Weekend in Taipei

Marketed as a "throwaway" foreign action film with veteran action/thriller star Luke Evans, I went in with low expectations. To my surprise, this was a better than expected action flick with great action sequences.

What with an assassin-like lead in a foreign country, with heavy family theme overtones, the movie had heavy Taken vibes. Similarly, prominent car action sequences in a foreign country - including Fast and Furious regular Sung Kang by the way - clearly gave off Fast and Furious vibes.

The first and last quarter of the movie had top-notch edge of your seat action, gratifyingly up to the standards of legendary co-writer and co-producer Luc Besson.

The middle 50 percent of the movie, unfortunately, does get bogged down in complicated relationship entanglements between Evans, the bad guy Kang, and Kang's wife. In an almost James Bond-ian, if not Gilda-esque, plot point, the -ex of the good guy is now the wife of the bad guy - which is always a problem.

The movie relies heavily on a series of massive and incredulous coincidences and contrivances, yet, to be honest, I was willing to overlook these flaws in deference to the overall entertainment value of the flick.

If you're looking for a light action flick, perhaps only a notch below a Jason Statham flick, then you will like this movie.

I am a fan of this action movie genre, but there are so many below average action movies that I didnt expect much at firsthand, but after having watched it I can confirm that this movie is quite an enjoyable action flick.

The good: I NEED riveting action, chases and fights. And THAT is exactly what I got. Not the best, but good enough for me to have a fun time watching it.

More good: what's even more to like is that the characters are credible. The acting is solid (not earthshattering good, but solid) and it has got characters and a storyline I can believe in. THAT matters to me, because even in an action flick like this I WANT the characters to be credible.

Any bad? Dont expect action heaven, this is just another action movie but a really solid one. Recommended for the fans of this action genre.

I don't mean to hate on this movie so much so I'll make a compliment sandwich. I think this movie has some seriously well made action scenes and visually stimulating cinematography. The drama in this felt so cheesy like drenched a fondue pot.

Ultimately it's a spy movie, and they really spent a bunch of money in the right place on this movie, except maybe find someone else to do a score, because my god, can someone arrest the man who scored this movie. I swear every action scene was scored with something that managed to make no sense with what was happening at all. The only scene where the music felt ok was when it was diegetic.

It was hard to pay attention to much else once you notice how off the music is compared to what's happening on screen. The romance was cute and I appreciate that it was an older, matching aged couple. But it wasn't a strong story line. The few moments that sparkled didn't stand out against the rest of the bland film.

Overall an okay watch with some fun action scenes and poor music.

Part martial arts, part "John Wick," part romance, and part "family" film; this movie tries to be too many things at once and, not surprisingly, fails. Considering this flick contains the seeds of at least four separate movies, the result was a competent one, even if the "family ending" leaves you scratching your head (but with a smile on your face) for what is, in the last analysis, an "action" flick. After an absence of thirteen years, a DEA returns to Taipei, the Republic of China, to confront the drug lord who cost him the love of his life. What he doesn't know is that very same woman is now the pampered wife of said drug lord, and that he has a son he never knew about. Sound interesting? It is. Whether that is enough for you, you have to see the movie to find out.

Years ago, committed DEA agent John Lawlor (Luke Evans) fell in love with Joey Kwang, a Taipei-based transport driver working in the criminal underworld, but was forced to flee due to tragic circumstances. Now, the duo reunites when Lawlor blows his cover as a chef and takes an off-the-books weekend mission to Taipei to bring down a billionaire drug kingpin (Sun Kang)... who just so happens to be Joey's (Lun-Mei Gwei) new husband. There John will rediscover a past that he thought he had left behind 15 years ago. Pack for a long weekend !. From the creators of Taken and The Transporter, Weekend in Taipei hits theaters this November 8th !.

After their time in the 'Fast and Furious' saga, Luke Evans and Sung Kang share the lead roles on screen again in another adrenaline-fueled film, in this violent thriller of action and high-voltage romance. Resulting to be an over-the-top and nail-biting thriller that will leave you emotionally and and physically drained due to constant fights, car chases and violent shootings. Intriguing and suspenseful thriller about a three attractive roles who become involved into a triangular drama, including a a brave son in the middle. There's also a charming love story in which the two main roles revisit their romance during a fateful weekend in Taipei, unaware of the dangerous and fateful consequences of their past.

The trio of protagonists give decent performances. Luke Evans is acceptable as John Lawlor, a drug agent who heads to Taipei with the objective of tracking down Kwang - well played by Sung Kang - the leader of the drug cartel in Taiwan, along with t.he Taiwanese star Lun-Mei Gwei as the third in discord and cause of dispute .

Lavishly produced by Luc Besson, winner of the Cesar for best director for 'The Fifth Element', and the script is by Besson himself together with the film's director George Huang. Although professionally directed by George Huang (Trojan War, Swimming Sharks, How to make a monster, The Invisible Man), this film is clearly a work of Luc Besson, as evidenced by his usual trademarks and ordinary visual pyrotechnics, such as: unstoppable action, luxurious sets, exotic environments, twisted romances and clever crime dramas. Besson often features fully enclosed sets with no natural lighting and typically, during the opening-titles, the camera moves towards something important for the movie, but looks down until the important part of credits was shown, then swings up, now looking at a place or character. Luc often casts Jean Reno and music always by Eric Serra. Besson is the greatest producer and director from France with hits as ¨Leon¨ , ¨Joan of Arc¨ , ¨The fifth element¨ , the ¨Taxi¨ series , ¨Big blue¨ , ¨Lucy¨, ¨Malavita¨, "The lady¨,¨The extraordinary aventures of d'Adèle Blanc-Sec¨, "Arthur and the Minimois¨, ¨Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets ¨, ¨Anna¨ and , of course , ¨Nikita¨, among others . Rating Weekend in Taipei (2024) 6/10 . Well worth watching . The pic will appeal to action movies fans.