A renegade cop is on a mission to bring a shady smuggler to justice by any means necessary. When his investigation leads to a Triad mob boss and global smuggling ring, his manhunt quickly turns from local misconduct into a violent international incident. A relentless barrage of high flying action and explosive fight sequences, in this breakneck thriller, once the fists start flying, they never stop – not even underwater.
“The Brink” was a bit challenging to critique since it overall left me feeling ambivalent. When I read the synopsis, a smuggler and a cop with a long-standing feud go head to head over a cache of gold buried deep in the sea, I was intrigued.
I grew up loving martial arts films, mainly Kung Fu and Wuxia. Some of my initial favorites featured stars like Jackie Chan, Jet Li, Michelle Yeoh, and Donnie Yen. Overall, the genre is split between ancient Chinese sweeping tales and modern hyperviolent thrillers. I enjoy both, Gareth Evans has had major success with the latter. His “The Raid” franchise has blown the doors of kinetic frenzied action all clearly framed. I mention him because I felt the director of “The Brink” was trying to grasp for the same results.
Not to be mistaken with the instantly forgettable HBO limited series, “The Brink” is directed by Jonathan Li whose filmography I’m unfamiliar with but he’s been directing for years. I found his style unsubtle but effective, plenty of bone-crunching kicks and punches that make CGI blood splash across the screen. There are some really nice camera angles and movement, at times too much slow motion. Slow-motion can be useful to capture more of the quick nuances and craft. I remember reading when Jet Li was making his Hollywood debut the filmmakers asked him to slow down his movements being much too fast for the camera and audience.
Unfortunately, much focus is on the fight choreography and little time is spent on characters and plot. Quick-pitched backstories and last-minute exposition only hankered the momentum. Why am I supposed to care about their feud when they’re not properly introduced? I refer to them as cop and smuggler because no one was memorable and the characters rarely used each other’s names. The best and most criminally underused character was the smuggler’s girlfriend. They are all well-styled but thinly written. The smuggler is particularly vicious, in one scene he methodically makes tiny incisions on an adversary and then literally rubs salt in his wounds. The soundtrack is a half baked mix of modern/’80s action with heavy wailing guitar riffs that would be right at home with “Lethal Weapon” and some Mongolian throat singers.
I normally don’t expect complex characters in the average shoot em up or in this case, beat ’em up genre. Li reaches high for melodrama and emotions but it’s difficult to care. That aside, there’s still some genuinely thrilling combat. Martial arts movies have a history of putting the hero in a precarious situation like Jackie Chan in “Who Am I?” on a large skyscraper fighting on the edge with white knuckle results. “The Brink” features a well-thought-out scene involving the cop handcuffed to a suspect fighting off multiple foes. Another great moment is when the cop is resuscitating his rival with a mix of CPR and punches to save his life whilst kicking his ass. There’s also some very heavy-handed imagery like a floating Buddha necklace amongst material wealth.
Needing a cinematic digestif, I purchased the brilliant Zhang Yimou’s recent outing “Shadow” based on my colleague Alex Savaliev’s glowing Review. It’s an immediate reminder of how wonderful Wuxia cinema still is, and I will continue to be excited for new martial arts films for years to come.
Available on Blu-ray™ Combo Pack, DVD & Digital August 20th
