I wouldn’t exactly call myself an action movie connoisseur. Sure, I like a good action flick just as much as anybody, but I don’t know nearly as much about these films as I do about, say, the horror genre. I can’t list off the best and most influential action movies ever made, nor can I tell you how these films have evolved through the decades. But despite all that, I do know a good action flick when I see one, and when I saw the trailer for Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In, I knew I had to check this movie out. It looked like a relentless attack of blistering martial arts fun, so I thought it had the potential to be one of the best films of the year in any genre, action or otherwise. And I ended up being totally right.
Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In was directed by Soi Cheang, and it stars a monster ensemble that includes Louis Koo, Sammo Hung, Raymond Lam, Chun-Him Lau, and Philip Ng. The movie follows a refugee named Lok who runs afoul of the most feared triad boss in Hong Kong, but before the triad can take him out, he finds a safe haven in Kowloon Walled City, a notoriously lawless part of town.
Initially, Lok only plans to stay there temporarily, but he quickly comes to love his new neighbors and friends so much he doesn’t want to leave. All seems to be right in his world, but before long, that bubble bursts in just about the most violent way possible. A secret from Lok’s past–one even he doesn’t know about–eventually makes its way to the surface, and it ignites an all-out war between the toughest, most fearsome fighters around.
From almost the very first frame, the action in Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In is top-notch. In fact, it might be the best martial arts action I’ve seen since Gareth Evans’s The Raid films. It’s fast, it hits hard, and it’ll do more than just keep you on the edge of your seat. Every time the fighting picked up again, it put a big smile on my face, and I might’ve said “This is amazing” out loud a few more times than I care to admit.
Up until the third act, nobody in this film uses guns, so it’s almost all hand-to-hand combat and handheld weapons like knives and hammers. Action like that requires first-rate martial artists, and thankfully, these actors are all up to the task. They pull off some crazy fight sequences with jaw-dropping precision, and unlike a lot of American movies, the camera actually lets you see these fights in all their breathtaking glory.
Also unlike many stateside fight flicks, the action in Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In has a bit of the soft, almost airy quality Western film fans will remember from Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. Granted, we don’t see anybody walk on super thin tree branches, but these fights aren’t 100% realistic either. The characters often move with a slightly preternatural ease and agility, and there are numerous times where a single punch is enough to throw an opponent halfway across the room.
There’s also a character who seems to have some special ki abilities, so if you want MMA-like verisimilitude, you’re probably going to be disappointed. But if you don’t mind a touch of fantasy in your action films, I think you’re going to enjoy every second of these perfectly choreographed and executed fights.
All that being said, action can’t stand alone in a movie. If it doesn’t have a solid emotional foundation in the characters and the story, it’ll be little more than visual noise, and that fatal flaw has beset a few recent American action films (namely, Borderlands and The Crow). But that’s not at all the case in Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In.
For starters, the performances in this movie are incredible, so I had no trouble at all buying into these characters and their story. In fact, they’re so good I can’t pick a standout to highlight. Even the bit players make a big impression, so it’s an absolute joy to watch these people go about their lives, even when there’s nothing particularly thrilling happening at the moment.
On top of that, Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In also finds a way to tug at your heartstrings. Seeing Lok find a family in Kowloon Walled City is genuinely touching, so you can’t help but be happy for the poor guy. You can tell that he’s had a rough life, and you want him to finally find his place in the world.
Your sympathy for the character will also extend to Lok’s newfound friends, and as you can probably guess, that emotional connection makes it all the more tragic when things start to go south for these people. I obviously can’t say what happens to them, but trust me, the story takes some genuinely heartbreaking twists and turns, and the longer it goes on, the more emotionally invested you’ll become.
When you put that all together, you get an almost perfect recipe for an action film. Great fights grounded in great characters and a compelling story make for cinematic gold, so like I said before, Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In isn’t just one of the best action movies of the year. It’s one of the best films of 2024 in any genre, so I highly recommend that you check it out as soon as you can. You won’t regret it.
Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In is set to hit VOD on September 3, and it’ll be available on Blu-ray, DVD, and 4K UHD on November 19.