Weekend in Taipei has been described as “From the creator of Taken and The Transporter” in the film’s poster. That refers to Luc Besson who co wrote both of those films with Robert Mark Kamen and comes in with this film’s script too. However, he is not the only one, his co writer is the director of the film, George Huang, which is a bit puzzling because he has not directed anything since American Heiress in 2007. Last time, he wrote the parody sequel Hard Target 2, in 2016.
In Taipei, Kwang played by Sung Kang, who appears in Obi-Wan Kenobi and The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift, is on trial for being a mob boss. While being surrounded by reporters, who are interested in hearing Kwang defend himself and claim his innocence, his wife Joey played by Lun Mei Gwei, who is also known for Flying Swords of Dragon Gate and Women in Taipei, goes out and buys a brand new Ferrari. After a suitable speed test drive, naturally, along the streets of Taipei.
In Minneapolis, agent John Lawlor (Luke Evans, No One Lives, The Hobbit: The Battle of Five Armies), is already halfway through his six month undercover mission when his partner gets compromised. He does, however, manage to pull off a drug bust, but it alludes him to draw the line between the drugs and his primary target, Kwang. As a prize, he is ordered to go on some leave.
Not that picturesquely the film is called Weekend in Taipei, you can probably still picture what’s in store for Lawlor during his time off`s. And he gets there just on time, Kwang’s teenage son, Joey, has just escaped whaling from Kwang who was in Toronto to collect his ledgers. Out of rest’s sheer amazement, during his voyages of illegal importing Kwang makes use of whaling operations that kill thousands of dolphins as cover up.
Cliché is the only word that can describe Lawrence and Joey at its highest, why, directly related to the fact that he is, by sheer luck, Raymond’s father. And yes, they are indeed. The script for Weekly in Taipei could just as well be handed to an AI to churn out an action film template; it’s that dull. In and of itself, that is not so bad in a film like this, provided the action scenes pull through.
But unfortunately, it is clear right from the outset that it will not be the way here. The scenes of the prisoner with a Ferrari racing around fancy are all nice but because it is a test drive not a chase, the urgency is lacking. And on the other hand, the restaurant scene where Lawlor gratuitously fights several men armed with kitchen utensils is the type of wacky precipitous combat Jackie Chan has been portraying for the longest time. A typical collection of hundreds of bad guys and lots of kitchenware used as weapons. Most have been repeated to death. The one moment in the movie when it moves away from the bend of clichés is a strange, and I might add a rather beautiful tribute to those who have ever watched Breakfast at Tiffany’s, with Joey as Mune River. It is incredibly attractive but also serves no real function.
Everything is done in a decent manner, but none of the fights or the car chases strike as something exciting or out of the box thinking. And given that you have a cast that comes from the Fast and Furious lot and even credit The Transporter on the poster, well you sure have to go in hard on the chase action to the levels that you call to memory. Those in Weekend in Taipei are about what you would expect in a DTV action film.
And, although there is Besson and the movie had a theatrical run in many countries, that’s what Weekend in Taipei is. An ok film which is made in a decent manner aimed straight towards streaming and is good enough for a quiet weekend with no new films available for rent. Boredom is not the end result, nor will the film create any excitement in you.
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