Full Contact

Jeff (Chow Yun-Fat), a tough guy with a sense of honour, saves his debt-ridden friend Sam from loan sharks. Hooking up with gay gangster Judge (Simon Yam) and his dubious henchmen, the friends are double-crossed in a violent heist. Sam saves his own skin, while Jeff is left for dead. Big mistake. When Jeff comes back, he's mad. Ringo Lam is like John Woo, but lapsed - there are none of those spiritual affectations to clog up the works; he'll pay lip service to macho codes, but that's as far as it goes. Super-slick, making opportune use of Bangkok locations, and relishing every violent episode, the film's unquestionably good of its type, but also sleazy and soulless.