movement to evict the residents of Kowloon and demolish the whole thing. Further, Chau does not know that Cyclone has secretly vowed to protect the progeny of Jim, all of whom Chau has vowed to wipe off the face of the Earth as vengeance for the loss of his own wife and children. It’s a complicated web, and it all comes to a head thanks to the machinations of Mr. Big and King.
Much of Walled In’s last act, then, consists of a series of stunning action sequences, first as Big takes control of the area, and then as Lok and his crew of fellow warriors attempt to take it back. Working with cinematographer Cheng Siu-keung (a longtime Cheang collaborator and Milkway Image Productions house DP) and stunt coordinator/action designer Kenji Tanigaki, Walled In eschews much of the flamboyant CGI that has plagued contemporary American, Hong Kong, and Chinese blockbusters. There are certainly special effects being used to enhance and extend the otherwise practical sets of the city, and there is obvious wirework where rigs have been digitally erased. But the film feels very much like a deliberate throwback to a more classic mode of HK action, where precise editing and careful choreography take center stage. There’s a remarkable amount of fighting here, and the filmmakers use every inch of the widescreen frame to give a sense of depth to these fighters and the space they are moving around within. It’s a masterclass, in other words, and likely the best pure HK action film since Cheang’s own SPL 2 (no offense to Benny Chan and Donnie Yen). It’s also a fascinating document of anxiety and impending change; the HK handover back to the mainland is on everyone’s mind, and the emphasis on real estate deals and mass displacement of poor folks is perhaps even more relevant now than in the past. This free-floating apprehensiveness and schism between the old and new is even reflected in the film’s casting, with the elder statesman Sammo mixing it up with the younger Lau and an even younger crew of fighters who make up this world’s colorful gangs. All of this is to say that the film has clearly struck a chord with modern audiences, especially if the box office returns are anything to go by. Come for the kinetic, non-stop action; stay for the misery enacted by neo-liberalism and the cold vicissitudes of fate. That’s the Soi Cheang touch.
DIRECTOR: Soi Cheang; CAST: Louis Koo, Sammo Hung, Raymond Lam, Terrance Lau; DISTRIBUTOR: Well Go USA; IN THEATERS: August 9; RUNTIME: 2 hr. 6 min.
Originally published as part of Fantasia Fest 2024 — Dispatch 3.
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