In 1987 Fu Mong (Lau) is a champion Muay Thai kickboxer madly in love with Pim, a reporter who is writing a book on his rise to glory.  Thirteen years later Mong is released from prison for an as yet undisclosed sentence and goes in search of Pim to rekindle their relationship.  Sadly she is no longer alive but has left him a daughter, Ploy, who was born shortly after they separated.  Ploy is currently being looked after by Sister Mioko in St. Mary's orphanage so Mong decides to contact her in the hope of bringing some stability to both their lives.  No sooner have things begun to settle down than current boxing champion Tawon appears on the scene to challenge Mong to a duel.  It's time for Mong to stop running from his past and win this final fight for the sake of his family and his own self respect.

On first impression you may be forgiven for expecting a boxing film from 'A Fighter's Blues' but in fact the intended outcome is supposed to be a drama.  Sadly, the major flaw here lies in the underdeveloped characters and lack of any real emotion within the script.  All of the main heroes/heroines are introduced quickly with no real chance for the audience to connect with them and then thrown together and expected to forge a chemistry.  Unfortunately, the only result this has on the production is to create a film that you always feel distanced from and fail to empathise with any of the scenarios involved.

For it's star, Andy Lau, it's becoming increasingly frequent for him to appear in this 'guy with a chequered past' story and this format is quickly becoming tiresome.  As I have stated in previous reviews, this is an actor at the top of his game who should be producing his defining moments but he continually persists in appearing in any old film that comes along.  As for the other talent in the film, the few other major players have such shallow roles that it's difficult to judge but they all seem to perform their parts adequately.

The action, when it comes, is fairly muted which is mainly due to the way it is shot.  Blows are presented in fast takes and then accompanied by quick close up shots of each of the combatants faces with grimacing expressions.  This fails to get the adrenaline pumping and you feel as they are only there to move the story along and not excite the viewer.  This is particularly noticeable in the finale as it builds up to something of a 'Rocky' style face-off but you are left feeling cheated after a predictable bout with a foregone conclusion, mostly due to how the plot has unfolded.

Perhaps I am being over critical as the film is not completely bad; I was more than able to sit through the entire movie but you can't help thinking it is a little nondescript.  If the action had been handled better and the characters built up to a higher degree then it could have passed the three star mark but you are always left feeling a little empty and unfulfilled by the whole affair.  Lau fans will most likely get a quick fix from 'A Fighter's Blues' but it doesn't break any new ground for all concerned.