Full Contact

Chow Yun Fat is pretty well known for the action movies he has starred in, but this is one of the few that features openhand combat. Chow uses a butterfly knife, and action director Lau Kar Wing makes him look like an expert. As if he isn't already cool enough, he's rides a motorcycle and wears biker clothes, and he has a haircut that looks like Will Smith when he was on Fresh Prince. I think this is the first Chow Yun fat movie I have seen that is directed by Ringo Lam. It's darker than most Chow movies and the story actually holds together all the way through, unlike most John Woo movies.

The story is about Chow and his friend played by Anthony Wong teaming up with Wong's cousin (Simon Yam) to do a robbery. The robbery goes fine, but Wong's cousin has plans to kill Chow. Simon Yam is great as the psycho homosexual killer. I don't want to give anything away, so that's all I will say about the story.

If you're a fan of violence you will really lke this. It's one of those movies where a guy will ask an old friend "hey, I thought we were friends", and instead of getting an answer he gets shot in the chest. There's a lot of cool stuff like that. People get shot in the head, the neck, all over. It's just a lot of bloody fun. If there were a few more action scenes, this movie would no doubt get the full 5 star rating. The character development is good, and the acting from everyone is outstanding, especially the 3 lead actors.

I didn't know where to fit this into my review, but I must mention the shootout scene in the bar between Chow and Yam. It has the coolest bullet visuals I have ever seen.

4/5

The Sony DVD has very good picture quality, and the Chinese language track sounds good. There's also an English dub if your ears can stand it.

Before the review to this edition, my reverence for this Powerful action classic of all times. First, don't let our man Chow Yun Fat's presence misleads you: This a Ringo Liam movie, very different from the talented genious melodrama-action director John Woo.

This Ringo Liam tale of betrayal and revenge is far more based on graphic raw violence than the honor and brotherhood bullet-ballet aesthetics of John Woo. Skiping most of the melodrama, this movie is a modern western and a trademark hong kong style masterpiece. Outrageous and over-the-top, the characters have so much charisma, they are almost three-dimentional: Jeff (chow yun fat) is a stereotype in his hard-case role of a stone-cold honorable killer, the butterfly-knife fight sequence is a statement in heroism. Sam (anthony Wong) is coward and insecure as he can be. His cousin, the Judge (Simon yam in one of his best performances ever) is a flamboyant, vicious, and sleazy gang leader, a bulls-eye expert shooter, and a character hard to forget. The rest of the Judge's band, the mindless big thug and the hard-laughing prostitute, are just dysfunctional as human beings and dangerous as poison.

The directing style of Ringo Liam is more direct than his famous counterpart J.W., and he introduced new fresh concepts like the bullet's eye-view (from out of the pistol, flying throught the flesh) and the mentioned 3-d characters. Loan sharks, vengeful gansters, heavy weapons truck hijacks, explosive cars... Here, we can find more, much more than that. Like John Woo's "Hard Boiled", this is the closest concept to a missile attack over urban grounds. But despite that fact, there's no unnecesary bloodsheds in here, the masterful direction creates balance to the story and rhythm between the ballistic showdowns.

Ok, the Tai Seng DVD edition: What's new about it? First the DTS cantonese soundtrack, uneven and unbalanced sometimes but very apreciated. It sounds terrific in the explosions and the action in general, but of course the character's voices stay in a lower level. The english dubbed soundtrack is good, and so the cantonese and mandarin mono, and the usual "comments" by Hong Kong films expert Rick Meyers. 5 tracks to choose and enjoy, english and cantonese subtitles and 8 trailes as the only extras. Too bad, this movie earned his extras, and how.

Worth the price? Absolutely YES! Recommended DVD edition to enjoy this action masterpiece, but unfortunately nothing more. Your choice.

This loose adaptation of "Point Blank" will not let you forget the original Lee Marvin version. The film eschews characterization for gratuitous pyrotechnics and bloodshed. The heavies here are so cartoonish that they're never truly menacing. On the plus side, Chow Yun Fat as Jeff, the bouncer quick with fist, switchblade, or firearm is as magnetic as ever. Director Ringo Lam keeps you engaged with his superb feel for action even if the proceedings are somewhat ridiculous. This film does not rate with Chow Yun Fat's collaborations with John Woo but if you want no think entertainment this film fills the bill.

I gave it two stars because while I didn't hate it, it was dull and predictable. I see beter plots on TV's Starsky and Hutch. It probably wouldn't have been so bad if I didn't have to use subtitles; I found myself more interested in looking at the text than watching the movie. I know, that's only my opinion, but I watch a lot of DVD's and I think I know what I like and don't like.

After Tsui Hark and John Woo, Ringo Lam is probably one of the greatest HK directors. Some innovative POV shots make this a must see. Plot is predictable but it has some great lines.

If you like HK action, this is worth owning.