Film Review
Full Contact
By: Brad Crain bcrain@iocc.com
Cast: Chow Yun-Fat (Jeff), Simon Yam (Judge), Anthony Wong (Sam), Ann Bridgewater (Mona),
Bonnie Fu (Virgin), Frankie Chin (Deano)
Director: Ringo Lam
Ringo Lam's "Full Contact" is not about good, hard-working, productive citizens. It is about
a few lawbreaking friends, and their interaction with a group of extremely deranged robbers.
It takes an actor that the audience likes to play an unrepentant, bad person and still
elicit some sympathy. Chow Yun-Fat is such an actor. The fact that a somewhat bad person
is the "hero" of this film reminds me of the recent Mel Gibson film "Payback." Neither Mel or
Chow play the kinds of folks that you would expect to see leading Bible study in between
days volunteering at the local Red Cross, but they are not as bad as the other characters
in their films. The tagline for "Payback" was "Get ready to root for the bad guy." This
line works equally well for "Full Contact." I make the comparison between the two films
and actors to highlight just how important Chow is to this film. If Chow was not the star,
I would not care whether his character lived or died. Since Chow is the star, and I like Chow,
I automatically root for him. Chow, the star, is more important to me than the character.
Try to think of another actor in Hong Kong who is believable in such a role, and whose
sheer presence would evoke such a reaction. I certainly can't. Mel's bad guy movie grossed
around $165 million dollars at the box office in 1999. Chow's bad guy movie is one of his and
director Ringo Lam's most popular films around the world. Who says bad guys can't be good?
In this review, I do not want to focus on the plot. The plot is not really important in this
kind of movie. I do want to capture the feel and tone of the film, because that's what I like
about it. Director Ringo Lam has filled this film with a lot of extreme characters and
violence. As far as the characters, Simon Yam's Judge is the most extreme villain I can
remember having seen in a movie. Judge easily kills his friends and business partners,
hides guns and knives in his pockets and handkerchiefs (and uses them frequently), cuddles
up with his homosexual lover, and chops off a couple of Chow's fingers after telling him
"Your eyes are so charming and attractive." With that said, I'm not sure this description
even comes close to doing justice to the nature of the character. Yam's performance is
flamboyant and quite enjoyable. The character of Virgin, as played by Bonnie Fu, is another
extreme character. She is not the kind of girl you take home to momma's for Thanksgiving
dinner. When she's not flashing her underpants at hostages or pleasuring herself during
a robbery, she's having sex with her big boyfriend or making the moves on other assorted
characters. These are a couple of good examples of the film's villains. It's pretty easy
to see why Chow's character comes off as somewhat sympathetic compared to these. As far as
the violence, we are treated to multiple stabbings, shootings, beatings, and such. These are
not wimpy shots featuring off-screen carnage and small red spots for bullet holes. Here we
see wrists being slashed, detached fingers flying through the air, knives stuck through
hands, and blood spurting from head wounds that would make John Woo envious. The extremes
present in this film are quite a departure for Lam. Although his other films, such as
"City on Fire" and "Prison on Fire," contain strong violence, his characters and situations
are usually gritty and realistic. This movie is generously described as over-the-top. Due
to the extremes in violence and characterization, "Full Contact" feels more like a comic book
than a realistic crime film. It never feels real for a moment. I guess that's the reason
the extremely graphic violence didn't bother me too bad.
Now I want to spend some time talking about Chow. He's been suave and tough (The Killer) and
just plain tough (Hard-Boiled). In this movie, he is a BAD-A$$. He rides around on a
motorcycle with a buzz cut, wielding a butterfly knife (in such a manner that one would suspect
he's used it before), kicking butt whenever necessary. I can understand why women might not
be as drawn to this movie as men. His considerable charisma was pretty much checked at the
door when he walked on the set everyday. Traits like charm and charisma are not necessary for
this role. Like some of Chow's prior roles, his Jeff is a loyal friend. He fights with
loan sharks and commits robberies to help out his somewhat pathetic best friend, Sam
(Anthony Wong, who does a good job at portraying a somewhat pathetic and wimpy friend).
Unlike many of Chow's prior roles, he's not fighting injustice or searching his soul to
become a better person. Rather, he's a guy willing to do illegal things in order to help
himself or his friends. When he's double-crossed and a friend is killed, he doesn't mope
around considering the consequences of his life. Instead, he starts training for revenge.
When he loses several fingers due to the aforementioned double-cross, he simply learns to
shoot with his other hand in order to exact revenge. As long as he's tough, he doesn't
necessarily need minor items (such as ten fingers) to be successful in his world. From
this standpoint, there is not a lot of depth to his character. Then again, this is not some
Wong Kar-Wai blabfest, it's an extreme, kick-butt, high adrenaline action flick. Chow is
fine for what's needed of him. He gets to show a lot of attitude in this movie, and my
wife and I loved every minute of it. I'm not tough and cool, and I certainly don't have
the time to pull off dangerous robberies in Thailand, so I enjoy living vicariously
through Chow's toughness and coolness (and I get to keep all my fingers).
In conclusion, this film is a favorite of mine. I personally like to see Chow in a
true "tough guy" role. This guy wouldn't know Armani from a hole in the ground, but if
someone wanted to beat me with a big stick, I would want a friend like him on my side.
"Full Contact" may have been a bit too extreme for Hong Kong audiences at the time of
its initial release, but it definitely found an international audience. It certainly
helped both Chow and Ringo get some additional worldwide attention. As we know, Chow has
been able to use this worldwide attention to play increasingly better roles on the
international stage. In regards to Ringo, he keeps making movies with Jean Claude
Van Damme. Oh well, as least Chow's future is still looking bright.
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