Review: ‘Line Walker (使徒行者)’ is too fast for its own good
Ding (Charmaine Sheh) is in trouble in “Line Walker (使徒行者).” (Golden Village Pictures)
Secret ending? No.
Running time: 109 minutes (~1.75 hours)
“Line Walker (使徒行者)” is a crime action drama about several undercover police offers, that’s based on the 2014 TVB series of the same name. A complex web of lies and deceit awaits when an undercover cop’s identity gets lost. It stars Charmaine Sheh (Ding), Francis Ng (Q Sir), Louis Khoo (Young Master), and Nick Cheung (Lam).
“Line Walker (使徒行者)” takes the usual cop drama and gives it several surprising twists for a refreshing spin on the genre. However, the eventful plot comes at a cost — there are just too many things happening in the film. The movie’s blazingly fast plot is too fast for its own good. Even its strong cast can’t stop you from feeling worn out after watching the film.
Young Master (Louis Koo) protects Lam (Nick Cheung) in “Line Walker (使徒行者).” (Golden Village Pictures)
Highlights
Story of brotherhood
The friendship between Young Master and Lam (don’t worry, it sounds a lot better when their names are in Chinese) starts off as a business transaction, with several layered conversations that imply dubious loyalty to each other. Yet despite the different allegiances and their verbal nonchalance, the actions of the two characters show a different regard for their friendship. It’s a touching story that shows amidst the battle of good and evil, true friendship can arise. And, like all cop dramas, it’s this struggle between duty and brotherhood that makes the drama quite fascinating.
Charmaine Sheh’s multi-faceted performance as Ding
Ding’s first appearance is a stark contrast to the character she becomes in the climax of the film, and shows us the versatility of the actress behind the role. She might appear to be nothing more than a materialistic bimbo (to the point that she is rather irritating), but there’s more than meets the eye as more of her background is revealed. A shocking turn of events midway changes our perception of her for good, and it’s incredible how she goes from annoying harlot to sympathetic victim in under two hours.
Ding and her handler Q Sir (Francis Ng) in “Line Walker (使徒行者).” (Golden Village Pictures)
Letdowns
Plot races by without any breaks
The film is one long intense ride from start to finish. It never lets up or gives you a breather. While it’s good that it’s so fast-paced, that are just too many story beats crammed into the film. You get jerked around from plot point to plot point in this madcap roller coaster ride, all to get to one specific ending. It’s not difficult to follow, but it’s certainly difficult to enjoy.
Action scenes seem artificially scheduled
Because of how the quickly the plot whizzes by, the action scenes seem strategically but unnaturally placed to break up the pace of the film. The action scenes are good, don’t get me wrong, but they feel like they were interjected as part of some mandatory requirement. As a result, they don’t have the necessary excitement and impact to warrant their inclusion.
Puzzling ending
The finale boggles the mind when you see how a weak, unknown opponent can overcome the heroes of the story so easily. As with the other action scenes, this feels like a forced fight sequence that’s utterly contrived. We’ve seen our protagonists take down entire hitmen squads, yet a single assassin poses so many problems for them. It defies all logic.
Lam vs Young Master in “Line Walker (使徒行者).” (Golden Village Pictures)
A simplified “Line Walker (使徒行者)” would have worked wonders.
Should you watch this at weekday movie ticket prices? If you liked the television series.
Should you watch this if it’s free? Yes.
Score: 2.5/5
“Line Walker (使徒行者)” opens in cinemas:
- 11 August, 2016 (Singapore)
- 11 August, 2016 (Malaysia)
Marcus Goh is a Singapore television scriptwriter. He’s also a Transformers enthusiast and avid pop culture scholar. He Tweets/Instagrams at Optimarcus and writes at marcusgohmarcusgoh.com. The views expressed are his own.
