The debut feature film from directors Albert and Herbert Leung, Stuntman is a surprising drama about both modern-day and golden age Hong Kong Action films. Playing Fantasia Film Festival 2025.
What matters more? An impressive film or people’s lives?
That is the question at the very heart of Stuntman, the wonderful new film by directors Albert and Herbert Leung. The drama is a loving homage to the HK action films of yesteryear, but also a sobering reminder of the recklessness that many put others in harm’s way to “get the shot”.
Sam (Wei Tung) was a brilliant but reckless action director during the 80s and 90s heyday of HK Action Cinema. Those years are gone, and what is left is a constant string of funerals for former colleagues. In a new era of digitally shot and augmented action films, yes, even in Hong Kong, he may get a second chance to do it right one more time when the offer to direct the action unit for a film comes from an old friend. Can Sam put down the devil may care, all for the shot attitude that ended in tragedy decades ago? Can he learn a better way from the young stuntman (Chun-Him Lau) who believes in him and the dreams of being a working stuntman? Or is he going to live up to the careless ego maniac that the superstar (Phillip Ng), who begrudgingly allowed him to be hired, believes him to be?
Entertaining, emotional, and thrilling in equal measure, Stuntman elevates those who risk it all to a status that so many do not give them. The kind of respect that many only reserved for actors. There’s an understanding of the hard work that the below-the-line crew puts into a film that is rarely put on screen. The Leung’s film does not sugarcoat things, though. There are always sobering reminders of the damage that Sam has done to his personal and professional life and the pains he’s causing to the current crew for being uncompromising even at the behest of his fellow crewmembers’ safety.
The film is a true character piece and drama that’s a showcase for actor Wei Tung. It’s the kind of film where the main character is both the protagonist and antagonist. That the demons of the past are what hold him back, and his refusal to accept change or that he needs to change is the center of the film’s drama. The way that Tung plays Sam as such an uncompromising, unbendable stick-in-the-mud is fantastic. Especially in this era of squeaky-clean main characters in film, it’s refreshing to see someone with bumps and bruises from a hard life. Allowing Tung to play those with pride is some of the best acting in recent memory. One just needs to watch Tung when he finally confronts his past face-to-face; it’s a minor miracle in acting and drama that is allowed to play out with all the sadness, anger, and regret there would be.
Stuntman is a truly wonderful piece of filmmaking. One that is both a loving homage to the past, but with an understanding that not everything was better.
Stuntman plays the Fantasia Film Festival 2025 on July 29th and July 31st
The debut feature film from directors Albert and Herbert Leung, Stuntman is a surprising drama about both modern-day and golden age Hong Kong Action films. Playing Fantasia Film Festival 2025.
What matters more? An impressive film or people’s lives?
That is the question at the very heart of Stuntman, the wonderful new film by directors Albert and Herbert Leung. The drama is a loving homage to the HK action films of yesteryear, but also a sobering reminder of the recklessness that many put others in harm’s way to “get the shot”.
Sam (Wei Tung) was a brilliant but reckless action director during the 80s and 90s heyday of HK Action Cinema. Those years are gone, and what is left is a constant string of funerals for former colleagues. In a new era of digitally shot and augmented action films, yes, even in Hong Kong, he may get a second chance to do it right one more time when the offer to direct the action unit for a film comes from an old friend. Can Sam put down the devil may care, all for the shot attitude that ended in tragedy decades ago? Can he learn a better way from the young stuntman (Chun-Him Lau) who believes in him and the dreams of being a working stuntman? Or is he going to live up to the careless ego maniac that the superstar (Phillip Ng), who begrudgingly allowed him to be hired, believes him to be?
Entertaining, emotional, and thrilling in equal measure, Stuntman elevates those who risk it all to a status that so many do not give them. The kind of respect that many only reserved for actors. There’s an understanding of the hard work that the below-the-line crew puts into a film that is rarely put on screen. The Leung’s film does not sugarcoat things, though. There are always sobering reminders of the damage that Sam has done to his personal and professional life and the pains he’s causing to the current crew for being uncompromising even at the behest of his fellow crewmembers’ safety.
The film is a true character piece and drama that’s a showcase for actor Wei Tung. It’s the kind of film where the main character is both the protagonist and antagonist. That the demons of the past are what hold him back, and his refusal to accept change or that he needs to change is the center of the film’s drama. The way that Tung plays Sam as such an uncompromising, unbendable stick-in-the-mud is fantastic. Especially in this era of squeaky-clean main characters in film, it’s refreshing to see someone with bumps and bruises from a hard life. Allowing Tung to play those with pride is some of the best acting in recent memory. One just needs to watch Tung when he finally confronts his past face-to-face; it’s a minor miracle in acting and drama that is allowed to play out with all the sadness, anger, and regret there would be.
Stuntman is a truly wonderful piece of filmmaking. One that is both a loving homage to the past, but with an understanding that not everything was better.
Stuntman plays the Fantasia Film Festival 2025 on July 29th and July 31st
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