Out this week in Irish cinemas is The Shadow’s Edge, an action thriller starring Jackie Chan and Tony Leung Kai-fai. This action thriller sees Chan’s agent, Wong, pulled out of retirement to lead a manhunt against a team of thieves that are utilising a combination of old-school tricks and new-age technology to pull off incredibly elaborate heists.
The Shadow’s Edge is a brilliant film. This melodramatic, over-the-top story essentially follows two found families as they square off, one family for justice, the other against. The film delivers on the action, easily its best part. This is thanks in no small part to Jackie Chan, who at 71 is still performing all his stunts. The action set pieces in The Shadow’s Edge are impressive, especially when the whole cast is working together to craft something truly impressive in the film’s explosive third act, where betrayal, loss, and thrills are around every corner.
Better to have regrets than make mistakes
The film also has surprising emotional depth. He Quiguo (Zhang Ziheng) has a major chip on her shoulder after losing her father to a mission because of a mistake caused by Wong. The film utilises this dynamic well, showcasing a growing father/daughter relationship between the two.
With a runtime of close to 2 and a half hours, the film has time to delve not just into Wong and Quiguo, but also Fu and his adopted “cubs”. These young men idolise Fu, but cracks are beginning to form in this tightly knit found family. Twin brothers Xi Zang and Xi Meng, both played by Ci Sha, have grown especially strong under Fu, and there is tension as his old ways are brushing up against their cutting-edge style.
The story develops at a brisk pace, and though it has some genuinely intriguing twists and turns, I think it could confuse a lot of audiences. There is a lot going on in The Shadow’s Edge, and the narrative does trip over itself every now and then. Thankfully, most of the time, all the elements are working for this film. The covert ops elements are well executed, there is an emotional core that does hit hard when it needs to, and best of all, it has that signature Jackie Chan action. This means there are a lot of jaw-dropping moments that astound.
If you’re an action film fan, look no further than The Shadow’s Edge.
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