Merolliv I really wanted to like this movie. I feel terribly cynical trashing it, and that's why I'm giving it a middling 5. Actually, I'm giving it a 5 because there were some superb performances.

AnhartLinkin This story has more twists and turns than a second-rate soap opera.

Allison Davies The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

Scarlet The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

webmaster-3017 Wu Jing equals Jet Li, well not - just yet… After last year's scene stealing performance as an assassin in the now acclaimed – Sha Po Long, Wu Jing is now the tiny territory's lone martial arts future. His skills and fluency are second to none and his reputation of training in the same school as Jet Li only furthers this compliment. With that being said, Wu Jing still have miles to go, before he should even be compared to the later superstar, as his acting is still stiff and lack any sort of emotional impact. Sure, his death stare role in SPL can do wonders, but this is a leading role that we are talking about and as likable as Wu Jing is, he does not have the on-screen presence of Jet Li – just yet. Luckily, whatever acting talents that Wu lacks, is duly compensated, by the comic presence of everyone's love and hate – Ronald Cheng and the increasing cuteness of his fellow female co-stars in Miki and Theresa. There are definitely moments of exceptionally well choreographed fight sequences that will make you – wow and wah, but ultimately the movie fails to connect as director Dennis Law resorts to a cliché filled end. Just like, most HK movies, it just doesn't finish off with a bang! The movie goes like this: Wu Jing plays a Peking opera actor and former national martial-art champion, who makes a short visit to Hong Kong and is lured to join in the underground boxing ring. While winning matches one after the other, he is also sinking deeper and deeper into the dangerous game.Director Dennis Law is a strange newcomer, as he ventures into two completely different genres of film making one being Love @ First Note and the other being this one. The former one is obviously a sweet romantic comedy, about two not so-good-looking guy and girl - somehow getting together and somehow fitting a couple of promotional music video for Justin Lo, but here, Law moves to action and in displaying action, he is not afraid to show the full brutality of the punches and that alone is a success. There is potential in this lad, and hopefully, Law will be given more opportunities and freedom which can only head one direction - as he will only get better.Fatal Contact isn't just a film about underground fighting, but Law attempts to show the darkness of the business and the fact that no matter whom you are, you are never in control of yourself. Winning might win you money, but the moment you enter into this black fist underworld, there is only one way out – death. It might seem a rather simple message, but at the very least it seems more realistic then most of the romantic comedies these days. There is a scene where Wu Jing was fighting Andy On, in a fight that almost met his death. It is this very moment that Wu Jing has transformed into a monster – no longer human and no longer humane. By entering this world, Wu have not only betrayed himself physically, but mentally and internally. Basically, Law is trying to say two words – dead end.Having impressed Neo immensely in b420, Miki is a more than capable actress, and here, she is both convincing yet unconvincing, but that's partly for the director to be blamed. She engages the audience well in her scenes with Wu Jing, and even overshadowing his mainlander speaking canto accent. There are times where you feel you understand her character and then it all go downhill and eventually a forced resolution where the director preferred to take the route frequently taken. Ronald Cheng is funny and likable, but is wasted in a supporting that can be played by almost everybody and most notably Chapman To. You either love him or hate him, but here you just want to see more of him and his comic antics. Theresa appears here and there as a "chicken" and further emphasizing the darkness of the underworld.All in all, Fatal Contact is a brutal, realistic and fluent fighting sequence and combines well with the deep yet simple message about the downfall of humanity and that anyone can be corrupted. However, like many other HK movies before him, director Dennis Law fails big time, by going the route of the clichés and the processes is destroying a movie that could have offered so much more. With that being said, both Law and Wu are still young and fresh talents and both have moments of greatness within the flick, even if it is not wholly consistent. Still, this is a credible effort and fights sequences that stand well alongside Sha Po Long and heck this isn't a bad movie after all. Let's hope that this movie will be remembered as the one that launched Wu Jing into a Jet Li and Dennis Law into a Corey Yuen – well at least we can hope… (Neo 2006)I rate it 7.5/10www.thehkneo.com

ericthered01 After seeing Jacky Wu Jing in "Kill Zone", I was excited to see "Fatal Contact". That excitement died quickly when I realized it was a wire-fu movie. There's not one single fight scene that doesn't use wire work extensively. I'm not talking about a jump here or a kick there either, it's the whole fight scenes. Jacky is good. His fight with Donnie Yen in Kill Zone is classic. That's why I don't understand the overkill with wires here. Why not use the guy's real talent. I like realistic fight scenes and this doesn't have a single one. It's not impressive when a guy does a flip off of a stack of wooden pallets if he is using a wire. The same can be said for spin kicks. The rest of this movie is equally bad. Terrible dialogue, acting, story, and one of the worst endings in movie history.

bobbyem Sure there where some rough spots but its a Kung fu movie after all. I would gladly choose this over any American Van Damme movie.Great Kung Fu that almost never got boring and did not have the same lame win win win loose build up again and win curve that all the other movies have. Plus The "captain" was a great character that added to the movie a lot.I don't see how martial arts lovers can look down on this movie, maybe I have missed something? I saw Flash Point yesterday (dubbed witch did not help) and that movie was a real kids movie compared to this one.A very sympathetic protagonist. Great action and some funny moments.

ace52387 The real reason anyone will see fatal contact is for the action. With that in mind, you may have to forgive a little bit of the jumpy and clichéd story telling.The action sequences are frequent, and well choreographed. It's an interesting combination of brutal and flashy. Wu Jing will throw several jumping multi-kicks, but because the general rhythm of the fights are captured well, it doesn't look too far fetched. The choreographers throw in some pretty believable elements in the competition fights. You may see the fighters just hop around a it to psych each other out, and you'll notice, the more brutal the fights get, the less visible these sportsman like elements become. It's pretty interesting. There's no wirework and very little, if any, video speed up that is flamboyant in some HK movies.Wu Jing really struts his stuff in this movie. I would say in general, he's very similar to jet li. He has this strange brutalness that jet li embodies in his roles with a modern setting. He looks wild, but clean at the same time. Wu Jing is younger, more vibrant, and he even has more flare than Jet Li. An actor like Donnie Yen has a different kind of appeal, but because Jet Li is getting old, and probably no longer doing action movies anymore, Wu Jing would make a superb replacement.The story has almost no introduction, no time to familiarize a little with the characters, and the actual revelations about the characters are sporratic and placed in seemingly random places. It has a terrible and nonsensical love story, which luckily, isn't the focus. The whole setup is pretty nonsensical as well. Some guys walk into an opera performance, and somehow recognize skill in a performer. They ask him to fight underground for them, and they offer a lot of money. Of course, a lowly wushu performer is poor, and he eventually decides he neeeds the money. The setup is all a little fantastical to me, especially with the realistic setting. I feel it would be more at home in an aime than a live action movie with a modern day setting. It helped a lot to almost imagine Fatal Contact taking place in some alternate universe where the underground fighting scene is big money, and the scouters are like pimps. A world where performers are poor, but incredibly talented fighters. It's almost romantic if you think of it that way. So the setting is bearable and kinda interesting if you give it some of your imagination, but the story is still hampered by tons of cheesy dialogue and that oh so corny romance.It's all about the action though, and that totally does not fail to disappoint. My favorite action movie in recent times is Sha Po Lang. The stories in both are at least a little cliché, but SPL had the cleaner, less sporratic story telling. It also had cinematography of a higher quality than Fatal Contact. Still though, Wu Jing and his action co-stars drive a really tough bargain. His moves are cleaner, flashier, and he's more vibrant than Donnie Yen. I almost can't decide of Fatal Contact trumps SPL or not.