Review of Fatal Contact (2006) by Jordan R — 04 Jan 2009

Translation wasn't great, but it was still all right. Kind of like an existentialist "Rocky". Jacky Wu Jing stars as Kong, a quiet kid on the Chinese national kung fu team. He seems to own the role pretty well, playing a gentle person who happens to possess extraordinarily dangerous abilities. His kindness and noble qualities make him almost too much of an old school hero, but he somehow makes it work (it might be that smile). Some serious martial arts are on display as well, with our hero dishing out some lightning-fast acrobatic beatdowns. He's been compared to Tony Jaa, but I don't think he's there yet.

The love story is more believable on its visuals then its dialogue. The Captain is a funny, if bizarre, character. Tin's post-mortem tears and the strange starscape-on-a-hill scene are odd.

The ending is a major downer, but it suits the film's bleak tone. Not awesome, but worth a watch if you like the genre.