Overview: A naïve young athlete joins an underground prizefighting circuit to earn a little extra money to support his girlfriend. Surrounded by greed and ruthlessness, he is hardened into a brutal fighting machine, defeating opponent after opponent in a series of vicious battles, until he reaches the ultimate showdown where both his life and his soul hang in the balance.

DVD Verdict: 'Fatal Contact' (aka. Underground Fist) is the latest martial arts action film directed by Dennis Law. Jackie Chan is getting old, Jet Li is also getting old and may be retiring from the Wuxia foray (don't think so) and Donnie Yen is, well, always being Donnie "COOL" Yen. Wu Jing, after SPL (aka. Killzone) looks to be the next promising new action star.

Martial arts fans are clamoring for a new action hero, Wu Jing's charisma and actual fighting savvy make him a top competitor. (He is the national Wu Shu champ in real life) Aside from Tony Jaa from Thailand, who will make the cut? Director Law thinks Wu Jing can make the cut and he gives him the lead role after the terrific "SPL".

The main draw for 'Fatal Contact' would be the extensive fight scenes. A bit of wires were used, but I have to admit that Wu Jing's martial arts prowess is the true highlight of the film. He moves as quick and graceful as a cat, truly this film was tailor-made with his skills in mind. Wu Jing exhibits power and poise in the action sequences. The fights are brutal and fast-paced, bloody and stylized. To the fight director's credit, the fights don't lose its realism and doesn't become repetitive. The fight scenes are very fun to watch.

Kong's character is a showman, therefore, in the beginning it seemed like he lacked "killer instinct". The film successfully develops this aspect of Kong's character that you see him changing with each drag-out brawl. Kong's innocence and good nature slowly evolves into animal instinct. And once the film takes off with the action and the occasional comedy, any and all bad points may be forgiven. For it does tend to focus more on its bad points but when viewers get a glimpse of the good points, it is a fun watch. This is a Widescreen Presentation (1.85:1) enhanced for 16x9 TVs and comes with the Special Features of:

A Dragon Rising: A Featurette With Leading Man Wu Jing
The Ringmaster: An Interview With Director Dennis Law
Working Girl: An Interview With Co-Star Theresa Fu
Young And Dangerous: An Interview With Co-Star Miki Yeung
Life Is A Contact Sport: Behind The Scenes Of Fatal Contact
Feature Length Audio Commentary By Director Dennis Law And Hong Kong Cinema Expert Bey Logan
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