Skywalker is not a simple gangster "gangster" type in the report, but a typical gangster film with three forces interacting. On the one hand, Ye Qiu is a man of the past who tried to do business; On the other hand, he is a new gang force headed by Guizai who tries to take the overall position; On the other hand, it is the anti-gang group led by police officer Song. Although Ye Qiu runs a serious business, the struggle between him and Ghost Boy still belongs to the category of gangster entanglements. The role of the police is not only the "behind-the-scenes manipulator" of the underworld, but also closely intertwined with the other two parties. You come and go between the three parties, supporting a fairly complete story.
Heroes in the world come out of our generation, enter the rivers and lakes, and the years are gone. The ever-changing rivers and lakes make people linger, and the cruel rivers and lakes make people reluctant to part. In Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, the young Jade Jiaolong entered the Jianghu with infinite reverie, while the famous warrior Li Mubai decided to quit the Jianghu with exhaustion. Skywalker is also a story about "going in and out", which only pulls the background from ancient times to modern times. A young ghost can kill his opponent with one knife, just like a fallen martial arts master in Gu Long's works, and "the class whose career is rising" (to borrow Doug's famous saying in Crazy Stone, hehe), he is planning to take charge of his career wholeheartedly. Ye Qiu once dreamed of dominating the Jianghu like a ghost. The ups and downs of the world made him realize that he just wanted to be a good person who was beneficial to 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 Quyang in Liu Zhengfeng, and only one song "the legendary swordsman" was given as an expression. Today, Ye Qiu faces 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 latent attempt to make a comeback. The confrontation between ghosts and Ye Qiu is usually bloody. Perhaps, we will habitually assume that Ye Qiu will eventually carry out an amazing conspiracy. However, Skywalker did not handle it this way. On the contrary, it saved the ghost boy through Ye Qiu's final "death" and realized Ye Qiu's self-redemption.
Screenwriting has become a difficult problem in the world film industry, and many movies guess the ending when they see the beginning. When the ghost boy pointed his gun at the ghost boy, when the doctor's men aimed at the ghost boy, and when the police officer Song refused to wear a bulletproof vest, I thought the director would let the protagonist walk quickly to the grave. Ye Qiu can't escape the fate of the Jianghu. Young and frivolous ghosts deserve it, and the police died. These are the most conventional ways in Hong Kong movies, such as black and white forest, black and white road, killing wolves and so on. The director didn't choose this desperate ending. On the contrary, he let them continue to live in different ways for various reasons, which brought a rare freshness.
The freshness of Skywalker accords with the logic of plot development, and it does not hurt the story of the film itself, which is different from the previous film of the same type Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. 1000 undercover in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon has a certain freshness compared with the previous "undercover film". 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 has produced enough drama tension. Unfortunately, when Wang Guangli and Jing Wong uncovered the "truth", they broke the previously established feelings and relationships, and the whole story completely collapsed. For example, Ceng Zhiwei and Sonija Kwok have had a deep sweet feeling since they met by chance, especially through short messages. At the moment, Ceng Zhiwei was killed by Shawn Yue, which is a kind of sadness in the Jianghu. Just when I was just infected by this kind of sadness, Sonija Kwok's sentence "Sorry, I'm also undercover" made me wake up from a rude awakening: God, it turns out that there is no real feeling between them, just a conspiracy by the police. The emotion in my heart will disappear. Skywalker's story echoes back and forth, and the plot is designed around the theme. In the accident, I soon changed the subject. For example, the ghost angered the police officer Song, who said "I have seen many gangsters like you" and left after shooting. Shooting indiscriminately is just a legitimate and reasonable emotional vent.
Whether as a screenwriter or a director, James Yuen always pays attention to using "emotion" to render stories. This advantage was maintained in Skywalker. Friendship between brothers can be seen everywhere. Ye Qiu shouted "Big Brother" to his departing male brother, which is a typical Jianghu friendship. Achi and others 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 officers and from opposition and alienation 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 progress between plots, without too many contradictions and conflicts, and "love" and "struggle" 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 "autumn" signed by Gao Qiu, the reporter who hurried down from the hospital elevator with a camera, and the urgency when the tie 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 the ghost boy embarked on his original road. The ghost boy finally received books on human nature and Buddhism in prison, indicating the birth of a new generation of Skywalker. This kind of design can easily make people feel too fake and preaching, or cater to the mainland's electricity inspection policy. However, don't forget that the film allows some fiction, and this ending is also in line with the theme of the film from beginning to end, and it is not imposed separately from the plot. Moreover, the title Skywalker itself has the meaning of salvation in Buddhism. Finally, the police officer Song said "take care" to the coffin, and the police stopped investigating the shooting on the rivers and lakes, blurring the line between good and evil.
As a commercial film, the soundtrack is mixed with drums, and smooth photography is a mature technique of Hong Kong films. Skywalker's entertainment effect is also reflected in the comedy color inadvertently brought. When Tommy Tam's counterpart Zhongxin said, "Officer Song, I have known you for a long time", it naturally reminded me of the old feud between Song Zihao and Song Zijie in The True Color of Heroes. Fang Zhongxin illegally broke into Csillam's house, and after escaping, he spoke defiantly, saying what a coincidence, call the police quickly, and the police have a holiday; Don't forget, Eric Kot, who was very funny when he appeared, played the editor-in-chief of a newspaper, a rogue. These "laughter" fruits keep the audience relaxed.
The film also has many unavoidable shortcomings of Hong Kong commercial films, and the plot is loose and chaotic: the meaning of "Skywalker" is not expressed enough; Brother Xiong didn't tell Ye Qiu anything about the contents of the book; Ghost boy is too weak, and a brother is still undercover, so it is difficult to fight against 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 unwillingness of Hong Kong filmmakers in the familiar stories of rivers and lakes 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 that this is a Hong Kong film that brings some surprises.