‘Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In’ Review: Blazing Action Delights Get Marred by Languid Soap Opera

variety.com:

Siddhant Adlakha Unfolding in the cramped corridors of Hong Kong’s Kowloon Walled City (it was one of the most dangerously dense urban areas on Earth before being demolished in 1993), Soi Cheang‘s ’80s-set “Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In” delivers on its blockbuster action promise.

However, its martial arts spectacle is scattered across a sprawling refugees-and-triads saga that, while adequately laying foundation for the aforementioned fisticuffs, is seldom coherent or engaging on its own.

Based on the Chinese comic “City of Darkness” by Andy Seto, the film follows Chan Lok-kwun (Raymond Lam), a mainland refugee trying to pay his way to a fake ID by winning bare-knuckle brawls.

When he ends up double crossed by remorseless triad leader Mr. Big (legendary actor-director Sammo Hung), the desperate outsider steals a satchel of the head honcho’s cocaine and makes a run for the Walled City, which Cheang and cinematographer Cheng Siu-keung capture as a darkened citadel, hostile to anyone who approaches.