| Fatal Move | |
|---|---|
 Promotional poster | |
| Directed by | Dennis Law |
| Written by | Dennis Law |
| Produced by | Dennis Law |
| Starring | Sammo Hung Simon Yam Wu Jing Danny Lee |
| Cinematography | Herman Yau |
| Edited by | Yau Chi-wai |
| Music by | Tommy Wai |
Production companies | |
| Distributed by | China Star Entertainment Group(Hong Kong) Cathay-Keris Films(Singapore) |
Release date |
|
Running time | 116 minutes |
| Country | Hong Kong |
| Languages | Cantonese English |
Fatal Move (traditional Chinese:奪帥;simplified Chinese:夺帅, released in the United States asTriad Wars) is a 2008Hong Kong action film written, produced and directed byDennis Law. The film starsSammo Hung,Simon Yam andWu Jing, who reunite after 2005'sSPL: Sha Po Lang.
The film focuses on aTriad gang led by brothers Lin Ho-Lung and Lin Ho-Tung (Hung and Yam), which faces a series of double crossings, and violent misfortunes.Danny Lee co-stars in the film, returning in his first feature film role after four years, once again playing a Hong Kong police officer. The film was released on 28 February 2008.
Triad boss Lin Ho-lung (Sammo Hung) is celebrating his son's first birthday, a child conceived by his mistress. The party is interrupted whenPolice Inspector Liu Chi-chung (Danny Lee) arrives outside of the club with his colleagues, warning the gang to stop throwing any parties without the police's consent.
Police officers raid a drug shipment involving Lin Ho-tung (Simon Yam), Lung's right-hand man and assassin, Lok Tin-hung (Wu Jing), and Wu (Ken Lo), a drug dealer. A gunfight ensues between the police and triads, resulting in Wu’s arrest. Wu remains uncooperative with the police and his wife Tracy (Pinky Cheung) talks with Lung's wife Soso (Tien Niu), threatening to have Wu expose Lung's gang if she does not receive $20 million. Later that night, Tung and Tin-hung torture Tracy, who reveals that the threat was bogus and that her secret lover coerced her into creating a lie so she could flee with him once she had received the money. The gang executes Tracy’s lover, and breaks into police headquarters to assassinate Wu. Various police officers and Triad gang members are killed as the Triads try to escape the precinct.
It is revealed that Soso and gang member Law Ting-Fat are blackmailing Lung and his gang. They orchestrate a kidnapping of Lung's financial backer, Uncle Yu (Hui Shiu-hung). After receiving $200 million from Lung, Soso and Fat kill the hired kidnappers and Uncle Yu to cover their tracks.
Lung and Tung eventually start a war against a rival triad gang whom they suspect is responsible for the murder. Later, Lung has a meeting with his rival, Flirt (Tam Ping-man), a gang leader who reveals he had nothing to do with Yu’s death. Tung learns about Soso and Fat's role in Yu's killing. Lung goes after the couple, resulting in a shootout. Soso and Fat's men are killed, while Tung executes Fat. Lung catches up to Soso whom he refuses to kill, after she expresses her bitterness about her inability to conceive and Lung's decision to have a child with a mistress. She is later arrested by the police.
Lung and Tin-hung are trapped in a warehouse and surrounded by the police outside. Knowing that they will be unable to escape, Tin-Hung mentions that he was never convinced by the stories that claim Lung was an "invincible fighter." Lung accepts Tin-hung's challenge. The fight ends with Lung impaling Tin-hung with a pipe. While dying, Tin-hung expresses that he forgives Lung, and hopes that he will soon join him after he dies. Refusing to surrender to the police, Lung walks out of the warehouse, armed with machine guns. Heintimidates the police by firing the weapons in the air, and is shot to death.
While Soso is serving prison time, assassins disguised as painters slit her throat. Tung attempts to flee with Lung's mistress and their baby son. They arrive at a beach, presumably to escape via boat. Tung asks her to wait while he looks for the means of escape. A person approaches the mistress and her son. Separately, someone also walks up to Tung, who closes his eyes. A gun with asilencer is shown.
The film ends with the words: "Those who follow their destiny meet with sorrows, while those who resist their destiny meet with death."
Fatal Move reunites writer, producer and directorDennis Law, with initially the same crew and several actors he used to make the 2006 filmFatal Contact. The film is a Hong Kong production distributed byChina Star Entertainment Group, and also produced byOne Hundred Years of Film Co. Ltd., along with Law's production company Point of View Movie Production Co. Ltd. The film was executive produced byCharles Heung, whose sonJacky Heung appears in the film in a supporting role. Acclaimed Hong Kong filmmakerHerman Yau, who has frequently collaborated with Law and Heung, served as a cinematographer, while Nicky Li, a member of theJackie Chan Stunt Team served as a fight and stunt choreographer.Fatal Move was shot with a budget of HK$20 million.[1]
Law originally wanted the film to be asequel toSPL: Sha Po Lang, which would focus on theSammo Hung character for that film. Law then realized that theprequel sequel idea had limited potential, especially when he wanted to show the relationship between the Sammo Hung and Wu Jing characters fromSPL. Though it has themes similar toSPL, and reunites Wu Jing and Sammo Hung, Law’sFatal Move is a completely original work.[2]
For his film, Law wanted to set his sights onNorth American audiences, by assembling a cast of familiaractors that are best known to them, such asSammo Hung,Ken Lo,Simon Yam andDanny Lee. Law believes that themartial arts scenes are the strongest asset ofFatal Move, in particular, the major weapon fight scene between Sammo Hung andWu Jing.[3]
Filming occurred for two months in Hong Kong, beginning with production inauguration on 1 August 2007.[4][5]
The film was awarded aCategory III rating for its excessive amount of violence. The film was not given a release inMainland China, since Law refused to compromise by editing a tamer version that conforms to their strictcensorship.[3]
DVD was released inRegion 2 in the United Kingdom on 31 August 2009, it was distributed by Cine Asia.