Skywalker is not a simple gangster "gangster" type in the report, but a typical gangster film, in which three forces interact with each other. On the one hand, Ye Qiu was a man of the past who tried to be in business; on the other hand, he was a new gang force headed by Gui Zi who tried to take a comprehensive position; on the other hand, he was an anti-gang group led by Song police officer. Although Ye Qiu runs a serious business, the struggle between him and Ghost Boy still belongs to the scope of gangster entanglements. The role of the police is not just the "behind-the-scenes manipulator" in the underworld, but closely intertwined with the other two parties. You come and go between the three parties, supporting a rather full story.
Heroes in the world come from our generation, and when they enter the Jianghu, they are destroyed by time. The changing rivers and lakes make people linger, and the cruel rivers and lakes make people feel reluctant. In Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, the young Jade Jiaolong walks into the Jianghu with infinite reverie, and the renowned warrior Li Mubai decides to retire from the Jianghu with tiredness. Skywalker is also a story about "going in and out", only pulling the background from ancient times to modern times. A young ghost can kill his opponent with one knife, just like a martial arts master who fell headlong with a knife in Gu Long's pen, and "his career is in the rising class" (to borrow the famous saying of Dao Ge in Crazy Stone, hehe), he is planning to take charge of his career wholeheartedly. Ye Qiu once dreamed of dominating the Jianghu, just like the ghost boy. The ups and downs of the world made him realize that he just wanted to be a good person who was beneficial to the society and the public. Primary school books have long preached that "the prodigal son will never change his money", and the realistic rivers and lakes do not allow young people to turn over a new leaf. In ancient times, it was difficult to wash one's hands of the golden basin of Liu Zhengfeng Quyang, only a song "the legendary swordsman" was sent as a token of affection. Today, Ye Qiu is facing a similar situation. Since he walked out of the prison gate, he has been recognized by the police as the focus of his eight-year dormant attempt to make a comeback. Ghosts versus Ye Qiu are often bloody. Perhaps, we will habitually assume that Ye Qiu will finally carry out an astonishing plot. However, Skywalker didn't deal with it this way. Instead, it saved the ghost boy through Ye Qiu's final "death" and realized Ye Qiu's self-redemption.
The problem of scriptwriting has become a difficult point in the world cinema. Many movies guess the ending when they see the beginning. When the ghost boy pointed his gun at Ye Qiu, when the doctor's men aimed at the ghost boy, and when the police officer Song refused to wear bulletproof vests, I thought that the director would let the protagonist quick march go to the grave. Ye Qiu can't escape the fate of the Jianghu, the young and frivolous ghosts deserve it, and the police are killed in the line of duty. These are the most conventional ways in Hong Kong movies, such as Black and White Forest, Black and White Road, kill the wolf and so on. The director did not choose this desperate ending, on the contrary, he let them continue to live in different ways for various reasons, bringing a rare freshness.
The freshness of Skywalker is in line with the logic of plot development, and there is no story that hurts the film itself, which is different from the previous similar film Crouching Tiger. The 1 undercover in Crouching Tiger has a certain freshness compared with the previous "undercover films". Although there are many undercover agents, it is understandable as a fictional design of film storytelling. In the development of the plot, the relationship between the characters in the rivers and lakes, their situation and emotions are relatively clear, which produces enough drama tension. Unfortunately, when Wang Guangli and Jing Wong uncovered the "truth", they broke the emotion and relationship they had built before, which made the whole story completely collapse. For example, Ceng Zhiwei and Sonija Kwok met each other from chance encounter, especially the short message, which created a deep sweet affection. At the moment, Ceng Zhiwei was killed by Shawn Yue, which is a kind of sadness in Jianghu. When I was just infected by this sadness, Sonija Kwok's sentence "I'm sorry, I'm also undercover" made me wake up from a rude awakening: Oh, my God, it turned out that there was no true feelings between them, but it was just a conspiracy by the police. The touch in my heart will disappear. The story of Skywalker echoes back and forth, and the plot is designed around the theme. In the accident, it quickly turns to the topic. For example, the ghost angered the police officer Song, and after the shooting, the latter said, "I have seen many gangsters like you" and left. Shooting indiscriminately is just a legitimate and reasonable emotional vent.
whether as a screenwriter or as a director, James Yuen always pays attention to rendering stories with "emotion". This advantage is maintained in Skywalker. The friendship between brothers can be seen everywhere. It is a typical river and lake affection for Ye Qiu to call out "Big Brother" to the departing male brother. A Chi and others fully and wholeheartedly assisted Ye Qiu, regardless of the black-and-white boundary, or regardless of personal life and death fatigue, or reluctantly gave up his brother who was worse than death; Song police officer and Ye Qiu changed from opposition and estrangement to reconciliation and pity; The feelings between the ghost boy and his girlfriend, and between Ye Qiu and the blind girl are simple and real. Of course, these "feelings" are not difficult to find from previous Hong Kong films. However, when so many "feelings" come at the same time, the audience is surrounded by all kinds of familiar feelings.
Skywalker is a typical fast-paced movie, with rapid progression between plots, no excessive bedding for contradictions and conflicts, and "love" and "contention" throughout, without any sense of boredom. What is commendable is that it pays more attention to the description of details while advancing rapidly. For example, the word "Qiu" signed by Gao Qiu, the reporter who hurried down from the hospital elevator with a camera, and the urgency when the ghost ordered the execution of the blind girl.
From a deeper perspective, the film also involves the cycle of life and the boundary between black and white. Ye Qiu repeatedly stressed that it was books that changed him, and Ghost Boy took his original road, and Ghost Boy finally received books about human nature and Buddhism in prison, indicating the birth of a new generation of Skywalker. Such a design can easily make people feel too false and didactic, or cater to the mainland's electrical inspection policy. However, don't forget that the film allows some fiction, and this ending is also in line with the theme orientation of the film from beginning to end, and it is not imposed separately from the plot. Moreover, the title of Skywalker itself carries the meaning of salvation in Buddhism. Finally, the Song police officer said "Take care" to Ye Qiu's coffin, and the police stopped pursuing the shooting in the Jianghu, blurring the difference between black and white and good and evil.
As a commercial film, the soundtrack mixed with drums and smooth photography are mature techniques of Hong Kong films. The entertainment effect of Skywalker is also reflected in the comedy color inadvertently brought. When Tommy Tam said to Fang Zhongxin, "Officer Song, I have known you for a long time", it naturally reminded me of the old enmity between Song Zihao and Song Zijie in The True Color of Heroes. Fang Zhongxin broke into Chilam's house illegally, and after he escaped, he talked defiantly, saying what a coincidence, call the police quickly, and the police have a holiday; Don't forget, Eric Kot, who was funny when he appeared, played the editor-in-chief of a newspaper as a whole rascal. These "laughing" fruits make the audience maintain a relaxed viewing mentality.
The film also has many unavoidable disadvantages of Hong Kong commercial films, and the plot is loose and chaotic: the meaning of Skywalker is not expressed enough; Male elder brother gave Ye Qiu what content of the book also didn't hand over to treat; Ghost boy's strength is too weak, a close brother is still undercover, and it is difficult to confront Ye Qiu and the anti-gang group; Brother Xiong and the older generation "disappeared" at the last minute, and so on.
Skywalker is not an inspiring work, but it reflects the unwilling efforts of Hong Kong filmmakers in the familiar stories of Jianghu and police bandits. The story it tells about "redemption" is more like an action of "self-redemption" in Hong Kong movies. I have to say, this is a Hong Kong movie that brings some surprises.
here are some film reviews, which I hope will help you understand the film.