I love my martial arts flicks as dirty and brutal as the next, but sometimes it’s just as good to just have a fun time. After a successful run on the festival circuit last year, feel-good comedy The Paper Tigers arrives in May delivering Grumpy Old Men meets Cobra Kai action and heart in equal measure.
The film stars Alain Uy, Ron Yuan, and Mykel Shannon Jenkins as three martial arts prodigys and longtime friends known as “the Three Tigers.” But over the last 25 years they’ve not only grown old and slacked on their skills, they’ve drifted apart. The one thing that could bring them back together is the death of their old master, and now this out-of-practice trio need must reunite to get revenge and hopefully rekindle their bond.
Tran Quoc Bao both directed and wrote the script. Response has been exceptional, with the film currently holding a 100% on Rotten Tomatoes.
The Paper Tigers hits theaters and VOD on May 7th. Can’t wait.
As teenagers, kung fu aficionados Danny (Uy), Hing (Yuan), and Jim (Jenkins) were inseparable, but drifted apart after graduation due to a mysterious fallout at an overseas tournament. Fast forward 25 years, and each has grown into a washed-up middle-aged man seemingly one kick away from pulling a hamstring—and not at all preoccupied with thoughts of martial arts or childhood best friends. But when their old master is murdered, the trio will reunite after decades of silence, soon learning that avenging their sifu will require conquering old grudges (and a dangerous hitman still armed with ample knee cartilage) if they are to honorably defend his legacy.
