Deeply tragic and affectingly sad - For best results,watch with girlfriend.

gregsie74

Who suffers more - knowingly manipulative girl or over-naive guy who has fallen in love with her ?That's a question worth asking when you watch this film and see the film's ending. no that wasn't a spoiler. It was a teaser.

And if you've fallen for the movies marketing firstly let me tell you despite its martial arts,FATAL CONTACT/HAK-KUEN is in fact a DRAMA-ACTION-LOVESTORY. despite it's hero falling in love with the girl and taught by kung fu teacher,karate kid - like story.

if you're about to purchase the dragon dynasty DVD, don't fall for the dumb cover where someone rightly asked 'why does Wu Jing look like Sammo hung'. if you're aping for mind-blowing action, you're in for a treat but here the action serves the story and its moral issues. It takes a moral mind to appreciate the message in this film and a cold heart not to be torn by its sadness.

Wu jing,providing the action plays Kong , a Peking opera performer who is chosen by an underground fight boss who is looking for new fighters.Miki yeung plays his deceptive girlfriend, providing the films drama, Ronald Cheng provides light-relief comedy but which also provides a moving story and all the characters have their motivations explained throughout. I'll let you read the other reviews that gush about how Wu jing is the new jet Li etc etc but what I'm addressing here is the film, and everyone is in fine acting form here. Wu Jing is particularly convincing in his role as naive fighter who goes nuts in the ring but would do anything for his love and the rest are equally competent. cinematography great, directing spot on.

HOWEVER Ignore the fact that you are a watching an action film and watch it because you want to be moved by a beautiful story of tragic love. And the moral message about materialism? Well, this is a bold statement for a HK film to make considering its ratrace mentality and its so beautifully executed.

Wu Jing deserves stardom after this film and hopefully will choose more scripts like this rather than flimsy INFERNAL AFFAIRS wannabe-crap like SHA PO LANG or BOYBAND vehicles like INVISIBLE TARGET because he has achieved something that all the other kung fu stars haven't achieved, hes proved to take lead role in an EMOTIONALLY MOVING story. Not even Bruce Lee managed that one, except through his death, never mind Jackie and the others,well maybe in HEART OF THE DRAGON...And the final shot of the film where the two are talking,at first was cheesy but after watching second time,it was perfect.My fave film of 2007 by a long shot.

score 10/10

gregsie74 23 January 2008

Reprint: https://www.imdb.com/review/rw1806528/