Explosive
Summary
Stuntman is a loving tribute to the stunt community with exceptional performances and Philip Ng once again proving he’s one of the best in the business.
Plot: A washed-up stunt director is struggling to find his way in a changing industry. He risks everything to stage a comeback, while also attempting to repair the relationship with his estranged daughter.
Review: I’m loving seeing the stunt community getting more recognition in movies with recent Hollywood offerings like The Fall Guy essentially being a love letter to stunts.
The Hong Kong action community has its turn now in the emotional and moving Stuntman. It tells the story of Sam (Stephen Tung), an aging stunt coordinator who was a real hard-ass back in the day pushing people to their absolute limits. A stunt goes badly wrong and Sam leaves the business for many years, but is called back by his old friend to do one last picture.
Sam is still every bit as tough, but the world has moved on and the next generation struggle with his methods. He isn’t an especially sympathetic person as all the problems in his life are of his own doing; he put his job before his family, so he is now estranged from his daughter and the family of the stuntman that got injured hold him responsible for it.
This is more of a drama with action in it than an all-out action picture, but it’s about the making of action movies and I think anyone who loves the genre should seek this out. The performances are faultless and there are some fantastic fight scenes; Philip Ng is a revelation and is quite the chameleon. He can be so different in every role and is one of the best actors working in the industry today. During the end credits you can see what a skilled martial artist he is and everyone involved is clearly passionate about their work.
Overall, Stuntman is a moving love letter to the stunt industry while also showing how the world has changed since the golden age of Hong Kong action cinema. Genre fans should definitely check this out as it’s one of the year’s best films.