ThiefHott Too much of everything

SpuffyWeb Sadly Over-hyped

Lidia Draper Great example of an old-fashioned, pure-at-heart escapist event movie that doesn't pretend to be anything that it's not and has boat loads of fun being its own ludicrous self.

Jonah Abbott There's no way I can possibly love it entirely but I just think its ridiculously bad, but enjoyable at the same time.

kosmasp You have to have a special place for Donnie Yen and not be too cynical about this movie to enjoy it. I'll give you that, but the action, when it is on screen is impeccable. He still knows how to do things properly. And I think he also has the charisma to elevate mediocre movies like this above their level.The fighting almost seems realistic (apart from the one at a time attacking of the bad guys, which every action movie has) and the scenes are well choreographed. It's not only action though, as this tries to tell a story. A very predictable one, but that shouldn't put you off the movie. A nice action movie that might please Donnie Yens fan base until his next movie comes out

CowherPowerForever As an American watching these overseas foreign films was never my cup of tea. However, since the action genre has really slowed down since the nineties, watching films from overseas is a must these days. I'm a huge fan of action films, and action films that either have a lot of fighting scenes or just action scenes in general. This film not only has amazing hand to hand combat, but chase scenes as well. This is my review of Special ID.Some longtime action fans may know the names of the stars and the director, but since I'm fairly new to overseas films of this genre I'm basically a beginner, so forgive me if I get anything wrong. This film was directed by Clarence Fok Yiu-leung. While I'm not up to date on his filmography whether he has made other good films in the past, I can honestly say he does an amazing job in directing this film. The film starts out with a little action scene, hand to hand combat, and the scene is just amazing. You never really get action like this anymore here in the states. While the film really follows a basic and overused plot, the intense action save the film from being average at best. Even though there are not tons of action scenes in the film, when the action breaks out, it usually last a good bit. Case in point being the action scene to end the film. The scene was incredible and last a good ten to fifteen minutes. Some cheap CG is used as well, but you only really notice it a couple times during the film.Overall, if you just like watching action films like I do, then this film is clearly for you. Do not let the fact that it is a foreign film turn you off. The action scenes are intense, and last far longer than our American action scenes. A popular streaming service just added this film to watch(won't mention name as I'm only here to reviews films and not sell things to people), so look it up and give it a watch. I highly recommend it.7/10

ebossert Note: Check me out as the "Asian Movie Enthusiast" on YouTube, where I review tons of Asian movies.You really have to wonder how a film like "Special ID" (2013) gets an average IMDb rating of 5.3 out of 10 while something like "The Hobbit" (2012) gets an 8.0. People have truly lost their sense of priorities while watching action films. Read some reviews of "Special ID" and you'll see all kinds of petty criticisms, from language dialects to overly decorated restaurants! Here's a newsflash for you. For an action film to satisfy, it needs a minimum of two things: good action and brisk pacing. Guess what. "Special ID" easily meets this standard and in fact surpasses it with some truly memorable action sequences. Sure, the script is boilerplate and basic (even a bit clumsy in spots), but that doesn't automatically tank the enjoyability of a film that focuses first and foremost on the action anyways.A cop (Donnie Yen) and his team of comrades go undercover in one of China's most ruthless underworld organizations to stop a gang leader. Andy On plays a good villain, while Tian Jing is a likable female lead. The action in this film is spaced out nicely, which assists the pacing quite well. The fight choreography is less "showy", opting to reflect a realistic, scrappy form of fist-fighting with some mixed martial arts peppered in. The finale lasts a whopping 15 minutes and showcases a suspenseful car chase. This actioner definitely satisfies.The director here is Clarence Fok, who has a hit or miss filmography but has given us some fun movies in the past – "The Iceman Cometh" (1989) and "Black Panther Warriors" (1994) being two fairly brainless crowd-pleasers that stand out. He has also contributed some truly riveting dramas. For example, his crime drama "Century of the Dragon" (1999) is one of the best triad films of the past 15 years. Overall, the direction in "Special ID" is solid during the action, with some very cool sweeping shots during the lengthy car chase.Unfortunately, Clarence should have vetoed some of the scoring choices in "Special ID" because the background music got intrusive at times. The sound design of this film feels amateurish and cheap early on, but get better as it progresses. This shouldn't be too much of a problem for fans of old school Hong Kong action flicks from the 80s and 90s, which many times had consistently poor production values but nevertheless succeeded at providing pure entertainment value. At the very least, "Special ID" looks nice while it gives the viewers its fist-to-face goodies.

rightwingisevil bad casting, directing and worst of all, the careless decision by using the every actor's original voice. how could it possible that the mother's tone and accent is pure mandarin Chinese, a northern dialect accent, while the son speaking in cantonese accented Chinese? unless this so-called undercover son is adopted by a hongkongness foster parents and later reunited with his real mother, we could never get used to such big difference of accents between mother and son. and then, this guy's superior officer, my, is such a bad cast, who not in the least like a pencil pusher high ranking police office but an accounting clerk. then, the other two gang-bangers' stereo types are so lame and so formulaic, no big difference from their other roles in so many similar genre movies. i just wish donnie yen and all the cast in this movie speaking pure cantonese that at least the whole movie might look more convincing. but the stupid production people decided to cast a fragile Chinese doll to be the case officer from the mainland china and forced a awkward and embarrassing romance between the hongkongness undercover and her, their scenes just looked so contrite and unnatural. the mother role was also a cast of totally unnecessary. the dialog is also so stupid and contrite. this movie in general is a disaster from the very beginning to the end, simply ruined by a stupid screenplay, wrong cast, wrong accents, wrong arrangements almost every thing. to me, giving this movie 3 stars is already over-rated.