‘Weekend in Taipei’ Invites Us to Reignite Old Flames and Take Down the Big Drug Kahuna!

November 7, 2024

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When in Taipei… (CREDIT: Ketchup Entertainment)

Starring: Luke Evans, Gwei Lun-mei, Sung Kang, Wyatt Yang, Tuo Tsung-hua, Lu Yi-ching, Patrick Lee

Director: George Huang

Running Time: 101 Minutes

Rating: R for Mostly Guns, Some Smoke Bombs, Plus the Odd Sword and Grenade

Release Date: November 8, 2024 (Theaters)

What’s It About?: DEA Agent John Lawlor (Luke Evans) is on the hunt for a big fish that he’s been hunting for years: cartel boss Kwang (Sung Kang), who holds all of Taipei in his iron grip. Unbeknownst to Lawlor, Kwang is married to Joey (Gwei Lun-mei), a very skilled driver who, unbeknownst to Kwang, had a passionate fling with Lawlor 15 years later. But Joey isn’t in love with Kwang, as she just married him for the protection that he offered. Alas, her teenage son Raymond (Wyatt Yang) is fed up with this arrangement and is determined to expose the evidence that can finally bring Kwang down. Meanwhile, Lawlor has been advised by his superiors to lay low and go on vacation, but he instead takes the opportunity to fly East and finally finish off Kwang once and for all, with all of these converging threads setting up an awkward and passionate reunion.

What Made an Impression?: Love and Practicality over Pettiness: Weekend in Taipei revs itself up with the standard high-speed luxury vehicle chases and heavy artillery shootouts, but its true reason for being is its ever-beating heart. John and Joey’s affair isn’t the most passionate you can find in this genre, but I appreciate how maturely it’s handled. The deceit of working undercover and the oceans between them initially doomed them, but now fate has intervened with another chance. So they vent their resentments and regrets, but soon enough they mutually realize that they’d actually like to handle things differently, thank you very much. Thus, they make a pact of No More Secrets, a formula for success in romance and maybe for taking down a drug lord as well.
Goosing the Goons: Besides Evans and Lun-mei making goo-goo eyes at each other, Weekend in Taipei‘s menu includes Sung Kang stewing in a constant boil of (occasionally quiet, occasionally violent) rage and Wyatt Yang displaying an appropriate amount of younger-generation frustration. But what I want to focus on right now are the henchmen. Kwang’s goons are mostly pure muscle who get gradually mowed down, while Lawlor by contrast teams up with a couple of dudes who are fairly competent but are much interested in chowing down on takeout in their hotel. Honestly, this movie could have used more talking-and-eating scenes. Tuo Tsung-hua fulfills a similar role as a lollipop-sucking police detective. Other than that, maybe you’ll enjoy a mini-Fast & Furious reunion whenever Evans and Kang are on screen together.

Weekend in Taipei is Recommended If You Like: Cars, Guns, and Fishing Villages

Grade: 2.5 out of 5 Ferraris

‘Fast X’ Asks If This Can Really Last Forever

May 17, 2023

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Family (CREDIT: Peter Mountain/Universal Pictures)

Starring: Vin Diesel, Michelle Rodriguez, Jason Momoa, Tyrese Gibson, Chris “Ludacris” Bridges, Sung Kang, Nathalie Emmanuel, John Cena, Jordana Brewster, Brie Larson, Alan Ritchson, Jason Statham, Daniela Melchior, Leo Abelo Perry, Scott Eastwood, Charlize Theron, Helen Mirren, Rita Moreno

Director: Louis Leterrier

Running Time: 141 Minutes

Rating: PG-13 for Flying Cars and Bullets

Release Date: May 19, 2023 (Theaters)

What’s It About?: We’re ten* films deep now in the Fast & Furious franchise (eleven if you count the spinoff), and things are getting pretty X-treme! Of course, you might well reasonably note that extremity was this series’ m.o. from the very beginning. But this is the first time that an “X” actually managed to sneak its way into the title. And that’s not the only unique bit of business. Usually these movies are pretty self-contained, and the plot is generally besides the point, but Fast X calls back directly to a previous adventure. Luckily for anyone who needs a refresher, there are plenty of flashbacks to Fast Five, when Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel) and his crew pulled off a heist in Brazil against drug lord Hernan Reyes. Now Hernan’s eccentric and sadistic son Dante (Jason Momoa) is out for revenge. He prefers to make his victims suffer, and for someone who values family as much as Dom, there are innumerable ways to poke at that nerve.

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‘F9’ Goes Full Looney Tunes

June 21, 2021

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F9: Explosion (CREDIT: YouTube Screenshot)

Starring: Vin Diesel, Michelle Rodriguez, Jordana Brewster, Tyrese Gibson, Chris “Ludacris” Bridges, Nathalie Emmanuel, John Cena, Sung Kang, Charlize Theron, Vinnie Bennett, Finn Cole, J.D. Pardo, Michael Rooker, Lucas Black, Shad Moss, Jason Tobin, Kurt Russell, Helen Mirren

Director: Justin Lin

Running Time: 145 Minutes

Rating: PG-13 for The Usual Cascade of Absurd Action

Release Date: June 25, 2021 (Theaters)

F9 is easily the silliest of the Fast & Furious series, which is saying something for a franchise that already went up to 11 and beyond on the Over-the-Top Scale at least four movies ago. It’s not the level of ambition that’s different so much as the tenor. The main attraction of Fast Five through Furious 7 was how technically brilliant the stunts were; this time it’s all about how they could fit right in with something out of Bugs Bunny and company. Roman (Tyrese) and Tej (Ludacris) definitely have a Wile E. Coyote/Roadrunner vibe. (Which one is which depends on any given moment.) Another apt comparison: Muppet Labs’ Dr. Bunsen Honeydew and his assistant Beaker. (Once again, the roles can flip-flop depending on the situation.)

So here’s the deal this time around: Dom has a brother that we’ve never seen before! Also, the gang goes to space! How did the former remain a secret for so long? Ehh, don’t worry about it, they’ll figure out a way. It doesn’t matter if it makes sense or not. Did you hear the part I just mentioned about space? This series, and this entry in particular, doesn’t really concern itself with what’s probable. Well, actually I kind of take that back, as it actually does concern itself with probability, but only in terms of playing lip service to the concept. To wit: there’s a running bit in which Roman, Tej, and Ramsey (Nathalie Emmanuel) ponder if they’re something akin to invincible superheroes. The movie doesn’t actually say that they are, but it doesn’t not say that either.

What’s also making me feel good with F9 is the Tokyo Drift reunion. What had previously seemed like the ugly stepchild in the franchise and what I had originally pegged as a potential so-bad-it’s-good contender has instead evolved into something resembling a cult classic full of hidden treasures. Sung Kang has already returned as Han multiple times, and the trailer has already spoiled that he’s back from the dead for this go-round. But on top of that, we’ve also got Lucas Black, Jason Tobin, and Shad “Bow Wow” Moss back in action. They’re not drifting their rides this time around, but they are more explosive than ever. Remember that Muppet Labs comparison. This is a trio of Bunsen Honeydews right here. Also of note: with appearances by Frog and Robopine, I believe this is the first Fast & Furious movie to feature two (2) Masked Singer alums.

I haven’t talked too much about John Cena showing up and wreaking havoc as Dom’s long-lost brother Jakob, or Jordana Brewster as their sister Mia getting back in the swing of things after skipping the last chapter, even though that is of course the main storyline. And well, that’s because, we all know how this story goes: something threatens the stability of the family, and then crazy stunts are pulled off all over the globe in the name of strengthening the family’s core and opening up that family to new members. I don’t worry too much about the villainy, because nobody stays a villain for very long in this universe. As long as there are enough silly shenanigans going on in the margins – and in the most important moments – then we’re good to go.

F9 is Recommended If You Like: Fast Five, Tokyo Drift, Violent kid-friendly cartoons

Grade: 3.5 out of 5 Electromagnets