The Paper Tigers

The Paper Tigers
USA | 2020 | 108’ | Colour | English | Chinese and English subtitles | Group: C
Director: Bao Tran

Described as a kung fu “dramedy”, this warm and entertaining film may be made in the US but it has the heart of a Hong Kong action movie. As three childhood friends reunited when their kung fu master is mysteriously murdered, Alain Uy, Ron Yuan (an appealing actor who could be a Asian American cousin of Thomas Haden Church) and Mykel Shannon Jenkins make an engaging trio of grumps as they try to kickstart their teenage fight skills in middle age. First time feature director Tran Quoc Bao does a good job balancing comedy, thrills and some fairly kickass action as the three men investigate the murder and come face to face with a deadly kung fu assassin. Set and shot in the Pacific Northwest, the film is an affectionate cultural smorgasbord which should win over Asian fans as well as American.

MIKE GOODRIDGE

Three childhood Kung Fu prodigies have grown into washed-up, middle-aged men, now one kick away from pulling their hamstrings. But when their master is murdered, they must juggle their dead-end jobs, dad duties and overcome old grudges to avenge his death.

Born in the US in 1980, Vietnamese American Tran Quoc Bao was mentored by master action director Corey Yuen and featured plenty of action and suspense sequences in his short films like Carmen’s Virtue (2003), Bookie (2008) and The Challenger (2015). The Paper Tigers is his first feature and had its world premiere at the Fantasia Film Festival in August. He is also an accomplished editor with credits including Vietnamese features Cho Lon (2013) and Jackpot (2015).