Who doesn’t love a fun action movie? With John Wick and The Fast Saga changing the game for what audiences have come to expect from big-budget action movies, other movies are often relegated to second-class efforts. Luc Besson, the creator of The Transporter and Taken franchises, has cemented his own brand of action movie that has been around for decades. Partnering with co-writer and director George Huang, Besson has produced the new movie Weekend in Taipei, which mines the classic style of nineties-era action movies for a fun, brisk movie experience (check out our review HERE).
Weekend in Taipei follows DEA agent John Lawlor (Luke Evans) as he returns to Taiwan after fifteen years away. The last time he was there, he had a romance with criminal transporter Joey (Gwei Lun-mei). Lawlor is in town to pick up evidence to take down drug kingpin Kwang (Sung Kang). Unbeknownst to John, Joey is not only married to Kwang, but he also has a son whom he knows nothing about. Reuniting with his former love and son, Lawlor must try to escape from Taipei with the evidence to take Kwang down.
I got the chance to speak with the cast and crew of Weekend in Taipei. Wyatt Yang, who plays young Raymond, talked about being scared of Sung Kang’s method acting and what it was like filming his first movie. Star Luke Evans talked about playing a hero with Kang as the villain, the inverse of their Fast Saga relationship, and whether he hopes this movie turns into a franchise. Sung Kang talked about why playing villains is more fun while director George Huang gives a shout out to JoBlo.com while explaining the method behind his first action movie. Check out the full interviews in the embed above.
Weekend in Taipei premieres in theaters on November 8th.