Director
Ringo Lam
Writer
Yin Nam
Cast
Chow Yun-Fat, Anthony Wong, Anne Bridgewater, Simon Yam
Producer
Ringo Lam
contact
Academy Film Archive
Bangkok: the great Chow Yun-Fat is Jeff, the toughest bouncer in town, but one with a soft spot for his friend, Sam (Anthony Wong, in his second 1992 pairing with Chow after HARD-BOILED), who is deep in debt to gangsters. Sam proposes a robbery with his cousin Judge (an unforgettable Simon Yam) and his gang (an equally memorable Frankie Chi-Leung Chan and Bonnie Fu) that feels bad from the get-go, but Jeff's loyalty proves his blind spot when the heist goes wrong. Betrayed, severely wounded and left for dead, Jeff learns to fight his way back and Bangkok's ruthless criminal underworld is about to get a lesson in revenge unlike any its ever seen. And that, dear Fantasians, is when the fun really begins.
A very popular selection of the first Fantasia in 1996, FULL CONTACT returns to the big screen (in a beautiful 35mm print) to honour director Ringo Lam, who unexpectedly passed away last December. One of the greatest directors in the history of Hong Kong cinema, Lam’s work includes such classics as CITY ON FIRE, PRISON ON FIRE (both also starring Chow Yun-Fat) and FULL ALERT, but if you ask fans to name their favourite Lam film, FULL CONTACT tops the list, and with very good reason. Aside from being a really, really kick-ass action film with great style and Chow at his most badass, FULL CONTACT is... oh wait, that's exactly what it is. You really don't need much more from a movie other than that, do you? The standard Lam themes of brotherhood and honour among thieves definitely help set it apart from other revenge movies, but Chow riding his Harley and kicking ass is what we're here to see, and FULL CONTACT delivers big time. One of the best action films of the 1990s, FULL CONTACT is a master class in action filmmaking from one of its true greats. Long live Ringo Lam. – Matthew Kiernan
Showings
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