Fatal Contact (2006)

Very very predictable, including the post credit scene !!!

Simply Perfect

Fantastic!

This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

I can understand why some people didn't like this, but on the whole I think this was a far superior offering than a lot of kung fu (or however you feel better classifies this type of film) offerings I have recently watched.(I have been a long time fan of Hong Kong martial arts films, and I am trying to put this review in the context of both 70s/80/s classics as well as more modern takes on the genre. Also I have a wide ranging preference in kung fu films - from the serious, the comedic, through to plush high end productions.)This film does start slowly, and perhaps is more in keeping with Asian dramas for the 1st quarter of the film. And I can understand why that would not be rewarding for some viewers. But if you hold out a little, as time goes on is increasingly riveting.The plot, which tends to be incredibly thin in many martial arts films, is relatively rich. While, there are some guessable twists long the way, equally there are some surprising ones.Perhaps more importantly, the action is very well choreographed and it's lead a very strong fighter. I was really impressed by Jacky Wu's technique - I wouldn't have wanted to be on any of his punches or kicks, and it wasn't all fantasy fight (e.g. loads of wires) either.It is the momentary lapses in sentimentality that, for me, mark this down from 9 to about 7 1/2 (ish).In a nutshell: if you can get past the 1st part's (and occasional) lack of pace, this is a well put together, well choreographed film, with a strong lead and impressive martial arts.

This movie is beautifully shot with some of the greatest fight scenes of any film in recent years. Anytime there is a fight, even the brief ones, the film shines. However, the rest of the film is awful despite the excellent photography. This movie is plagued by bad acting and bad story. This movie is extremely stupid. Every non-action scene is terrible.That being said it is still worth watching for the fight scenes. The fights go at a fast pace and are pretty believable. They are somewhat similar to Flashpoint and SPL.This is an absurdly silly movie that expects the audience to be morons but the fights are well-done.

Young acrobat in a Chinese Opera style show is wanted by the mob to fight in underground boxing matches. He refuses, but later decides to try it when he and his girl realize there's money to be made. Moving in with one of the gangsters named the Captain he starts to fight and win. As his handlers realize that there is money to be made he begins to fight more and more punishing matches and things begin to go in ways he never expected.Good but not great action film plays at times more like a romance and buddy comedy. To be certain there are some very good fight scenes, but more of the film seems to be about the characters. This is both good and bad. Good because we get to meet the Captain, a low level gangster who is actually a kung fu master himself. He's trying to get enough money to open a dim sum place for his mom. His scenes, which at first seem forced turn out to be some of the more charming of the whole film. The problem here is he's much more interesting then the two leads who have some charm but ultimately blend in with everyone else. In more then one fight scene I wasn't sure which guy I was rooting for. Then in the final half hour things go in a different direction. While it did get me to sit up and take notice, I wasn't sure if this was a new twist or something that had been foreshadowed since it was only at this one point I realized I hadn't really been paying attention. I have no idea how you'll react to the turn of events but they a tad downbeat.Is the film worth seeing? yes no maybe. The fights are good, the drama fair. The trouble is that its really far from gripping. You don't really care for the characters, other than Captain, and I found myself watching more to see the fights then anything else. I think the only way to explain this is as an odd drama with fights.5 Out of 10. The choice to see it is yours.

The real reason anyone will see fatal contact is for the action. With that in mind, you may have to forgive a little bit of the jumpy and clichéd story telling.The action sequences are frequent, and well choreographed. It's an interesting combination of brutal and flashy. Wu Jing will throw several jumping multi-kicks, but because the general rhythm of the fights are captured well, it doesn't look too far fetched. The choreographers throw in some pretty believable elements in the competition fights. You may see the fighters just hop around a it to psych each other out, and you'll notice, the more brutal the fights get, the less visible these sportsman like elements become. It's pretty interesting. There's no wirework and very little, if any, video speed up that is flamboyant in some HK movies.Wu Jing really struts his stuff in this movie. I would say in general, he's very similar to jet li. He has this strange brutalness that jet li embodies in his roles with a modern setting. He looks wild, but clean at the same time. Wu Jing is younger, more vibrant, and he even has more flare than Jet Li. An actor like Donnie Yen has a different kind of appeal, but because Jet Li is getting old, and probably no longer doing action movies anymore, Wu Jing would make a superb replacement.The story has almost no introduction, no time to familiarize a little with the characters, and the actual revelations about the characters are sporratic and placed in seemingly random places. It has a terrible and nonsensical love story, which luckily, isn't the focus. The whole setup is pretty nonsensical as well. Some guys walk into an opera performance, and somehow recognize skill in a performer. They ask him to fight underground for them, and they offer a lot of money. Of course, a lowly wushu performer is poor, and he eventually decides he neeeds the money. The setup is all a little fantastical to me, especially with the realistic setting. I feel it would be more at home in an aime than a live action movie with a modern day setting. It helped a lot to almost imagine Fatal Contact taking place in some alternate universe where the underground fighting scene is big money, and the scouters are like pimps. A world where performers are poor, but incredibly talented fighters. It's almost romantic if you think of it that way. So the setting is bearable and kinda interesting if you give it some of your imagination, but the story is still hampered by tons of cheesy dialogue and that oh so corny romance.It's all about the action though, and that totally does not fail to disappoint. My favorite action movie in recent times is Sha Po Lang. The stories in both are at least a little cliché, but SPL had the cleaner, less sporratic story telling. It also had cinematography of a higher quality than Fatal Contact. Still though, Wu Jing and his action co-stars drive a really tough bargain. His moves are cleaner, flashier, and he's more vibrant than Donnie Yen. I almost can't decide of Fatal Contact trumps SPL or not.