Chairman Kwang (Sung Kang) is an international drug lord and ruthless businessman based in Taipei, Taiwan. A billionaire who controls a distribution empire under his seafood front “Kwang Industries”, yet he is currently on trial for reckless fishing practices which, against all odds, might be the thing which brings him down.
Back home, things aren’t going “swimmingly” either. He is hopelessly devoted to his wife, Joey (Lun-Mei Gwei), yet she can’t stand him. Neither can her 13 year old son, Raymond (Wyatt Yang). 15 years ago, Joey was forced into servitude to Kwang as a transporter of illicit goods using her stellar driving skills. About a year into the job however, she became entangled with undercover DEA agent John Lawlor (Luke Evans). The two hit it off until it was time for Lawlor to come clean about who he truly was. Unbeknownst to him, Joey had a bun in the oven.
Letting his love Joey go, meant that Kwang got away and the case collapsed. Joey and Kwang got married and Raymond made three. But now, years later, Lawlor is getting a chance to make things right when he takes an off the books vacation to Taipei, hoping to bring Kwang to justice once and for all. Reuniting with Joey and Raymond as they flee Kwang‘s clutches, he’ll stop at nothing to get them back. Well, he wants Joey back at least, he’s perfectly happy to kill everyone else who gets in his way including the newly reunited father and son!
Filmmaker Luc Besson has brought us countless cheesy action blockbusters over the years. As a co-writer and producer, he has teamed up with many other directors and had successful hits such as the Taken and Transporter franchises. An odd pairing here comes in a collaborative effort with George Huang. Known primarily not for action films, but for his 1994 independent film Swimming with Sharks, a black comedy drawing on his previous experience as a young executive dealing with Hollywood’s toxicity.
Despite seeming to be completely out of Huang‘s wheelhouse, he delivers on the action scenes of Weekend in Taipei. The chase sequences are filmed particularly well especially the “dune buggy” scene through the fishing villages and mountains. Alternatively, the in-city car scenes involving a high performance Ferrari appear to be enhanced with CGI, yet they were apparently shot for real.
However, the fight scenes are as frantic and explosive as any seen in Luc Besson‘s work and lead actors Luke Evans and Sung Kang both deliver their most physical roles to date. Evans especially wanted to do as many of his own stunts as possible and it really shows with his introduction, an extremely violent and brutal one-against-many free for all in a kitchen, which put me in mind of 2014’s The Raid 2‘s finale.
Special mentions must be made for Alain Figlarz and his stuntman team which Evans worked alongside. Figlarz has worked before with Luke Evans’ on screen Fast & Furious franchise brother Jason Statham in Transporter 3. Also, the stuntman himself has a small yet memorable role in this film as “Agent Freddy” which only left me wanting more. The sad news is that he isn’t around long, the good news is, neither is his partner “Agent Simmons” a very grating Besson-style comedic relief character.
Central to the story of Weekend in Taipei is the interpersonal relationships between the four main characters. It definitely attracted Evans and Kang to the film, and their performances (as well as that of the young Wyatt Yang) are the best thing about it. I keep bringing up Besson‘s involvement over that of George Huang as the plot does feel delivered in his very familiar and cheesy sort of way.
A great amount of time is spent on the love triangle between Lawlor, Joey and Kwang, while Raymond makes wise cracks along the way. It’s charming, if at times a little hokey, with an unfortunate lack of real chemistry between any of the adults. But the slower pace adds a little heart to the movie which is appreciated. It’s also nice seeing Sung Kang given a meaty villainous role of a man scorned to sink his teeth into.
There are also consistently beautiful locations of Taipei that the film shows off that look simply wonderful. This makes Weekend in Taipei a fun little globe-trotting actioner for any action fan or fans Besson’s work. While I don’t see this film as the beginning of a new franchise by any means, with a solid foundation and well established characters, Weekend in Taipei is still well worth checking out.