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FULL
CONTACT
AKA:
N/A
Year:
1992 Reviewer: Phil
Mills
Jeff
(Yun Fat) is a nightclub bouncer who is a little hard up for
cash. When his friend Sam (Wong) informs him that his
cousin is going to be responsible for an arms raid, he decides
that this will be a quick way to make money. Judge (Yam)
is the rather camp leader of the gang and takes a shine to
Jeff immediately. However, money must always come first
and Judge betrays Jeff, leaving him for dead on the roadside.
Surprise surprise, Jeff is more than a little bit annoyed
about this and decides to reap his bloody revenge on those
responsible for the double cross; slowly!
Up
to this point in Yun Fat's career we had only been witness to
his smooth, suave and sophisticated alter ego in which he
appeared with slicked back hair and the most expensive suit in
town. That all changed for this 1992 "bad-ass biker
with attitude" flick in which Yun Fat looks meaner and
tougher than ever, even using a knife in preference over a
gun. When Woo was at the helm he had crafted out several
vehicles for Chow in which we had experienced slow motion
bullet ballet and heroic codes of honour but with Ringo Lam
you get a much greater sense of a realism.
The
main character, Jeff, is certainly more of an anti-hero as he
doesn't always do the right thing or follow the path that most
would expect but you sure as hell know he will leave a trail
of blood behind him. There is no formulaic good vs. evil
here and not everybody on either side is likable, but this is
what makes it interesting and gives this a sharper edge to
most Hollywood material. Lam has always liked to make
his characters a lot meaner than most and give the world a
much bleaker outlook, which is more than a lot of directors
would ever dream of. Dark and depressing atmospheres
aren't always successful as audiences often like
happy-go-lucky films but this is so much more fun to watch.
Action-wise
it contains an even mix of punch-ups and gunplay, providing
excitement for fans of either style. The fights showcase
a lot of straight forward punches and kicks as well as an
abundance of knife-play as the flick knife is Jeff's weapon of
choice. The shoot-outs are perhaps a little more
adventurous and go from blood soaked explosions to one of the
most defining moments in the director's career as he uses the
camera to follow the bullet's trajectories to their intended
targets. Each scene is also accompanied by a varied
selection of slow motion techniques and tight camera angles
that enhance the already well laid-out ideas.
Through
a combination of Yun Fat's sublime performance, great
directing and the superb action set-pieces, this is surely a
front runner for my favourite Chow Yun Fat film ever. It
truly is a must-see movie.
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