Plot: A former DEA agent and a former undercover operative revisit their romance during a fateful weekend in Taipei, unaware of the dangerous consequences of their past.
Review: This movie came out of nowhere and likely won’t be a massive hit at the box office which is a shame as Weekend in Taipei is one of the most entertaining action movies I’ve seen this year. Luke Evans (The Hobbit) stars as DEA Agent John Lawlor who is trying to take down Sung Kang (Fast & Furious franchise) who plays corrupt businessman Kwang.
I knew I was going to enjoy this movie from the opening few minutes as it starts off with an awesome fight scene in a restaurant kitchen between Luke Evans and a whole host of goons. He uses everything to survive and it feels like a desperate battle while still being comedic at the same time. There are some fantastic action scenes including impressive car chases and some shocking moments of violence.
At first I was almost sympathetic towards Kwang, but it doesn’t take long before it’s revealed what an animal he actually he is. Kwang is married to Joey (Lun-Mei Gwei) who is John’s ex which complicates matters as she has to decide who she really wants to be with. It’s a cool story and after talking with George Huang who co-wrote and directed the movie this initially started out a as a female led Transporter movie, but was rejigged into Weekend in Taipei.
It’s well paced with an engaging story, some funny moments as well as some heart too; I did find the tone jarred occasionally where one minute it’s funny then the next a child is getting tortured, but for the most part it comes together.
Luke makes for a likeable lead as John and his scenes with Joey provide some of the soul to the story. Although Kwan is irredeemable, Sung Kang makes him feel human and not a total cartoon villain.
Overall, Weekend in Taipei was a lot of fun with some great action scenes, appealing cast and a quick pace making this a movie I’ll happily watch again.