‘The Paper Tigers’ (review)

Twenty five years ago or so I started watching Hong Kong action movies.

The influence of directors such as John Woo, Ringo Lam, and Tsui Hark and actors like Chow Yun Fat, Jet Li, and Donnie Yen changed the conversation of the genre.

These films weren’t simply exploitation movies or rehashes of Bruce Lee or Shaw Brothers Studios, but something new and exciting.

There were also a number of artists like Jackie Chan, Stephen Chow, and Sammo Hung who not only established themselves as stars, but also directed their films with a healthy sense of humor.

That combination of action and humor is present in first time writer and director Tran Quoc Bao’s The Paper Tigers.

The Paper Tigers (Hing, Danny, and Jim) are teen Kung Fu prodigies, training under Sifu Cheung.

The trio go their own ways until they reunite twenty-five years later to avenge Sifu Cheung’s death.

Never living up to their potential, the trio are now out of shape, holding bad jobs, old grudges, and in Danny’s case, a bad father.

Can they come together again, honor their Sifu, and become better men?

I think anyone who has seen a movie knows that they can and they will.

The Paper Tigers is successful not because it breaks any new ground, but because it’s comforting.

There’s no doubt that this film was a labor of love, but what really makes it work is that you not only like the characters, but you’re actually rooting for them to succeed.

Full of solid action sequences and a lot of heart, The Paper Tigers might seem simplistic, but that would discount how charming it is.

*  *  *  *  *

Produced by Michael Velasquez, Yuji Okumoto, Al’n Duong, Dan Gildark, Quoc Bao Tran
Written and Directed by Quoc Bao Tran
Starring Peter Adrian Sudarso, Yuji Okumoto, Ron Yuan, Yoshi Sudarso, Jae Suh Park

The Paper Tigers is playing in limited release, On Demand and Digital HD