Fatal Contact – Two Disc Ultimate Edition (2006/DVD/aka Underground
Fist/Dragon Dynasty)
Picture:
C+ Sound: B- Extras: C+ Film: C+
Though
the current cycle of Martial Arts films is dead, DVD is trying to keep it alive
to get any money from diehards fans and for newer releases along with classics,
Dragon Dynasty (a division of The Weinstein Company) is continuing to do double
sets of new titles they believe could reignite the genre on a broader
scale. The latest entry is Dennis Law’s Fatal Contact (2006) offering a little
less comedy than many films since the post-Bruce Lee era have leaned too much
on.
Jacky Wu
Jing plays a dancer who gets pushed into one fight, though he does not think he
could fight at all. Soon however, push
comes to shove… and kicks… and punches and before you know it, he turns into a
world-class fighter (Sanda is the style here) and the film is on its way. Criminal gangsters are involved and this all
culminates into underground fights form hell.
Fun for fans, predictable for the rest of us, Jing proves he could be
the next big star, but if Jet Li can’t get a good script, what will he and
other up and comers do? Who knows, but
at least the fights are more interesting in their choreography than most of
what we have seen lately and that might just be enough to keep fans happy.
The
anamorphically enhanced 2.35 x 1 image is a little softer than expected,
especially since this is not cheap Super 35mm shooting, but some to all of the
film was shot in anamorphic 35mm. With
that said, color can be poor, have a funny look and seem second generation at
times. The DTS Cantonese 5.1 mix is not
bad, better than the Dolby versions, but the dialogue is not as well recorded
as it could or should be. The English
dub is not bad, but not as good as the original language tracks.
Extras
include Bey Logan hosting an audio commentary with director Law on DVD 1, while
DVD 2 adds three interview separate segments Law and co-stars Theresa Fu &
Miki Young, the original theatrical trailer and two featurettes: A Dragon Rising on star Jing and Life Is A Contact Sport taking us behind
the scenes of the film.
- Nicholas Sheffo
