Daniel Wu Movies
One Night in Mongkok director Derek Yee takes a trip into the underworld with this crime drama starring Andy Lau, Lewis Koo, Daniel Wu, and Anita Yuen. An undercover cop infiltrates a major heroin ring, skillfully ascending the ranks from low-level dealer to middle management. After falling for a beautiful addict, the policeman is hand picked by the ailing crime boss to take over the entire syndicate once he's gone. His priorities blurred by an infernal combination of money, power, and seven years undercover, the cop chosen to clean up the streets finds his true identity gradually slipping away as a malevolent new persona begins to take hold. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- 2002
Hong Kong filmmaker Sylvia Chang writes and directs the dramatic fantasy Seung Fei (Princess-D). Computer graphics designer Joker (Daniel Wu) meets a young woman named Ling (Angelica Lee) at a dance club. He convinces her to model for his latest project: a cybergirl called "Princess Digital." He eventally falls in love with her and learns about her troubled homelife With her dad (Jonathan Lee) in prison, Ling works and deals drugs in order to support her mother (Patricia Ha) and brother (Wong Yik-lam). She eventually meets Joker's father (Anthony Wong) and brother (Edison Chen). Seung Fei was shown at the 2002 Cannes Film Festival. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Daniel Wu, Edison Chen, (more)
- 2006
A World Without Thieves director Feng Xiaogang shifts his focus from modern-day con artists to tenth century intrigue with this tale of internal turmoil in the age of Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms starring Zhang Ziyi, Daniel Wu, and Ge You. Her empire on the verge of a massive revolution as storms begin to brew both within the royal court as well as in the outlying kingdoms, the entrancing Empress Wan (Zhang) gazes upon her stepson, Prince Wu Luan (Wu), with the eyes of a forbidden lover rather than a caring mother. When the emperor dies an unexpected death and his younger brother Li (Ge) ascends to the throne, Empress Wan marries the newly appointed sovereign as a means of both protecting her beloved Wu Luan and cementing her position within the royal court. When assassins dispatched by Emperor Li fail in their attempt to silence Wu Luan and his majesty subsequently announces a lavish banquet, Empress Wan and Wu Luan realize that the time has finally come for them to take action against the murderous despot. The film demonstrates tremendous influence by Shakespearean plays, specifically Hamlet and Macbeth. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Zhang Ziyi, Ge You, (more)
- 2006
After moving from San Francisco's Bay Area to Hong Kong and launching a successful acting career in the late 1990s, first-time feature filmmaker Daniel Wu crafts a scathing satire of the exploding, multi-million dollar Hong Kong pop-music scene in this Spinal Tap-inspired expose of meticulously manufactured boy band "Alive." Despite the fact that none of them can actually sing, a group of friends from the Hong Kong entertainment industry make the decision to form a boy band that will storm the charts and win fans all across Asia. After a potentially profitable record deal goes sour and the band stealthily leaks a song to the internet, they attempt to manipulate the media by publicly claiming that the song has been illegally pirated and was never intended for distribution. As a result, the catchy pop tune becomes an instant hit and Alive is instantaneously heralded as an overnight sensation. Now, despite experiencing all of the perks that come with having a number one hit, the questionably talented members of Alive soon find that the road to success is filled with treacherous potholes that can send one careening down a self-destructive path on a moments notice. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- 2009
A simple Chinese immigrant wages a perilous war against one of the most powerful criminal organizations on the planet in this sprawling action drama directed by Derek Yee (One Night in Mongkok) and starring Jackie Chan, Daniel Wu, and Masaya Kato. In Japan, foreign migrants are shunned by mainstream society. Taunted by the yakuza, they live in constant fear of being discovered and repatriated. Into this perilous world ventures Steelhead (Chan), a humble tractor repairman who has traveled to Tokyo in search of his missing girlfriend, Xiu Xiu (Xu Jinglei), who vanished into thin air shortly after arriving in the city. It doesn't take Steelhead long to learn just what kind of hardships Chinese immigrants in Japan endure at the hands of underworld gangsters and foreign crime syndicates, and upon discovering that Xiu Xiu has adapted a Japanese identity and married up-and-coming yakuza chief Eguichi (Masaya Kato), the two men form an uneasy alliance. Over time, Steelhead earns the respect of his fellow Chinese immigrants by establishing a place for them to gather. But the dark side still beckons to Steelhead, because after helping Eguichi dispense with a powerful rival, he is granted full control of Shinjuku's most popular nightspots. Resistant to the allure of the criminal lifestyle, Steelhead discovers a new love and opens a tractor repair business just outside the city. When Equichi begins using Steelhead's former compatriots as pawns to front the yakuza's drug trade, the vengeful immigrant returns to the city determined to exact justice, even if it means destroying the future of the woman he once loved. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jackie Chan, Naoto Takenaka, (more)
