Fatal Contact: A Review

Release year: 2006.

Original title: Hak kuen.

Rating: R for violence, language, and suggestive situation.

Tagline: Only one can be champion.

Genre: Action.

Synopsis

I've always been a big fan of kung-fu films, both the old and the new, and Final Contact was on a list of kung-films recommended to me. I got it a few weeks ago and only got around to watching it tonight. My expectations for the movie weren't quite blockbuster, but were reasonably high given the source that recommended it is a good friend with usually good movie tastes.

Though not exactly what I hoped for, I was not let down by the movie.

Kong, the male star of a traveling troupe of martial arts exhibitionists (Jackie Chan should come to mind), is approached by the leaders of an underground fighting ring because his exhibition has managed to impress them. 20k win or lose they tell him, but the guy is a bit reluctant to participate. Enter Tin, who convinces Kong to enter the fighting ring and Captain, a beggarly chap who works as a guard for the men who run the fighting circuit and who is also, secretly, a master of martial arts. He passes off feats of dexterity and strength as magic tricks for cigarettes from his friend, which I thought was amusing.

What follows next is as predictable as it is entertaining. Kong rises up the ranks, fighting progressively more difficult opponents, has his limits tested constantly, and is dragged into a world of shady businessmen and the pursuit of the almighty dollar.

Pros: Captain provides some serious comedy relief, and not in the corny way that Krillin does to Goku, as Captain is actually incredibly skilled in the martial arts. Kong's characterization is also a VERY big pro, because we see the man go from innocent performer to hardened martial artist; from the moral high ground to seedy underbelly. There were some original moves put into play and, in the second to last battle, an amazing amount of really dynamic  grappling moves.

Cons:  The movie is in a foreign language and so comes with sub-titles. The copy that I got, the sub-titles were actually pretty bad. I mean it gave me enough that I could get a handle on the story and what was going on, but I was left with the feeling of missing a lot of nuance, especially when it came to the jokes. Also some of the moves had me feeling like "Seems very Tony Jaa-ish". A few of the wire stunts were obvious, but not all of them.

Best Moment: The ending. Not at all what I expected it to be. Most action movies have an action packed ending and it fades to black shortly thereafter, leaving only a few minutes of exposition to wrap up loose ends. Fatal Contact takes a different route, and tops the movie off poignantly, taking care of all loose ends and reminding us that the characters aren't just fist-machines.

Rating:  6.9 / 10.