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Cast:
Kim
Ho Kim
Chantal
Janzen
Jennifer
De Jong
Ron
Smoorenburg
Action:
Kim
Ho Kim
Ron
Smoorenburg
Producer:
Herman
Slagter
Jamal
Aattache
Director:
Jamal
Aattache
Score:
 
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FIGHTING
FISH
AKA:
N/A
Year:
2004 Reviewer: Phil
Mills
I'm
never one to pass up the opportunity to sample fresh cinema so
when the news filtered through on the development of the first
Dutch Martial Arts film, I followed it's progress with
anticipation. Utilising the talents of Ron Smoorenburg
('Who
Am I?'), the early trailers certainly showed the influence
of Hong Kong in the action so expectations were high when I
was finally able to get my hands on a DVD of the movie.
A-Ken
(Ho Kim) is an ex-gang member from Hong Kong who travels to
Rotterdam when his brother is killed in a battle between two
rival gangs. Here he meets up with some of his old
comrades who immediately point him in the direction of their
enemies led by A-Ching. Kim goes straight into action
and storms into their hideout with his fists flying in an
attempt to take revenge for his brother. However, it
would appear that everything is not as clear cut as he has
been led to believe and no one is openly taking responsibility
for his brother's death. During his search, Kim meets a
Dutch girl and falls in love which only seems to distract him
from solving the mystery. He needn't worry though, as
all is about to be revealed and he will find that all paths
will lead him to an eventual confrontation with the murderer.
The
immediate impression given off by 'Fighting Fish' is sadly not
one of amazement, but rather an obvious heir of an amateur
production. This is not because of a noticeably low
budget or any clear signs of film defects, it is more
attributable to the raw acting talent and a flimsy story that
was obviously devised to fit the action. Most of the
time the film suffers from a stop-start effect, establishing
minor plot points just before interrupting them with a
somewhat pointless piece of action. Unfortunately this
only prevents the audience from relating to the little
characterisation that is present or caring about the (rather
pointless) plot. In the acting department, Ho Kim as the
star man certainly leaves a lot to be desired, spending the
majority of the film just striking heroic poses or looking
sultry which is not enough to create a distinctive on-screen
presence. This is not helped by his rather weak speaking
voice that is unconvincing when delivering lines in Chinese
and even less so when it comes to the English dialogue.
The remaining members of the cast are either limited to bit
parts or just too plain poor to mention, including Smoorenburg
who actually only pops up a couple of times. Despite his
top billing, he is practically devoid of screen time or
dialogue and is forced to portray the stereotypical "hard
man" which only adds to the overall cheese factor.
For
the action in 'Fighting Fish', it's suitably fitting that the
musical score that accompanies most of the duels sounds like
something out of a Chinese Opera as each bout feels extremely
staged. Far too much time seems to have been spent on
choreographing and rehearsing each sequence, so much so that
they come across more like dance routines than any kind of
realistic punch-up. This is not to take anything away
from the talent involved as clearly using real-life martial
artists does allow for extra effect but when they look so
setup for the next blow it just removes any kind of realism.
Smoorenburg is perhaps the guiltiest party here and looks like
his timing has not improved since 'Who Am I?'. Whenever
he is in action, you get the impression of a stuntman's
training session as he looks to be preparing himself mentality
and concentrating so hard that he makes his kicks exceedingly
predictable. Ho Kim is perhaps more adept and contains a
larger repertoire of moves but he too suffers from an
over-reliance on preparation and fails to create anything
remarkable.
I
hate to condemn 'Fighting Fish' as anything remotely new in
this genre is always welcome but this particular outing does
feel more like a collaboration of Martial Artist's show reels
rather than a proper film. Let's hope that the producers
haven't been put off though, and use this as a learning curve
to go on to create something that combines impressive action
with an equally compelling story.
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