Direction: Quoc Bao Tran
Country: USA
The Paper Tigers is an entertaining, feel-good kung fu comedy. The feature debut from director Quoc Bao Tran makes for a perfect lazy Sunday rental in the spirit of the Karate Kid franchise, grabbing our attention with the dynamics of a simple script centered in three middle-aged men - Danny (Alain Uy), a divorced workaholic insurance agent; Jim (Mykel Shannon Jenkins), a demotivated boxing coach; and Hing (Ron Yuan of Mulan), a limping man on the plump side - all former kung fu prodigies and disciples of the honorable master Sifu Cheung (Roger Yuan - a real martial arts fight trainer).
Having abandoned the martial arts to have ‘normal’ lives, they reunite years later to avenge the murder of their master. First they have to deal with disrespectful young street punks and a ludicrous childhood rival, Carter (Matthew Page), but soon they reach a more powerful adversary, Zhen Fan (action director Ken Quitugua), a former pupil of their master who became a hitman.
Being as much silly as likable, the film is an ode to the old school martial arts films, yet light on plot and characters. Bao Tran doesn’t avoid the formulaic but doesn’t forget the fun and the kinetics of a good fight.
Mostly shot in Seattle’s Chinatown, The Paper Tigers won’t make the day of Bruce Lee’s fans but, if nothing else, has its heart in the right place.
