If you want to evaluate the pinnacle of Chinese-language action movies after 2000, I don't think there will be any movie that can surpass "Slaying the Wolf" in the past 20 years, including the sequel of this series.
"Slaying the Wolf" has been watched countless times in the sea, and I can't get tired of it. Although the film is mainly based on drama, the literary drama is actually very exciting. Most of the stories are compressed in a day, the rhythm is fast, the conflict is constant, and no minute is redundant.
In 2005, Donnie Yen, Ye Weixin, Sammo Hung and others expressed their emotions about the decline of Hong Kong action films, and decided to seek a breakthrough. They co-produced this movie "Slaying the Wolf" and invited Andy Lau inscription to support. (The three words "kill the wolf" on the poster were written by Andy Lau)
At that time, Hong Kong's action movies, one kind of martial arts routines, another kind of Jackie Chan-style kung fu comedy, the audience was already experiencing aesthetic fatigue. At the same time, the Thai Kung Fu film headed by Tony Jia quickly grabbed the Hong Kong film market with a punch to the flesh style of martial arts.
In order to seek a breakthrough, "Slaying the Wolf" took the lead in applying the concept of mixed martial arts (including Sanda, grappling, taekwondo, etc.), and also uniquely designed some miss movements to increase the authenticity and actual combat style of the movements.
During the filming, actors such as Donnie Yen, Sammo Hung, and Wu Jing were all painted. Relying on this fierce force, "Slaying the Wolf" opened up a new field of Hong Kong action movies. As an action director, Donnie Yen also won the Academy Award for Best Action Design.
What needs to be added is that there were many rumors that during this street fight, Yen Zidan deliberately suppressed Wu Jing and broke Wu Jing's ribs with a swing stick. In fact, looking at the behind-the-scenes, they learned that they used wooden props, but they were painted with silver lacquer.
The Hong Kong Film Awards is the only one that has an action design award among all film awards with a certain degree of popularity. This is inseparable from the history of Hong Kong Kung Fu films. In fact, I think it is also a kind of respect that the film and television industry should have for martial arts personnel and stunt performers. Hollywood also often has stunt actors protesting that Oscars will not set up separate awards for them, but they seem to have been unsuccessful. The reasons for opposition are different.
In the year "Slaying the Wolf" was filmed, Donnie Yen was 42 years old and Wu Jing was 31 years old. Now I want them to shoot this kind of wonderful sparring, I am afraid they will not be able to shoot. (Sambo Hung was in his 50s and used a lot of doubles)
Later, Yen Zidan filmed the "Ip Man" series. Although it was possible to "play ten in one", most of the people surrounded the protagonist, and then gave the heads one by one, while the rest of the people gathered outside to make gestures.
In action design, melee scenes often appear embarrassing when group actors are surrounded and doing nothing. Therefore, some classic play scenes will confine the scene to a narrow space. The fewer actors, the better.
As an action movie, "Slaying the Wolf" not only contributed a wonderful play, but also created many flesh and blood characters.
For example, the senior inspector Ma Jun played by Donnie Yen, at first everyone just thought he was very good at fighting, and one punch could beat the suspect into an idiot. Later, the audience realized that he was a man with fine-grained details and always blamed himself for this incident. Not only would he play games with the suspect who was labeled an idiot every week, but he would also give him living expenses.
There is also a cold-blooded killer played by Wu Jing. He has a total of two lines in the film. The first appearance was to kill in the car accident at the beginning of the film. There was not even a frontal shot. The second appearance was to torture and kill A Le, played by Zhang Zhiyao. , The means are bloody and cruel.
Generally speaking, successful villains are often a little mysterious. The audience does not know the origin of this ruthless character, but will leave a deep impression on him.
As for the most outstanding acting skills, it is the Hua Ge played by Golden Green Leaf Liao Qizhi, who was nominated for the Best Actor for the Academy Awards for this role.
In a noodle scene, the inspector Zhongge played by Ren Dahua said that he was diagnosed with cancer. At this time, Liao Qizhi's noodles had been eaten, but he was still using the residue from the chopsticks to find things for himself to cover up the fluctuations in his heart. When Brother Zhong got up and left, he suddenly broke out and smashed the plate.
There are many ways for actors to express their grief. One is crying, bluffing, and acting very hard, but the audience is easy to play without emotions; the other is like Liao Qizhi, using details to exaggerate emotions. Suddenly broke out after a brewing period, and the grief rose to anger, which not only scared the audience, but also reflected the character's irritable character.
In the second half of the film, the conflict between the good and the evil is concentrated on Father's Day, and the special meaning of Father's Day is also full of various roles.
Sammo Hung's Wang Bao is an old man. This is his first Father's Day and his child's full moon. Danny Chen's brother Chen has seen his daughter he hasn't seen for many years, but he never knows what gift his daughter gave him; Liao Qizhi Hua Ge, who plays the role, has been at odds with his father, only to find out on the phone that his father has passed away.
Both Chen and Hua were killed suddenly, leaving endless regrets and enhancing the tragic nature of the film.
The script of "Slaying the Wolf" is based on darkness, tragedy and fatalism, and the scenes and soundtrack are also trying to create a sense of isolation for the protagonist.
The most obvious example appeared in a scene in the police station where Brother Zhong and his men forged evidence and put the underworld gangster Wang Bao in prison. However, Wang Bao's power is overwhelming, not only using mobile phones in prison, but also openly threatening Brother Zhong and his men from getting out of the police station.
At this time, the director gave Brother Zhong and the others a shot through the iron fence. In this shot, it seemed that it was not Wang Bao who was detained, but the five policemen.
The soundtrack of the film is produced by Feng Xiyu, who is affiliated with Chen Guangrong's studio. The style is gloomy and treacherous, especially the humming of street fighting is full of religious sense. This humming was later used in the sequel and became the iconic music of the coming climax.
"Slaying the Wolf" has left too much legacy for the sequel. In addition to Feng Xiyu's soundtrack, the classic street fighting of swinging sticks and daggers, the dark style ending is also far-reaching.
When the final duel between Ma Jun and Wang Bao was over, Wang Bao, who had died fraudulently, suddenly launched an attack and pushed Ma Jun downstairs, only to kill his wife and children. This kind of karma and interlocking script design has the style of a galaxy image, which is mostly attributed to one of the screenwriters, Situ Jinyuan.
Of course, this film is not without flaws. When the film was filmed, Sammo Hung was already old, and the leading actors such as Donnie Yen also needed to be reasonably protected, so some actions were done by a substitute. However, this is also within the industry rules of action movies.
Years later, Ye Weixin and Zheng Baorui expanded this series with their own styles, and wanted to create a "Slaying Wolf Universe". However, the scripts of these sequels still lack a bit of flavor, and the play also uses more Avia and stand-ins, which is difficult to surpass the original "Slaying the Wolf".
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