Director: Kam Ka Wai
Year: 2018
Country: Hong Kong
Alternate Titles: Da si hing
Genre: Action
Plot:
Arriving at a run-down secondary school, a former Marine accepts a job as a teacher at the place where he immediately meets five students in his class. As he uses his unconventional tactics to try to inspire them to prepare for the upcoming series of tests to get into universities, the more the students realize that their personal problems and the pressures from the school board are able to be vanquished as he manages to help them solve their problems. Upon realizing that they’ve got more problems to deal with as a land developer is looking to move in on the school’s land to turn into a housing project, he brings out all the tools he can to help the students get to their best selves on the test to save the school.
Review:
Overall, this one was quite a bit of fun. One of the more enjoyable aspects with this one is the ability of the film to embrace the lighter side of its storyline. The fact that he manages to come in and fix everything and everyone in front of him through the unconventional method of caring about his students strikes as a wholly fun concept. The scenes of him in the classroom teaching students about the unconventional nature of the world that are not normally taught in classes offer a distinctive touch to the film. As well, the manner of him almost immediately influencing their lives, from helping the girl win over her father with her love of racing to get the singer over his stage fright, all manage to showcase the positive influence he has on their lives. To see it play out with the change in behavior and responsibility to others around them is a strong testament to the manner in which those lessons are imparted makes for a truly uplifting experience.
On top of that kind of sentimentality, this one still offers up some nice hard-hitting action for those interested. The fact that Donnie is still at the top of his game, the initial scene of the fights against the locker room full of mixed martial artists that he not only manages to hold off in an extended brawl but fights the champion to a draw leaves this with a great first impression. As well, the flashback to his life in the war offers a stellar sequence with the heavy artillery and weaponry typically found in such endeavors. This scene is a nice highlight effort, featuring explosions and gunfire blasting all over the place and generating some excitement by being so different than the rest of the film. Coupled with the major brawl against the guards holding the students' hostage in order to prevent their chances at the test, the action here isn’t as frequent as expected but has some great points when it does occur.
Still, there are a few issues with this one. Among the main problems here is the heavy-handed preaching about the Hong Kong educational system that really doesn’t need to be as forceful and dominating as this one gets. With him going through a series of loud, impassioned speeches about the lack of tolerance educators have towards the students on the fringes of their system and only caring about the ones at the top who will move on in life, there are a decided leanings towards a statement that this setup is in dire need of change. When one of the students attempts suicide because of the pressures of taking the test, that the administration's first impulse is to blame the teacher instead of helping the student speaks a lot about this society and feeling far too heavily tinged on the social commentary aspects for what is supposedly a lighter genre fare. That might also end up taking the action-packed martial arts out of the film, but this was never that kind of film anyway as those looking for that kind of film will be sorely disappointed.
Overview: ****/5
With some stellar positives and only a few minor qualms to be had here, this one ends up with a lot to really like about it. Give this one a look if you’re interested in Yen’s career and want to try something else of his or looking for a slightly different take on the action genre, while those put off by the flaws featured here should heed mild caution.
This review was originally published on Asian Movie Pulse and is gratefully reprinted with their cooperation.
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