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How do the motion picture in theSha Po Langfranchise social rank from uncollectible to best ? begin with the eponymous 2005Donnie Yenvehicle , TheSha Po Lang , orSPL , series is a unique one for American audience , the first two film being re - titledKill Zonein their Western liberation . what is more , the three movies in the series are more of an anthology than a narratively tie franchise , with some actor refund from one cinema to the next but the story of one never directly connecting to that of another . Then again , this is also where theSha Po Langtitle itself comes into play .
The termSha Po Langderives from Chinese star divination , each individual Good Book referencing a genius that embodies either good or vicious depend upon its heavenly positioning . With such an esoteric concept , it seems meet that the series would involve singular stories from one movie to the next without any specific care for continuity . bring back cast members like Wu Jing and Tony Jaa in unlike role from their previous appearances is also a notable tradition for theSha Po Langfranchise .
by from that , the only real connective tissue between the three films is the fact that each has absolutely incrediblemartial arts actionscenes , and by nature , that ’s been what ’s get audiences back from the first Donnie Yen - led unveiling to its subsequent follow - ups . Each has been its own unequaled savage , and each has systematically convey the thunder for fans of Asian action movies . Here ’s the summing up of theSPLseries , from bad to best .
3. Paradox
head by Louis Koo , Paradoxfollows his Hong Kong examiner Lee Chung - chi as he travels to Thailand to deliver his kidnapped daughter . Bringing backTony JaafromSPL 2 : A Time for Consequencesin the new role of Lee ’s Quaker and local Thai bull Tak , Paradoxwas also the first pip on the radar for rising star Chris Collins . A veteran soldier of the U.S. Marine Corps and well - versed martial creative person , Collins is a beast in his action scenes . The movie build up to a show - stop conflict between him and Tony Jaa , pit the two fighters against one another in the film ’s high spot one - on - one engagement .
Koo admittedly is n’t the martial artist that his nimble co - stars are , but the film nevertheless adapts his strengths to its needs with the leading man perform quite laudably , taking on henchmen in a battle of machetes and cleavers , with Gordon Lam also get in on the merriment with some sword work of his own . Paradox ’s dark ending may be a surd pill to swallow for some , but its excellent action scenes , orchestrated by the great Sammo Hung ( who won an award for Best Action Choreography at the thirty-seventh Hong Kong Film Awards ) stimulate it worth a look for fan of the series — most of all to see Chris Collins go at it with Tony Jaa ahead of his struggle with Donnie Yen inIp Man 4 : The Finale .
2. Sha Po Lang (Kill Zone)
Before 2006 , westerly audiences principally knewDonnie Yenfor movies likeIron Monkey , Hero , andOnce Upon A Time in China II , and while he ’d made a handful of memorable appearances inHighlander : Endgame , Blade II , andShanghai Knights , he had n’t quite become as mainstream a warriorlike artistry movie image as Jackie Chan or Jet Li . Sha Po Langwas where that began to change , and it was Yen ’s rotatory overture to its activity scenes that madeSha Po Langsuch a huge game - changer in the industry . Released in Hong Kong in 2005,Sha Po Langsees Yen play Hong Kong police detective Ma Kwun , ascertain to take down Sammo Hung ’s crime boss Wong Po . convey together two icon like Yen and Hung was a big enough hook for Asian action mechanism fans by itself , with the comportment of then - come up principal Wu Jing as the tongue - maintain Jack tot up some welcome flavour to the admixture . What really madeSha Po Langstand out was the fact that it brought MMA into the Hong Kong legal action movie plot .
A devoted UFC rooter , Yen blended grappling techniques from Brazilian Jiu - Jitsu with his already eclectic background in Wushu , Tae Kwon Do , and other arts , and would forever change martial arts moviemaking . The joystick and tongue alley smackdown between Yen and Wu Jing is an electrifying weapons affaire d’honneur , while his final face-off with Sammo Hung was the clangoring of Hong Kong icon fans had wait decades to see , made that much better by Yen ’s adeptness in confluence chokes , throws , and takedowns with the jump - spin out back - kicks that have long been Yen ’s calling board . hankering fully pushed action - movie MMA through the ceiling with 2007’sFlash Point , before finally achieving international celebrity in strike on his most famed role ofBruce Lee ’s mentor in 2008’sIp Man , which elevated martial arts films even more with his use of goods and services of Wing Chun . Sha Po Langwas still the distributor point where the reality ultimately began to seriously take notice of Yen ’s natural endowment . Fast - forth a decade , and subsequent appearances inRogue One : A Star Wars StoryandxXx : take of Xander Cageshow how much Yen ’s legacy as a warlike artistic production legend and legal action innovator has been solidified .
1. SPL 2: A Time For Consequences (Kill Zone 2)
SPL 2 ’s singular goal is to outdo itself every chance it gets , thrilling spectator with natural action vista like a prison house thigh-slapper worthy ofThe Raid 2and a joint and tongue duel that cleverly flips Wu Jing ’s arm of pick and villainous function inSha Po Langto the control stick - wielding hero . Jaa and Jing are everything devotee of Asian natural action picture desire in a pairing of Cuban sandwich , their mutual distrust thawing into a warrior duo looker are vest in on both case-by-case and collective term . Zhang is chilling in his stone - cold villainy as a prison house warden with at - best immaterial feelings to human life .
The finis is only full - blown kung fu and Muay Thai chaos with qi - kit and Chatchai battle a horde of collaborator before taking on the emotionless Ko Chun in a two - on - one confrontation that ’s a personal best for each of the three stars involve . Wu Jing and Max Zhang had similarly big geezerhood as Jaa in 2015 , Jing starring in and head the ChineseRambo - style hitWolf Warrior , with Zhang also becoming the breakout star ofIp Man 3 . WithSPL 2 : A Time For Consequences , audiences check all three at their absolute pinnacle in some of the most dynamite action at law scenes they ’ve ever done , with the movie itself being the reigning whizz of theSha Po Langseries .
NEXT : Why SPL 2 , Not Ong Bak , Is Tony Jaa ’s Most Important Film
