dworldeater As a long time fan of Hong Kong movies, it's nice that in recent years Donnie Yen has finally come out on his own as a leading man. While Special ID is not a movie of the same quality as the Ip Man movies starring Donnie or Kill Zone(SPL), I did still enjoy it quite a bit. Directed by Clerence Fok, who is best known for the erotic action cult classic Naked Killer. Donnie is a cop who is deep, deep, deep undercover who wants to be a regular cop and regain his identity. Of course his superiors want him to keep feeding them information and when the crap hits the fan, Donnie Yen fights everyone. To be honest, the story and most of the acting in this action packed thriller is average, but adaquite. Donnie, however is great and the fights are awesome. Donnie makes the combo of stylish martial arts and gritty streetfighting work. I can't regard Special ID as an instant classic, however it is a pretty solid action movie with some great fight scenes. I look forward to see more asskicking from Donnie Yen in the future.

Anita Bailey Let's just say I know Special ID by heart now! After watching Donnie for 3 straight screenings, I recommend fans take another look at this film. So some spoilers here! The storyline was simple but the action fits the storyline. When you first watch Special ID, like any movie, you may miss some details. So it was exciting to see the "why" behind a character and the action. I thought it was mad funny how ever time he went to meet with the other gangs, he always got in trouble or had to fight his way out. He could never just leave. So this confirmed his mother's statement in how he is always getting in or causing trouble. I agree with Donnie. I wish they had not edited the relationship his character had with his mother. I had a lot of favorite and funny moments I liked. But two of my favorite lines was one when his mother said, "I've always wanted to protect you", when she revealed that she knew for years he was undercover. That was very heart-warming. The second, when his superior told him what his role will be when he went to the Mainland for the case. He whispered in his ear "Special ID" and Donnie's character responds, "What the hell is that?" Mad funny! Special ID reminded me of Donnie's "In the Line of Duty", "Tiger Cage" and "Cheetah on Fire" days for someone reason but just updated, more modern. In spite of the negative reviews from the get go, which was such an injustice and may have prematurely tainted fans opinion about the film, I predict Special ID is going to find a following in spite of its limited release.

JT Noels Thought I'd give this movie a hand, a long-time IMDb user, creating an account just because I'm outraged at the bad press this movie is getting here!After SPL and Flash Point, this movie fits right into its sub-genre, which Donnie Yen is pioneering and he is going to be known for the choreography work he is doing in these movies in years to come.Some of the review to this movie are phenomenally unfair. People are considering Sha Po Lang as a benchmark, and while it had great fighting scenes, it was incredibly over-dark. Flashpoint starts with the development of MMA in fight scenes, and does a great job, although the final action scene was really long. This film has some of the best fight scenes seen in a long while and it really brings MMA to the screen in an exciting and new way. (The guy who says Yen is the only one who knows ground-work in the movie wasn't watching, it seems.)Not only that, the colours and the settings are grand, the first scene in a Kowloon-looking gangster hangout is fantastic, and there is a great scene in a restaurant as well.The action is visually beautiful and emotionally tense, a great job with that. Maybe the car chase scene is a bit long, there is some Chinese cheesiness with the conversations with the female character, but it brings the action forward and Andy On is a great bad guy. Maybe the storyline unfolds quickly and not all the elements are there, but the characterisation of Donnie Yen's character is new and interesting, though they play on old HK conventions.In short, this is a GOOD action movie for people who like martial arts movies and cop movies. Yen is reviving the police dramas that Honk Kong hasn't been doing well for a few years now (Johnnie To and Dante Lam being the exceptions). It is great fun, with great shots and even its music is not bad!Thank you Donnie, for making action movies that are fresh, new and cool!

moviexclusive The six years since 'Ip Man', Donnie Yen has not looked back on the kind of contemporary action that fuelled his latest career resurgence, preferring instead historical epics like 'Bodyguards and Assassins', 'Legend of the Fist: The Return of Chen Zhen' and 'Wu Xia'. No wonder then fans of 'S.P.L.' and 'Flash Point' have been waiting in eager anticipation for his return to MMA-type action that this latest 'Special ID' promises, in particular since Donnie himself has promised this to be the epitome of the techniques he had used in his earlier two movies.Good news is that Donnie doesn't disappoint - as the action director and of course his own choreographer, he makes great use of the tight enclosed quarters of the sets to stage some thrilling MMA fights. Right from an invigorating opening that pits him against veteran Jackie Chan stunt team member Ken Lo in an old-school mah-jong parlour, it's clear Donnie is going for the jugular when it comes to his blows, kicks and head-locks. This is none of that poetic grace we saw in 'Wu Xia' or restraint in the 'Ip Man' movies; rather, this is no holds barred Donnie, and boy is it awesome to watch him in full macho mode.And throughout the 100-minute run time, Donnie gets to go ballistic twice more - once in the middle when he first confronts his protégé turned arch-nemesis Sunny (Andy On) and again right at the end where the two go mano-a-mano against each other. Both are unique in themselves; whereas the first sees Donnie take on dozens of Sunny's lackeys on his own (think Donnie's one against many in 'Ip Man 2') within the narrow confines of a two-storey restaurant and its kitchens, the second gives Donnie more latitude to brawl with a well-matched opponent both in attitude as well as in ferocity.Impressive though they may be, we do have a few caveats to make. One, much as Donnie had wanted to top what he accomplished in 'S.P.L.' and 'Flash Point', the truth of the matter is that you're probably not going to be wowed to the same extent as watching Donnie go up against Wu Jing in 'S.P.L.' or against Collin Chou in 'Flash Point'. Despite packing bare-knuckled brutality, it lacks the 'oomph' to make it a contender amongst Donnie's best fights. Two, despite adding Collin to the cast as the head of the mafia clan Donnie's Zhilong is infiltrated into, there is no match-up between Donnie and Collin - which in itself is already a disappointment. And lastly, even though Donnie had wanted a female Michelle Yeoh in Mainland star Tian Jing, the actress is largely unremarkable in the few scenes she gets to show off her moves.Now that we've covered the failings in the action department, it's probably opportune to talk about the rest of the movie, which can be summed up in a single word - dreadful. Let's start with the script by the late veteran Hong Kong screenwriter Szeto Kam Yuen, who had also penned Donnie's 'S.P.L.' and 'Flash Point' - while the former two shrewdly chose a simple but tightly wound narrative around the action, 'Special ID' sees Yuen channelling 'Infernal Affairs' into its story of an undercover cop who wants out but is forced to take on one last mission by his superior (played here with comic but unconvincing effect by Ronald Cheng). Not only is Zilong's character arc of a tortured cop clichéd, it is tacked on with an equally hackneyed pseudo-romance between Zilong and his Mainland partner Fang Jing (Tian Jing) from which he is supposed to find a sense of composure to his brash aggressive self.It might have been better if a stronger director was at the helm; unfortunately, the person behind the camera was also behind Donnie's most atrocious movie in recent years 'Together'. We're talking of Clarence Fok, best known for his work on the 1992 Wong Jing scripted film 'Naked Killer'; here, Fok literally 'f**ks' up the direction with poor continuity between scenes, annoying fadeouts and most of all, a utter lack of coherence in the tone of the movie - the latter in fact is particularly ingratiating, as Fok reveals yet again how he has utterly no clue how to build a credible romantic arc, in this case between Zilong and Fang Jing.But Fok's shortcomings don't stop there - there is absolutely no subtlety in the entire movie, so much so Donnie ends up embarrassing himself by overacting in every single dramatic scene. Fok even manages to screw up Donnie's transformation from impulsive to out-of-control, a supposed crucial turning point in the story where Zilong's dual identity catches up with him and exacts a punishing toll on the one sole family member he has left - his mother (Paw Hee Ching); as it is, the ending that sees Donnie chasing Sunny down the roads of Shenzhen is rushed and jarring, another frustrating sign of incompetence by a director who should have stayed in retirement.No thanks to multiple shortcomings, 'Special ID' ranks as a queer disappointment. Sure, one goes to a Donnie Yen film for the action, which he does deliver to good - though not great - effect; but there need at least be a competent story to form the narrative glue in between the fights, which in this case is sorely lacking. If Donnie is listening, we'd also advise him to simply stick with dubbing or with his native Cantonese tongue for his next movies - let's just say that his Cantonese-accented Mandarin is quite the unintentional cringer here.