Full Contact

Long ago I heard about an "ultimate Hong Kong action film" called "Full Contact". It starred Chow Yun Fat and was directed by Ringo Lam ("Maximum Risk") who is not as well known over here as other Hong Kong directors but with a good action script could be up there with John Woo and Tsui Hark. So while visiting a new video story in my area, low and behold there was a copy of it sitting there on the shelf calling to me. After watching it the first aspect of the film that struck me were the outrageous villains. There were three of them, a homosexual magician who could make guns appear out of nowhere, an over-the-top rock star looking guy that reminded me of a pro-wrestler, and a nymphomaniac female companion that........well let's just say she had problems keeping her clothes on. Chow Yun Fat plays a role fit for Stallone. It's got that '80s style "Cobra" look to it. He's kind of like an outlaw or desperado type, who must avenge his near death by the hands of the deadly trio. If you are a fan of any '80s action movie, then you'll love this. Keep your eyes open for the shootout at the end in the bar, with the bullet P.O.V. shots. Great stuff. **1/2 stars.

A truly incredible film. Chow Yun-Fat has to be one of the greatest action stars ever. And Ringo Lam's camera work was top notch. The action sequences were second to none. I highly recommend this film to anyone who is a fan of action.

To help a friend who's heavily in debt to a loan shark, Jeff (Chow Yun Fat) joins up with the gay villain, Judge (Simon Yam), for a weapons heist where he'll be double-crossed by who he thought was a friend who joined the gang with him. This wouldn't be an action film if he were to simply let bygones be bygones of course, so he plans a mighty vengeance against all who betrayed him. This is pretty standard revenge movie stuff, it's saved, however, by the great action scenes as well as well as Yun Fat's performance (excellent as always, well at least before he made the jump to Hollywood who always seem to make amazingly great foreign movie star into lesser than what the can be)

My Grade: B Mei Ah

DVD Extras: Theatrical Trailer; and Trailers for "Swordsman 2" & "Treasure Hunt"

I just can't say enough about Full Contact...the film is your typical Hong Kong revenge play, set against a backdrop of low-rent gangsters and seedy relationships. But it's the little things that really set this film apart: Ringo Lam is one of the few HK directors who has a decent grasp on how to use music in his films, not being as obsessed with Canto-pop inanities as his contemporaries; the body count is much lower than the typical bullets-n-bloodshed HK gangster film, thus giving each action scene an edge above other movies that end up reducing the impact of each death by trivializing them; Simon Yam's "viper queen" is a truly...different...kind of villain, one who makes you laugh while you're hoping he dies; the bit characters are better realized...I could go on and on.

In short, Full Contact is a real shock to the action fan's system: it has a visceral quality that so many action movies try for and miss. Ringo Lam's work is not for everybody, but if you're looking for the true edge of HK cinema (keep in mind that movie-goers in Honk Kong didn't like this film, as it was considered TOO dark and nasty by an audience used to this sort of thing, and not a soft, Western audience), here it is. Full Contact is the perfect English title for this brutal trip.

Full Contact is a gritty action classic with acclaimed director Ringo Lam and an all star cast that has Chow Yun Fat, Anthony Wong and Simon Yam. Having any one of these actors in a film automatically makes the movie better , in Full Contact we get all three. Chow Yun Fat is in full antihero mode and is the most sympathetic character in this revenge flick. Anthony Wong is his buddy who gets CYF to rescue him from a loan shark which escalates to more trouble with Wong betraying him also. Simon Yam is Wong 's cousin and a ruthless and sleazy gangster . He also is gay and is attracted to CYF. CYF is betrayed and left for dead and an innocent family is killed and a young girl is badly burned and disfigured as well. Anthony Wong steals CYF 's woman and continues to work with his cousin 's gang. CYF then resurfaces to get even and bring street justice . Full Contact is a unique take on the heroic bloodshed genre brought to life with HK's A list cast and director . Classic.