Three 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 old grudges to avenge his death.
Well Go USA Entertainment must have the market cornered in the international bargain bin as they keep dropping movie after movie, churning out content for others to watch. They always turn in something martial arts-adjacent and provide the right amount of fun for the audience. Some of their movies work well, while others fall flat but they’re constantly making stuff. “The Paper Tigers” balances a classic bargain bin action aesthetic with its cheap laughs, managing to thread the needle on a very intimate story.
Hing (Ron Yuan), Danny (Alain Uy), and Jim (Mykel Shannon Jenkins) are three best friends living in San Francisco learning gung fu (from the movie, not me) by their Sifu. Thirty years after the trio falls apart, someone murders their Sifu, forcing all three to reunite to hash out the trauma that separated them in the first place. Together they must fight their way (or get beaten for a really long time) to the answer.
“The Paper Tigers” relies on its comedy stylings and simplistic action directing to hold our attention. The three leads: Alain Uy, Ron Yuan, and Mykel Shannon Jenkins passably quip to one another. Every line centers on their aging and inability to fight like they used to. The jokes feel cheesy and distracting at times, even reversing the momentum of some quality hype. They tend to cut, but the cast leans into those moments milking them for all they’re worth. Most especially Matthew Page chews through pages. His cheesy white-man-with-a-China-fetish rubs the wrong way plenty of times and earns its call-outs just as many times. There are jokes and riffs aplenty throughout the film, mostly to bridge the gap between fights and actual dramatic scenes.
Obviously, the most important thing in a fighting movie is its actual combat. The concept of the film limits its capabilities in terms of actual hardcore fight scenes. Three forty-somethings get their asses kicked a lot more than they kick ass. Still, director Tran Quoc Bao blocks and shoots the scenes with efficiency so that the fights entertain. There’s no novel setup, no exotic locale (unless you count an empty pool) so the fighting itself feels rather pedestrian. Alain Uy’s character comes through in the end with a comeback brawl a cut above the rest of the film. While there’s nothing novel, the story told does a lot of the heavy lifting.
There’s an impressive talent for telling a compelling story within the constraints of a tiny budget. “The Paper Tigers” certainly feels as small as budgets get. That means there’s little breathing room for excess plot. Fortunately, the film opens with its beating heart: the three friends. When we see them in the modern-day, we get to untangle the trauma that led all three of them to turn their backs on each other. On the surface, this story addresses their flaws and invites catharsis. There’s some shallow pageantry from minor characters, but the three leads take every scene with aplomb. Most notably, Alain Uy milks every scene with impressive acting. Whether he’s telling a joke or lecturing his onscreen son, you can tell he’s taking the material seriously. That kind of attention and care matters in something like this and Uy, along with actors Ron Yuan and Mykel Shannon Jenkins, help elevate the film above its base-level story.
“The Paper Tigers” is a movie I like a lot more than I should. Its fights are passable. Its jokes feel quippy. Its character motivations scratch the surface. Plenty of questions are left unanswered. Still, the film captures its emotional core tiger by the tail and hangs on for dear life. I enjoyed this film and plenty more will as well! Check out “The Paper Tigers” when your Netflix queue clears up.
Now available on Blu-ray™ and DVD
