Saving Mr. Wu
2015; directed by Ding Sheng

Based on the 2004 kidnapping of Mainland actor Wu Ruo-Fu (who, in a bit of cheekiness, actually appears in the film as one of the cops that helped to save him) Ding Sheng's latest release Saving Mr. Wu is a solid thriller that is punctuated by a fine performance from Andy Lau as the eponymous kidnap victim.

Through his other films such as The Underdog Knight and Police Story 2013, Ding Sheng has shown himself to be a film-maker capable of delivering tightly-paced and grim/gritty thrillers tinged with explosive fits of action. True, when compared to the classic Hong Kong action films of yesteryear, it's frankly still a little flaccid (even with Hong Kong action veteran Bruce Law lensing the pyrotechnics) but taking into account how lifeless many modern Mainland releases can be, Ding's work here stands out, delivering suspense and excitement without feeling as if he is pandering to the viewer, both in terms of actual content and how the Mainland censors deem to tweak it to make it "suitable", since the good old "cops and robbers" story can often be a sticky point for a government who doesn't want to glorify criminals, no matter how loose the definition is.

As was said before, it is Andy Lau who really cements the film. Long gone from his younger days when he supposedly refused to smile in films because it led to wrinkles -- which, admittedly, is probably a BS-laden byproduct of the bottom-dwelling Hong Kong tabloid media, but most of his early performances weren't exactly stellar -- Lau now shows a good range and subtlety in displaying his emotions, far removed from the melodramatic overacting still found in many Chinese film (both from Hong Kong and the Mainland) which goes a long way into making Mr. Wu a character that the audience is actually interested in saving.

RATING: 6

Saving Mr. Wu has been released uncut and in the original Mandarin language in North America by Well Go USA. It is available on VOD, DVD, and Blu-ray from Amazon. Extras on the disc-based versions include deleted scenes, a behind the scenes featurette, and trailers for the movie and other Well Go releases.