San Tong San Daai Hing
1998 / 85m - Hong Kong
Action, Crime
3.0*/5.0*
Shanghai Affairs poster

Watches

October 27, 2021

3.0*/5.0*

A Donnie Yen vehicle. Though Yen never lacked screen presence, nor the chops for onscreen fighting, his ego got the better of him when his star was rising, which made working in Hong Kong a real challenge. Shanghai affairs is a late 90s film that feels like it was 5 years late to the party, a rather cheap looking and rushed action flick with a throwaway plot.

Tong is a doctor who studied Western medicine in the UK. When he returns to China he settles in a small town, where he hopes to help out the local villagers. When he arrives, it turns out the people there are threatened by the Axe Gang. To make matters more complicated, Tong falls in love with the sister of the Axe Gang's leader.

While this sounds pretty bland, the film has one important redeeming factor, which is Yen himself. As a director/lead he has every opportunity to let the action scenes shine, and shine it does. The rest is rather subpar (though a proper remaster could help, the camera work isn't that bad really), so if you feel like some kick-ass martial arts cinema, this is a pretty solid option.