Inseparable
2011; directed by Dayyan Eng

The Chinese/American co-production Inseparable is a superhero movie with a twist. Daniel Wu plays Li, who is having troubles at work and at home. After a botched suicide attempt, Li meets up with a new resident of his building, Chuck (Kevin Spacey), and the pair adopt secret identities to try and right the wrongs they see in society.

This sort of "real" superhero story has been done several time over the past few years, as with pictures such as Kick-Ass and Super. What sets Inseparable apart that it takes a twist in the second act that changes the flow of the story and the aim of the film as a whole. I won't ruin the surprise for anyone, but suffice it to say that anyone who has seen Fight Club will be familiar with how Inseparable pulls a 180 with the audience.

Th added depth that the film-makers try to go to was appreciated. However, they, at least in this reviewer's opinion, do not go far enough with their ideas. As a whole, the movie feels a bit incomplete, in that the audience ends up not learning too much about the characters, and thus not becoming invested in their fates. Inseparable's conclusion is also too rushed and pat. Given the events that befall Li, it's nearly incomprehensible that matters could be wrapped up so quickly and neatly.

Still, despite its' problems, at the end of the day, Inseparable is a good enough film that it at least deserves a mild recommendation. Both Daniel Wu and Kevin Spacey put in good performances and have fine chemistry together, making the scenes that they are in together fun to watch. Also, for the most part, the comedy works. It's nothing gut-busting hilarious, but it's not stuff that's going to be making you grab an asprin, either. Perhaps if the film-makers had kept things a bit more simple and concentrated on these strong points, we could have had a better picture.

RATING: 6