Very well executed

Admirable film.

a film so unique, intoxicating and bizarre that it not only demands another viewing, but is also forgivable as a satirical comedy where the jokes eventually take the back seat.

This movie feels like it was made purely to piss off people who want good shows

One of the premier action directors of the 1990s, Ringo Lam was a man well-known for his intense, blistering thrillers – and FULL CONTACT is a film that helped establish his reputation. It's a taut thriller that delivers an engaging plot packed with twists and turns, and of course the high velocity shoot-outs that Hong Kong gangster movies are famed for. Rather than delivering John Woo-style imitation stand-offs and mass gun battles, Lam is a director who always focuses on the intimacy of action – the small scale violence delivered to its participants. As such, FULL CONTACT is a very violent film and indeed it is a film all about violence.Things kick off in high gear as we join a jewellery store robbery. Chief robber Simon Yam soon turns out to be a thoroughly nasty piece of work, stabbing an innocent victim through the heart. He's flamboyantly gay, too. Then we join a second story strand involving Chow Yun Fat as a low-rent criminal who we meet standing up for his buddy Anthony Wong, in a role that encompasses both good and bad this time around. Chow Yun Fat kicks backside with a butterfly knife in scenes that were initially censored in the British release before becoming embroiled with Simon Yam and his cronies in an attempt to hold up a truck carrying a ton of gold.Double crosses, back stabbing, and mucho bad taste ensue. This is a film where the majority of the cast are sleazy, stupid or just plain evil. There's moronic muscle man called Psycho, a hooker who spends half the film engaged in sexual situations, and even the hero's girlfriend is a stripper in a sleazy club. Chow Yun Fat himself is clearly a bad guy, and yet he's the one we're rooting for, the one man with morals in a world seemingly devoid of humanity.There's not quite as much action as I'd anticipated, but when it comes the violence is very, very well handled and completely stylish. The nightclub shoot-out uses 'bullet time' slow motion to great effect years before THE MATRIX came out – who said Hollywood was original? Lam is at home detailing hold-ups, shoot-outs, executions, and pyrotechnic effects, and of course it all climaxes with a final bout between hero and villain. I won't spoil it, other than to say it doesn't disappoint. While I wouldn't call this a genre classic in the same league as something like HARD-BOILED, but it is a highly entertaining film. I look forward to watching it again some day to see how it holds up.

Full Contact is an unknown and pretty underrated action flick. Yet, I find it a little strange that this movie is getting feedback like "One of the best movie's ever made" or "Brilliant". Gimme a break. Don't get me wrong, it's still a very recommendable action flick, but it's nothing truly special.The story mostly revolves around back-stabbing and revenge. Very simple, but very enjoyable stuff. And when you add in a bunch of talented actors, some goofy characters and pretty cool shoot-outs, you have yourself an entertaining action flick. But unfortunately, it's not all gun-blasting mayhem. There is a lot of needless filler that's really plain old boring. Whenever Chow Yun Fat's girl is on screen, you're either watching her do some incredibly corny dance routine showing off her pole-bean body, or she's trying to initiate an emotional response with the audience, since she's Oh-So innocent. Gimme a break. Full Contact relies much too heavily on trying to get you invested into the characters. They did succeed in making you like the heroes and dislike the enemies, but hell it's not that tough with such well-known actors and such off-the wall characters....let's just get on with the action already. Truthfully the one character I cared about most, was that little pug.But overall Full Contact does shine pretty bright with it's action. There are some very cool bullet effects, some equally as cool cinematography, and some nice performances, especially by Simon Yam who plays the homosexual bad guy. If you're into Asian action flicks this should be a must see, but if you're not into this stuff, it's just more of the same.

I saw this film originally on the Tai Seng VHS tape and believed I was seeing the original. The recent MEI AH re-release video reveals an additional 4 minutes Tai Seng trimmed, and they are pretty strong; it's amazing what a couple of minutes will do for a film.This is as nasty a crime film as you will ever see. Ringo Lam goes straight for the throat of a contemporary Asia crumbling into a gaudy, violent nihilism. The moral center is held to be a thin hope that maybe the right thing can be done for an innocent girl wounded unnecessarily during a gang fight. Everything else is blood, perversion, and flashy neon.Sounds like a good reason not to see the film? Not so. This is one of the least exploitative exploitation flicks around - the film doesn't suggest that anyone in it is having fun, even the psychos laughing as buildings blow up, with people in them. In a world where everything is meaningless and anything goes, finding meaning becomes the only reason to live and the only real accomplishment.Cinematically, this is Ringo Lam in top form, developing a style that is often as flashy and hollow as the culture it portrays, but through which moments of intense realism burst forth, reminding us of the real pain such violence entails. Many films (East and West) have since imitated this style, but without Ringo Lam's sense of moral critique, it can easily become just so much flash and glitter, of the kind Lam is actually criticizing here.Finally, one must remark the excellent performances by all the actors involved.A very disturbing, but very excellent - and in an important sense, a very necessary - film.

It's a joy to watch Chow-Yun Fat and Anthony Wong work together. One made his career playing rugged heroes with golden hearts, the other excels at playing villainous, ruthless cowards. This film shows why. The depth they bring to their roles, in addition to Ringo Lam's imaginative direction, puts this in the upper-echelon of Hong Kong action films. These mothers got backstory out the ass. There's something almost "70s neo-realist" about certain scenes. The familiar theme of honor between thieves (or the lack thereof) drives this story, as it has many other Chinese shoot-em-ups. This time though, it's done with real grit.Besides, I could just plain watch Anthony Wong do anything. It's probably to his credit that he hasn't "broken through" over here. He'd just end up having to play the "Evil Triad Boss" opposite Matt Damon or something ridiculous like that.Ringo Lam is no slouch at shooting action scenes, either.Simon Yam of the Naked Killer series (and the new Tomb Raider movie!) also makes a memorable appearance as the flamboyant hyper-bad guy.If you like Hong Kong films, don't miss this one.