Lethal Contact 龙猫烧须

Two clumsy and lazy cops (Kent Cheng and Billy Lau) are handed a new assignment – to meet a policeman from Borneo (Wilson Lam) who is conducting an investigation in Hong Kong, and to help him as best they can track down the man he is looking for. They manage this part of the job, more or less, but prove incapable of saving their "guest" from death at the hands of a dangerous mob boss (Geoffrey Falcon) whose path he has crossed. Tormented by guilt, they decide to bring the killer to justice on their own.

Impressions: If this film had been directed by anyone other than Billy Lau and Kent Cheng, it would have been just another unremarkable actioner made to the template of the late 1980s – "our guys" chase "the other guys," lose a few of their own along the way, but in the finale (as usual, in a factory or a warehouse) give the villains such a beating they won't soon forget. Just so you know who's boss. Every one of us has seen plenty of films like that, but Lethal Contact stands somewhat apart from the pack – all because Cheng and Lau approached it with humor and irony.

Lethal Contact is one of those films of which people tend to say that "it's all in the details." The main plot is, of course, typical, but hung upon it is a huge number of rather amusing jokes, unexpected dialogue and pleasant touches – such as the very first scene, in which the heroes, upon waking, spend the entire first half of the day communicating with each other and with those around them exclusively through lazy waves of the hand and inarticulate mumbling and grunting. Besides the fact that Billy Lau and Kent Cheng make a very likable duo, they expand it further by introducing into the story their boss, played by Sibelle Hu. The gimmick of this character is that she grew up alongside the central pair, but her zeal and professionalism helped her climb the career ladder quickly, while her friends remained ordinary patrol officers. She doesn't want to lose them, yet at the same time she can't treat them the same way she treats everyone else, and Lau's and Cheng's characters, taking advantage of their impunity, mercilessly torment her.

There are plenty of such small touches in the film, and moreover, having gained in one area, it lost nothing in another – the action in Lethal Contact is surprisingly good, and that's even though the fighting falls mostly to Lau and Cheng themselves (with their builds!). Considering that the final showdown between Cheng and Jeffrey Falcon looks quite convincing, that's no small achievement. Sibelle Hu also gets to throw some kicks, but she is obviously doubled quite often, so I'll hold off on the praise here.

The film does, however, have its flaws – or rather, rough edges. In particular, there are many episodes that have little to do with the overall plot (mostly comedic gags), and, for instance, Amy Yip, billed third (!) in the credits, appears in just two minute-long episodes that could just as well have been left out entirely. The second significant flaw is Jeffrey Falcon – or rather, what was done to him. For some reason he was dubbed into Cantonese in a thoroughly revolting voice that after a while starts to seriously grate. Nevertheless, if you can step over these shortcomings, enjoyment is guaranteed – the film turned out fun and lively, and Kent Cheng and Billy Lau are on fire like never before.