3 Anthony Wong films from the early 1990s that show the Hong Kong actor’s wide range
Before becoming stereotyped for extreme roles, Wong gave nuanced turns as a whiny gangster opposite Chow Yun-fat and as Veronica Yip’s tormentor
Anthony Wong Chau-sang is generally known as a character actor who specialises in crazed and outlandish roles.
1. Full Contact (1992)
Surprisingly, Wong is not the crazy one here – that honour goes to Bonnie Fu Yuk-jing as the violent nymphomaniacal gangster Virgin. Instead, Wong plays it straight throughout, giving a more restrained performance than the rest of the cast.
Often considered an outlier in Lam’s oeuvre, Full Contact is glossy and over the top rather than gritty and realistic, featuring fiery explosions, big guns, ultra-violent mass murders, and sleazy dance-club scenes.
To help his action film compete with the wild, extravagant martial arts movies ruling early 90s screens, Lam added uncharacteristic flash and filmed in Thailand for a fresh look.