| SPL: Sha Po Lang | |
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SPL: Sha Po Lang DVD cover |
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| Traditional | 殺破狼 |
| Simplified | 杀破狼 |
| Mandarin | Shā Pò Láng |
| Cantonese | Saat3 Po3 Long4 |
| Directed by | Wilson Yip |
| Produced by | Carl Chang |
| Written by | Wilson Yip Szeto Kam-Yuen Ng Wai-lun |
| Starring | Donnie Yen Sammo Hung Simon Yam Jing Wu |
| Music by | Ken Chan Chan Kwong-wing |
| Cinematography | Lam Wah-chuen |
| Editing by | Cheung Ka-fai |
| Distributed by | ABBA Movies Co. Ltd. (Hong Kong) The Weinstein Company (US DVD) Dragon Dynasty (US DVD) |
| Release date(s) | Hong Kong: 18 November 2005 |
| Running time | 93 min |
| Country | Hong Kong |
| Language | Cantonese Mandarin |
SPL: Sha Po Lang (Chinese: 殺破狼, known in the United States as Kill Zone) is a 2005 Hong Kong martial arts action crime film written and directed by Wilson Yip, starring Donnie Yen, Sammo Hung, Simon Yam and Jing Wu.
Yam portrays a retiring police detective who resorts to the use of questionable methods in order to catch Wong Po (Hung), a ruthless Triad boss.
Title, Sha Po Lang refers to three words derived from Chinese astrology that each represent a different star capable of good or evil depending on their position in the heavens.[1]
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Hong Kong Police Detective Chan (Simon Yam) has devoted his career to putting the notorious Triad boss Wong Po (Sammo Hung) behind bars. While escorting a witness with damning evidence of Wong Po's wrongdoings to court, the police van is rammed at high speed by a car driven by the ruthless assassin Jack (Jing Wu). The wreck severely injures the witness and his wife, whom Jack proceeds to kill after getting down from his car. The witness' young daughter, however, was spared. Detective Chan is left with a piece of glass in the back of his head. When the glass is removed, doctors notice a tumor in Detective Chan's brain. He doesn't have long to live making Detective Chan all the more determined to bring down Wong Po, by any means necessary.
Ma Kwun (Donnie Yen), a detective from another precinct is assigned to take over the squad, comprising of Lee (Liu Kai-chi), Kwok (Danny Summer), and Lok (Ken Chang). All the men are very protective of Chan, who has since adopted the slain witness' daughter.
When an undercover detective from the squad is killed, and video showing the murder surfaces, Chan and his detectives see a way to frame Wong Po, who is caught on tape swinging a golf club repeatedly, alleged at where the undercover's face is, injuring him but left him survive for a killer to finish the job. The detectives decide to alter the tape, intimidate a witness and eliminate the real killer.
Ma Kwun, who had once beaten a criminal until he turned mentally-handicapped, vows to abstain from using questionable means in his work, unlike Chan and the rest of his team. He is upset when he discovers the deception by the squad, but assists in the arrest of Wong Po, which culminates in a brawl in the lobby of a department store with the rotund crime lord.
They received a warning that all of them would not make it to see the next day, should they get out of the police station that night. Paying no heed to the warning, Lok goes to buy a gun to frame Wong Po with, and is killed by knife-wielding Jack. Later on, Lee and Kwok are both killed by Jack. Lee, before his death, confessed that in order to help Chan raise his adopted daughter, they had stolen money from Wong Po and they were targeted for retaliation.
Chan then goes to Wong Po's office alone, and is thoroughly beaten by the gangster.
Ma Kwun, in a dispute with his superiors over the handling of the case, turns in his badge and gun, and then goes to Wong Po's. He is met by Jack in the alley. Armed with only a baton, Ma Kwun engages in intense martial arts combat with the knife expert. Jack then wrestles the baton away but Ma Kwun manages to eviscerate Jack with his own knife.
Ma Kwun then heads up to Wong Po's office to fight him, finding Chan strung up and not able to move. The fight ends seemingly when Ma Kwun backdrops Wong Po onto a tall display of glasses and bottles. Ma Kwun then sits down at the bar and starts to pour himself a drink. Detective Chan, still strung up starts to speak to Ma Kwun. Wong Po then suddenly gets up and charges at Ma Kwun, throwing him out of the window. His wife makes a call to Wong Po just before Ma Kwun smashes onto the car she and her baby is in, killing all three of them instantly. When Wong Po gazes down at Ma Kwun's body, he notices the car underneath the body and realizes that it is his wife's car. Wong Po slumps down onto a stool and starts sobbing, broken with grief over his actions.
In the final scene, Detective Chan and the witnesses' daughter are seen on a beach, as the daughter is playing near the shore. Chan finally succumbs to his tumor and dies.
Hailed as a return to the classics of Hong Kong action cinema, SPL opened in Hong Kong on 18 November 2005. It also premiered in the "Midnight Madness" program of the Toronto International Film Festival in September that same year, at the Ryerson University Theater.
Donnie Yen won the 'Best Action Choreography' award at the 2006 Hong Kong Film Awards. The film was also awarded the "Film of Merit" at the 2006 Hong Kong Film Critics Society Awards.
SPL opened in Hong Kong on 18 November 2005. In its first three days it grossed $2,166,088 HKD. It stayed in the number one position at the Hong Kong box office until 6 December [1], and eventually grossed $7,425,473 HKD in its entire run [2]. The figure was generally regarded as mildly successful given the overall state of the Hong Kong film industry and the Category III rating given to SPL, and the film would probably turn modest profit once foreign sales and revenues were taken into account.
North American rights to the film were purchased by The Weinstein Company, where Dragon Dynasty released the movie as Kill Zone in a special DVD package that included many extras.
The fight scenes were choreographed by Donnie Yen, who aimed for authenticity, which was possible with the presence of the veteran martial arts actor and choreographer Sammo Hung. The knife and baton fight between Donnie Yen and Jing Wu was painstakingly choreographed to give it a look and feel of seeing the two actors spar. Although, as shown in the behind-the-scenes featurette in the US DVD release, and interviews with Donnie Yen and Sammo Hung, kicking the flying tantō in mid-air was one of the only CGI shots in the entire movie, because throwing a real tantō at the actor would have been extremely dangerous and risky.
A prequel to SPL has been rumored. It is said would star Donnie Yen, Sammo Hung, Simon Yam and Jing Wu reprising their roles from the original film. Film director Wilson Yip reteamed with Donnie Yen to direct in 2007 film Flash Point, which was also rumored to be a prequel to SPL.
Dennis Law initially planned to make his own sequel to SPL, but realized his script had limited potential, and rewrote the script for his film, Fatal Move.[2]
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