Reviewed by: Beat TG Date: 04/08/2025 Summary: Underrated & Welcoming Return to Contemporary Action Movies While the movie has built a big cult following over the years since its' release in 2013, SPECIAL ID was and still is infamous for the troubled production filled with controversy, finger-pointing, and lawsuits following allegations of contract violations after a feud between the studio execs and Donnie Yen versus original main villain actor and fellow martial arts actor Vincent Zhao, and original director Tan Bing. The whole controversy led to Zhao and Bing dropping out, and Andy On was brought in as a replacement to play the main villain. The late Clarence Fok -- who passed away in February 2024 with news of his death made public just in March of 2025 -- was also brought in to helm the movie. A drastic change was made during and after the scandal as well, and overall marketing for the movie gave it a non-deservable aftermath. The result is a very light-toned modern action movie in comparison to SPL and FLASH POINT, which more or less disappointed Donnie Yen's fanbase and action movie fans in general. However the consensus today is that the movie suffered from bad marketing thanks to the scandal that affected the production. Personally, the movie being so different from Donnie's other modern action movies is a good thing. I actually regard it as a loose re-imagining of TIGER CAGE 2: Where intense and brutal fight scenes meets a hybrid of good humor and drama. The only difference is that the story is set outside of Hong Kong (Shenzhen, to be specific), and Donnie is partnered with a female action performer (per se). The story is nothing new. It's basically about Chen Zi Long (Donnie Yen), a Hong Kong undercover cop who joins a gang led by Xiong (Collin Chou) -- while secretly teaming up with a Mainland female cop named Fang Jing (Jing Tian) out to get Xiong and his gang -- to expose and kill new high-ranking gang leader Sunny (Andy On), who happens to be Chen's former protege in the underworld. Complications arise when Chen is exposed by an outside party endangering his mother (Pau Hei Ching), and the Mainland cop. Very thin plot but nevertheless provides a lot of good humor, decent drama, great-looking locations, and high-octane action set-pieces altogether. Donnie Yen's action choreography of utilizing stand-up fighting and ground fighting is always a treat to watch. The MMA displayed here are done much differently this time, going for more authenticity and realism. Action highlights includes an amusingly intense showdown between Donnie and Ken Lo (who looks great for a then 56 year-old action performer), a restaurant brawl scene where Donnie is literally destroying several gangsters convincingly, and the end fight scene between Donnie and Andy On on an unfinished bridge. Simple, comical, top-notch action filmmaking, great cinematography/music/editing, and featuring a cast of actors of varying quality, SPECIAL ID ensures its' high entertainment value despite its' bad reputation. Reviewer Score: 8

Reviewed by: STSH Date: 11/10/2013 Summary: Return of the hot-headed cop Donnie was once in danger of being cast as a hot-headed cop. Well, he’s dusted off that persona for Special ID, and it works pretty well. He’s in deep cover as a triad, and his target is a punk he helped years ago who is now seriously on the make. But who cares about the story ? What about the fight scenes ? With Donnie as star and choreographer, this is never in doubt. He sets the bar high with the opening scene, as a triad having to win at mahjong to secure the release of three punks under his care. Ken Lo, now seriously wrinkly, proves he’s still got it by being bounced around the room by Donnie, then doing the 160 degree splits. The rise in mainland co-productions means an obligatory partnership with the Chinese police, in this case an impressive fighting fem, with whom Donnie has a number of friendly chats, and spars a bit as well. The one disappointment was Ngai Sing (now Collin Chou) only leers a bit. One of HK’s greatest kicking badasses doesn’t fight. Why, Donnie, why ? Trite though the plot is, the non-fighting sequences move along at a comfortable pace and do help make sense of the fight scenes, which are well up to Donnie’s high standards. Given how gory some of the fighting is, there is a surprisingly low body count in Special ID. Plenty of gashes and injuries though, and I’m guessing a fairly liberal use of mercurochrome. Though the tone is generally serious, there are plenty of laughs in the fight choreography. Damn fine martial arts action, and highly entertaining. Reviewer Score: 8

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