Customer Reviews

Fatal Contact

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I won't dive too deep into this. For one, it's pretty shallow. For two, you need to see it for yourself. The fast and graceful Wu Jing plays Kong, a martial artist who performs for the (contemporary) opera. His athletic prowess is observed by some gangsters, who offer him some lucrative pay to fight in underground matches for them. He declines, of course, then is persuaded by the girl he likes. She is attracted to money, and she likes watching other guys get their tails kicked. She's also really hot, so he decides to go for it. After he wins a couple of matches, his girl negotiates better pay and higher stakes. A rival gangster (a pimped out Ken Lo), whose fighters have all lost to Kong, is determined to beat him. So the matches get more and more dangerous.

Like "The Protector", this movie is short on plot and heavy on fights. The plot in this is WAY more coherent, but the fights aren't nearly as plentiful. This is more of a heart-breaker because with some tightening up, it could've been a good movie all around. With fights like these though, I'll take what I can get. These are some of, if not THE best fights that I've ever seen. This is the type of choreography (by Nicky Li, a former member of Jackie Chan's stunt team) and editing that should be done in ALL fight movies. The brawls are FAST, creative, tough, and athletic.

Dragon Dynasty gives us a great version with plenty of special features. I haven't watched any of them yet. I didn't think that the extras were necessary to recommend the film. The English dub is bad, so I would recommend the subtitles. I don't know who this is on the cover though. It really doesn't look like Wu Jing at all. -1 star for plot. 5 stars for fights. 5-1=4

2006

Wu Jing made his presence quite known in the wonderful Kill Zone movie, which was originally recognized for Donnie Yen vs Sammo Hung, but some people like myself may have found the Donnie Yen vs Wu Jing fight the real highlight of the film. Wu Jing was very memorable. I was very pleased to learn that another HK martial arts movie would be continuing to showcase his talents, this time, by putting him as the lead role in "Fatal Contact". While in Kill Zone he played a villain, he's a good guy here - in fact, a very good guy, too good. As the story describes on the reverse dvd cover "he is a young naive man". That actually got to be nearly annoying early on, but in the end, that sets things up for a better story.

Not that I purchased this for story, but I was rather amazed. Like Kill Zone, there is emotion to this film and depth between characters. You wouldn't expect this from things early on in the film. This movie gets a slow start, and even slow with the action. But that is the beauty of it in the end. The film slowly gets darker and deeper, and the action...yeah, as expected is teriffic.

In the end it is all about the action. Wu Jing is definetly in top shape here. He's extremely athletic, fast and powerful. His moves and style are very refreshing to the martial arts genre. The directing and choreographer certainly worked well with this guy, and it shows in every breathtaking scene. The action in the film is nearly all one on one fights, and while they begin kinda slow and short, each fight gets longer and more brutal. I was expecting the climax of the film to be a huge fight, but instead it focuses on a very important element to the story. It's still not dissapointing, but it's not a fight scene so much.

Like many will point out, Chan an Li are going to be gone soon, and surely missed. We certainly don't want the genre to leave them. They can never be replaced, but when you got guys like Tony Jaa and now Wu Jing, things ar looking good for the future of ths genre. Fatal Contact could have been better overall, as the story is not great, but still above average for this genre. It comes down to martial arts action, and even more so, watching Wu Jing in action.

Action - 4.5

Characters - 3.5

Dubbing - 2.5

Story - 3.5

Overall - 3.5

FATAL CONTACT

As any of you may know I am a huge Asian Cinema fan and would like to think I own a nice collection. Years ago I came across a film named Underground Fist and of course had to have it since a "SPL" [or Killzone] cast member that impressed me was starring. His name of course is Wu Jing and were he played a villain in that film he is the lead "good guy" here in this one. I of course had to have it and watch so I did and found it to be a very good film. Still while not perfect I liked it for reason other than the fighting [still liked that though].

The film follows a young man named Kong [Wu Jing] after he is finished one night performing in an Opera. In attendance were some gangsters representing a man interested in Kong for his athletic abilities, they of course work for a man who promotes underground fighting. At first Kong is against it and wants nothing to do with it but a girl named Siu Tin [Miki Yeung] convinces him to give it a shot. As he is all about this girl he agrees and his mission to fight for cash is underway. He is given a place to stay by the boss at another employ's place, his name is Chan Shing aka Captain [Ronald Cheng]. The tree quickly begin to bond and form a friendship as a rival underground promoter looks to take Kong out.

I know that you may be saying that the story is one that has been told before, and that is true. But what surprised me here and what I loved most about the film was the relationship between the three and the chemistry between the three characters and actors. There was much more to this film than the fighting as the three friends are allowed to grow as characters and with each other. Wu Jing not only got to shine here with his martial arts performance [he is the real deal] but got to show some of his acting abilities as well. Miki Yeung was the perfect good girl gone bad type character that you believe Kong could fall in love with. She was very well cast here in this film was Ronald Cheng who stole the show as far as acting. His comedic timing was a great release in the film plus he was very good in his own fight scenes as well.

Speaking of fighting Jing was the right man for the job here as he is quick and deadly but smooth at the same time. But I would really like to point out that my favorite scenes in the film would most likely be the training scenes. When Kong needs to train it is the Captain that does it and the official training scenes are both funny and realistic. Still the scene in which Cap takes some bowls from a beggar and has Kong work is combinations and hands on those is excellent. Honestly that scene is what I pictured would play at an awards show when they said this film as a nomination. You know what I mean like at the Oscars the presenter will say "insert movie title" and then a scene will play, this is the scene I pictured would play.

The film falters at times when it goes more into the dramatic area to heavily or quickly but the cast makes it work. Written and directed by Dennis Law and chorographed by Nicky Li who is a member of the Jackie Chan Stunt Team. The movie is not perfect but it is really enjoyable. I do highly recommend a viewing and also get the Dragon Dyansty release as it is a 2 Disc special addition with all kinds of goodies. My favorite of those goodies is the audio commentary from writer/director Dennis Law and Dragon Dynasty vet Bey Logan.

I have never seen an unassuming martial arts movie go so bad so fast. Fatal Contact stars Wu Jing in an ill-defined role in a very thin plot line about underground fighting in Hong Kong. That's not a huge problem though because there's a lot of charm and grit to the majority of Fatal Contact. The movie allows plenty of opportunities for Jing to show off his skills, and there's a good, off-kilter supporting performance from pop star Ronald Cheng. As a martial artist, Jing is certainly impressive. His speed is amazing, and I was repeatedly struck dumb by his spinning kicks and back kicks.

Despite all these positives, it's difficult to give this film even a half-hearted recommendation. Up until the the final match, the movie is decent and seems to know what it wants to do. Jing's character (Kong) is convinced to join the Hong Kong underground fighting circuit for easy cash. As he does so, his abilities lead to higher and higher stakes and he becomes conflicted by his increasingly violent use of martial arts. The final straw comes when he is ordered to throw a fight.

At this point, the movie has set up a great finale for a penultimate fight sequence. Will Kong throw the fight? Will he realize that he's not using his skills in appropriately? How will he extricate himself from the underground fight scene he's joined? Further, I liked the cautionary aspects of the story in terms of what happens when you mix with the wrong people (the 'fatal contact' of the title?), and there were also some subplots with secondary characters that were interesting enough to make me want to see how them resolved.

No spoilers here, but as soon as the match Kong is ordered to throw ends (complete with rain falling on cue - yuck) you may as well shut the movie off if you're a martial arts fan. The action is over, and all that's left is a lot of cheesy melodrama until the film drags itself - a half-dead rotting carcass - to the rolling credits. Worst of all, the movie fails to satisfactorily resolve any of its plotlines or characters. It takes the easy way out across the board or simply doesn't even bother.

What happened? While director Dennis Law does a great job filming his movie, his talents as a screenwriter are slender and he is clearly incapable of resolving even modest character and plot conflict without resorting to over the top dramatics. Kong's inner conflict vanishes as if it had never existed, and Law should know better that to end a movie in this genre with a lot of weepy scenes as if it were a chick flick. It's not an exaggeration to say that Fatal Contact turns into an entirely different - and very, very bad - movie as it enters its last 20-30 minutes.

So the question is, could I watch this movie and just shut it off after the final fight? If so, I could haltingly recommend it. Unfortunately, the martial arts aspects of the film are not sufficiently wrapped up (nor are they ever). So despite really great performances by Wu Jing, I cannot recommend Fatal Contact. Wu Jing, however, has the goods as a martial artists and I'd love to see his skills highlighted in a (way) better film.

FATAL CONTACT (aka. Underground Fist) is the latest martial arts action film directed by Dennis Law. Jackie Chan is getting old, Jet Li is also getting old and may be retiring from the Wuxia foray (don't think so) and Donnie Yen is, well, always being Donnie "COOL" Yen. Wu Jing, after SPL (aka. Killzone) looks to be the next promising new action star. Martial arts fans are clamoring for a new action hero, Wu Jing's charisma and actual fighting savvy make him a top competitor. (He is the national Wu Shu champ in real life) Aside from Tony Jaa from Thailand, who will make the cut? Director Law thinks Wu Jing can make the cut and he gives him the lead role after the terrific "SPL".

Derived partially from back cover:

A young martial arts champion from Mainland China Kong, came to Hong Kong on a short contract with an opera group. Lured by the promise of wealth into the world of underground full-contact fighting world by a gambling boss and encouraged with his girlfriend Tin (Miki Yeung), Kong brilliant fighting style changes the game. Win after win, Kong becomes unbeatable in the arena. A rival boss seeks a fighter capable of defeating him but Kong still defeats all comers.

Now, Kong realizes that there is more to this underground world than fighting and winning. Kong thought he was in control and he was only using his body and skills for financial gain, but eventually he may end up losing more than he had first bargained for.

The main draw for Fatal Contact would be the extensive fight scenes. A bit of wires were used, but I have to admit that Wu Jing's martial arts prowess is the true highlight of the film. He moves as quick and graceful as a cat, truly this film was tailor-made with his skills in mind. Wu Jing exhibits power and poise in the action sequences. The fights are brutal and fast-paced, bloody and stylized. To the fight director's credit, the fights don't lose its realism and doesn't become repetitive. The fight scenes are very fun to watch.

Kong's character is a showman, therefore, in the beginning it seemed like he lacked "killer instinct". The film successfully develops this aspect of Kong's character that you see him changing with each drag-out brawl. Kong's innocence and good nature slowly evolves into animal instinct.

Miki Yeung plays Tin, Kong's love interest. Her eye-catching way of wearing "short" shorts and her cute smile can captivate Kong as well as the audience. Ronald Cheng plays "Captain", a dopey low-level triad who assigned to take care of Kong. Cheng actually steals the show with his slapstick comedy, his comedic one-liners save the screenplay from the canned melodrama in the film. A lot of the drama falters, and a lot of issues arise, one of them is the role of Theresa Fu who is little more than a plot device to emphasize the burdened conscience of Miki Yeung's character Tin. There is a lot of tough existentialism in the film and the dialogue is too obligatory and the drama ends up hampering the film a little. The screenplay and the direction sometimes tries too hard to call attention to itself with its attempts to add "meat" to the simple plot; it ends up being pretentious. Characters tend to banter overlong with their hopes and dreams, their moral values which end up boring because the characters don't demonstrate said characteristics.

That said, at least the film's good points will please the fans of Wu Jing and Ronald Cheng. Once the film takes off with the action and the occasional comedy, the bad points may be forgiven. It does tend to focus more on its bad points but when viewers get a glimpse of the good points, it is a fun watch.

I have the 1-disc Hong Kong edition released last year.

VIDEO/AUDIO: 2.40 ANAMORPHIC WIDESCREEN. Nice transfer, colors are natural and contrast is sharp. Black levels are solid although somewhat muted in some scenes. 5.1 Dolby/5.1 DTS Cantonese Language track. English Subtitles are good and well timed.

Final remarks: Fatal Contact has the potential to be a very good action film, but it takes its desperate elements too seriously and executes them poorly. It fell to the usual canned melodrama in an attempt to add complicated issues to the simple plot. It's a bit disappointing that Wu Jing will not achieve superstardom from this film, a film can either "make" or "break" an action star. At least, "Fatal Contact" will not "break" Wu Jing. His other supporting roles in "TWINS MISSION"(Horrible) and "INVISIBLE TARGET"(sub-par) will hopefully be a sign for better roles for him. Wu Jing steals the show in these 2 features.

Recommended for action fans and worth a rental for everyone else. (3 ½ - stars)

Ok so this is like porn. They get right down to business. Which is great and what I want when I want to watch fighting. The acting is terrible. There is some really bada*s fighting for sure... but the last 30-45 minutes of the movie has no fighting at all, just this retarded badly done emotional crap. I would have rated it better if there was fighting all the way until the end

If you are looking for cool action-packed martial arts movie set in a tournament or a martial arts movie with many international fighing styles then this one is not for you.

This is very alike to the movie Lionheart starring Van Damme. Is about clandestine fights set in different parts of the dark city with an emotional story. Like Lionheart, is a mix of action and drama with some good fight scenes and a dark storyline. There are a total of 5 or 6 fight scenes, they are pretty fast but most of them are not so long for you to enjoy, most of the character's fighting styles are pretty much the same, and sometimes the story can get a little boring.

When I watched this movie I was expecting something like Bloodsport, in other words: many different fighting styles, many fights, less talk and more action. Now, if you like movies like Lionheart of maybe Damage starring Stonecold then you can give this one a chance.

Adios.

I went into "Fatal Contact" knowing that I would probably get something similar in feel and tone to "Ong Bak," and in that respect I wasn't disappointed. While Jacky Wu is no Tony Jaa (who is no Bruce Lee), he does have a disarming presence and as a fighter, he knows his stuff. The fight sequences are, for the most part, good, and there are some parts that will impress you; having said that, they were not jaw-dropping in the way the fight sequences in "Ong Bak" or something comparable were.

Speaking of "Ong Bak," there are a few too many nods to that movie here, which makes you want to compare it -- which is very bad for this movie, and unfair to Wu. Again, he is a sound martial arts actor, but if you compare him to Jaa (who also does numerous tricky stunts in his movies), you will think him as a poor man's Jaa, which is unfair.

Where the movie really suffers is in its female lead, who is completely unlikeable (even though the movie eventually tries to redeem her) and unconvincing, its inconsistent attitude towards the "I shouldn't fight because it's wrong" theme (it's introduced then dropped, then reintroduced then dropped again), and most of all, it's entirely unexpected and for a lack of a better way of putting it, stupid stupid ending. As a viewer, you expect the movie to end at a certain place (you'll know what I mean if you see it), but it carries on -- and once it does, it goes way out of line. I can't say more without giving it away, but what I can say is that the story progresses in a way that doesn't make much sense, that veers from the way it had been going, and ends in a way that leaves you utterly frustrated and dissatisfied. Don't be surprised if you walk away from this movie thinking, "What the hell just happened?"

I normally want to watch even the most ludicrous martial arts movies more than once, largely because of the fight choreography (which will usually redeem an otherwise dumb movie), but I can't say that I would want to watch this again. Or, if I do, I will shut it off after that certain point I mentioned earlier. I hope Wu goes on to better things, since he IS genuinely talented. He just needs a much better story, stronger actors around him, and much much better direction.

The fighting scenes are both very good and very bad. It's very good because Jacky Wu Jing is so skillful at martial art. It's very bad because his opponents are so incompetent. Consequently, when Wu Jing attacks or moves, it's gripping. When his opponents counter attack or block his moves, it looks so fake that all the excitement is gone. On the opposite, the fights between Wu Jing and Donnie Yen in SPL/Kill Zone are exciting and suspenseful. It's because both opponents possess equal skills.

This is mainly a drama with a kung fu background. The plot is supposed to be touching but it does not move me. It's because the acting of the main female actress is so stiff.

In short, it's worth renting but not buying.

Jacky Wu Jing just pwned himself into my 'All Time Favorite's' list. Believe me it is not because of the supporting female actresses either. The story seems like it was too complicated for the studio to really produce. That is the fatal flaw of Fatal Contact. OK! Overlook that and hold onto your moms tv nunchaku, (remote), because these guys are making a martial arts movie simply to showcase martial arts. All kinds of styles, including dance style. LOL. Jacky Wu Jing handles these underground fight gangsters like it was Martial Arts Christmas! Prepare to be given the gift of gape! (jaw hanging open, "whoa!" being uttered, and rewind being activated along with frame by frame." One other thing, count how many times Wu Jing hits that karate dude! Whoa!