King of the Streets is a 2012 Chinese martial arts (FanAsia) film starring Yue Song as a young thug with exceptional streetfighting abilities.
He will stop at nothing to defeat all challengers – until, in an tragic accident, he kills a fellow competitor and is sent to prison. Eight years later, Yue Feng emerges a changed man. He no longer fights, and is looking for a new life of peace and fulfillment. But it's brutal on the streets, and redemption doesn't come easy…
Set in the gritty underbelly of modern day Beijing, the film follows the story of Fang, an ex convict who is given a second chance of fulfilling his dream of a better life, and breaking away from his labeled status in the society. But as he discovers a possible future, he clashes with his past. His journey takes him through newfound friendships, to exceedingly violent conflicts, causing him to experience the deepest unspoken love, and also the darkest hatred.
The film features an up and coming Chinese Martial Arts actor Yue Song, as well as many professional fighters, all combining efforts to show some of the most cerebral and kinetic fight sequences to grace the screen.
Subtitled.
Review
"From its main titles, with stop-frame action, to its barebones plot, with a
martial artist defending a children's orphanage from an evil developer,
there's an old-style Hong Kong flavour to Mainland lowbudgeter The King of the
Streets. A vanity first feature by 27-year-old Shandong martial artist YUE
Song, who produced, co-directed, wrote, choreographed and co-edited, it's the
kind of movie that Bruce LEE (one of Yue's idols) could have made 40 years
ago, with a strong moral subtext, a flawed hero, a winsome heroine (Becki LI in
the Nora MIAO role) and lots of fighting in warehouses and bare rooms.
In her first leading role, Li is okay but doesn't get much to do apart from looking cute and having one brief action scene. Yue himself shows no special screen charisma and needs an experienced action director to hone the raw talent shown in his demo footage. But the fight sequences — which come thick and fast in the second half and are basic, street-style martial arts, without wire-work — are fully equal to a run-of-the-mill Hong Kong action movie in their staging, cutting and performances, and littered with Yue's pals from the fight world, such as boxers HOU Xu and KANG En, and MMA fighter YANG Jianping. Co-d.p. LIU Zhangmu (Insistence) gets a prominent credit for “artistic planning” and brings a cool, wintry look to the visuals." filmbiz.asia