My Cultural Diet

Chow Yun-fat stars in this Hong Kong action flick as Jeff, a low-level tough who agrees to participate in a heist to earn some extra money. Of course, wouldn’t you know it, he’s ultimately double-crossed and left for dead. But while Jeff recuperates and plots his revenge, his betrayer returns to Bangkok with the goods and even makes some moves on his wife (played by Ann Bridgewater), who has no clue that her husband is still alive. There’s no doubt that Ringo Lam’s film drips with style, especially when he drenches the screen in lurid neon lighting that gives everything a sharp, visceral edge. Unfortunately, Full Contact’s story isn’t quite as visceral or gripping as Lam’s visuals would seem to indicate. Melodrama is a key component of Hong Kong cinema, and even more so in the country’s action films, and Full Contact is awash with it. While Chow Yun-fat brooding and plotting revenge will never not be entertaining, the film often verges on self-parody thanks to its ridiculous antagonists, be it Simon Yam’s flamboyantly homosexual gangster or Bonnie Fu’s ultra-libidinous vixen. Whenever they’re vamping it up on the screen, it’s really hard to take the rest of Full Contact seriously.

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