The Four (2012)
"Si da ming bu" (original title)

A government department known as the Six Panels appoints their best officer to infiltrate a special force called the Divine Constabulary, to ensure their way in stopping the circulation of counterfeit coin currency in the capital.

Directors:

Gordon Chan, Janet Chun

Stars:

Chao Deng, Yifei Liu, Ronald Cheng

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Chao Deng	...	Leng Lingqi (Coldblood) (as Deng Chao)
Yifei Liu	...	Shong Yayu (Emotionless) (as Liu Yi Fei)
Ronald Cheng	...	Cui Lueshang (Life Snatcher)
Collin Chou	...	Tie Yourda (Iron Hands)
Anthony Wong Chau-Sang	...	Zhuge Zhenwo (as Anthony Wong)
Xiubo Wu	...	An Shigeng - The God of Wealth (as Wu Xiu Bo)
Taisheng Chen	...	Sheriff King (as Cheng Tai Shen)
Yi Yan Jiang	...	Ji Yaohua (as Jiang Yi Yan)
Anna Fang	...	Butterfly
Ryu Kohata	...	Avalanche
Sheren Tang	...	Aunt Foise
Waise Lee	...	Prince
Bei-Er Bao	...	Big Wolf (as Bao Bei Er)
Ying Jie Wu	...	Ding Dong (as Wu Ying Jie)
Miao Chi	...	Guts (as Miao Chi)

Storyline

A government department known as the Six Panels appoints their best officer to infiltrate a special force called the Divine Constabulary, to ensure their way in stopping the circulation of counterfeit coin currency in the capital.

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Genres:

Action | Crime | Fantasy

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Details

Country:

China

Language:

Cantonese Mandarin

Release Date:

12 July 2012 (Hong Kong)

Also Known As:

The Four

Company Credits

Production Co:

Enlight Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

118 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

User Reviews

Enjoyable Chinese fantasy/martial arts

There is a tradition in Chinese martial arts movies where people strong in "qi" power can jump around light as a feather, fight in treetops, and do other superhuman feats. (Example: Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.) There is plenty of that in this movie, and additionally some characters seem to have special powers that other qi masters don't have, making this in some ways like a Western superhero comic story.

My favorite character was the girl who is stuck in a wheelchair, but whose qi powers are strong enough that she is far from useless in a fight. Her name is Yayu but her nickname is "Emotionless". Like Jedi in Star Wars movies can detect each other, she can also detect other nearby qi masters. Another IMDb user review speculates that she is simply a ripoff of two characters from X-Men, but I don't agree.

The movie has a confusing start, but if you stick with it the characters and plot sort themselves out. There is a shifty criminal in a city, and it turns out that three different groups have their eye on him: the police of "Department 6", the undercover police of "The Divine Constabulary", and some mysterious assassins. Additionally a bounty hunter is after him. The initial action is confusing, as it's not clear who is who. But stick with it, and the end of the movie pays off pretty well.

This movie also has a bit of a "steampunk" vibe, with unreasonably advanced clockwork mechanisms that might be partly qi-powered. For no obvious reason there is a giant clockwork crane that Emotionless uses to reach scrolls on the high shelves of a bookcase! And mid-way through the movie, Emotionless gets a nifty upgraded wheelchair that proves useful at the end of the movie.

At nearly two hours it runs a bit longer than necessary; I can think of a few cuts that would not have hurt. Still, I give this a 7 on the 10 scale. If you like fantasy martial- arts you might want to add a point to that! Also, I really liked the music.

Note: some plot threads are left unresolved, setting up for possible sequels, but this movie has a pretty satisfying ending.