Saat Po Long is a Martial Film that I’ve heard great things and managed to live it reputation. Unlike The Rebel and Invisible Target, Saat Po Long delivers in both plot and action to make to one great Martial Art film.
Saat Po Long follows a near retired inspector and his unit who are willing to put down a crime boss at all costs while dealing with a replacement inspector who is getting in their way. Meanwhile, the crime boss plots a killing spree on them. The plot is dark, gritty, and maintains your interest while no one is fighting on screen. It has enough twists to not only keep the viewer engage with what happening on screen, but also prevents practicability. Although Wilson Yip does have some hiccup when telling a story, often time there are long dialogue scenes and few to little action scenes to fully justify it. While most of the dialogue driven scenes are done well, they do drag out creating an uneven pacing for a film of this genre. One major problem with the movie are the characters, while the cast do a terrific job in their roles the characters aren’t worth caring about much. Some of them simply don’t have enough development while some don’t get enough screen time for their death to have any meaning. When it comes to action on the other hand, Wilson Yip knows what he’s doing making sure the audience could see what’s going on screen. The cast, like I said earlier, are terrific but Sammo Hung steals the show as the movie villain. He truly makes one of most memorable villain in the Martial Art genre while still being able to perform his fight scenes convincingly despite his old age. Donnie Yen is not bad himself and delivers on his fight scene with Sammo Hung.
Saat Po Long may not have memorable characters for the most part, but it does have a great plot and action to satisfy the viewers. Whether you like crime film or Martial Art film Saat Po Long is a movie that successfully combines the two for a great experience.
8/10
Personafication 