[Review] Movie Night, Episode 14!
This was an "I'm ill and I need something to watch to cheer myself up" type of movie session, so just a short review. But here we are:
Legend of the Red Dragon fell into my lap as part of a three-piece set of Jet Li movies I picked up a while back, and was the only one I hadn't watched yet. So I thought I'd give it a go.
I get the impression from reading other reviews that I lost something by seeing the dubbed and possibly also cut Western version rather than the proper Chinese version, as is so often the case with these things, but sadly I can only review what I've got. Given which, Legend of the Red Dragon at least in this version is filler: a fun little kung-fu movie, but with nothing terribly profound about it. The plot is one of those classic martial arts "lone warrior fights the forces of the evil government" type deals, in this case accompanied by his young son who is also a scarily good martial artist. The duo get caught up in the aftermath of the government's destruction of a Shaolin temple, and wind up having to protect five boys who have the pieces of a Shaolin treasure map tattooed on their backs, while also fielding a mother-and-daughter con artist team and dealing with various other shenanigans along the way. It's fast-paced, light-hearted for the most part, very badly dubbed, and generally pretty silly.
It does have its moments, though. There's a ton of glorious wirework kung-fu of the "laws of physics suspended" variety; and a surprising amount of it is executed by the film's complement of child actors, who do an amazing job of being believable fighters rather than the cutesy novelty act they'd probably have been if this movie had been made in the West. The death of "granny", the mother half of the con-artist duo who meets her end in a heroic showdown with one of the main villains, is genuinely quite tearjerking for such a lighthearted movie, which is a nice little bit of depth; and there's a lot of adorable character interplay around her, her daughter, and the various small boys. The visuals have some moments of true inspiration - such as when the Shaolin rebels are assembling just before the last big battle and their leader comes running in across the upraised blades of his warriors' weapons, crossing the entire courtyard on a flimsy bridge of steel before leaping gracefully to the ground, and the concept and the execution are as magical as each other and it's absolutely beautiful. Little touches, sure, but those can be what make a movie.
On the downside... well, I'm having trouble thinking of anything I'd single out as a specific negative, to be honest. The weaknesses of this film are the dodgy dubbing and the general B-movie vibe, rather than any one or two particular clangers, so if you don't mind making the necessary allowances before you start, Legend of the Red Dragon is a great low-demand movie. It's got enough humour to be fun, enough plot to make sense, enough action to have some real meat on its bones, enough visual impact to be exciting, and all-importantly, just enough serious moments to keep its self-respect as a story. 3/5, recommended if you like the genre and happen to have an evening free.
Laters,
Rath
Legend of the Red Dragon fell into my lap as part of a three-piece set of Jet Li movies I picked up a while back, and was the only one I hadn't watched yet. So I thought I'd give it a go.
I get the impression from reading other reviews that I lost something by seeing the dubbed and possibly also cut Western version rather than the proper Chinese version, as is so often the case with these things, but sadly I can only review what I've got. Given which, Legend of the Red Dragon at least in this version is filler: a fun little kung-fu movie, but with nothing terribly profound about it. The plot is one of those classic martial arts "lone warrior fights the forces of the evil government" type deals, in this case accompanied by his young son who is also a scarily good martial artist. The duo get caught up in the aftermath of the government's destruction of a Shaolin temple, and wind up having to protect five boys who have the pieces of a Shaolin treasure map tattooed on their backs, while also fielding a mother-and-daughter con artist team and dealing with various other shenanigans along the way. It's fast-paced, light-hearted for the most part, very badly dubbed, and generally pretty silly.
It does have its moments, though. There's a ton of glorious wirework kung-fu of the "laws of physics suspended" variety; and a surprising amount of it is executed by the film's complement of child actors, who do an amazing job of being believable fighters rather than the cutesy novelty act they'd probably have been if this movie had been made in the West. The death of "granny", the mother half of the con-artist duo who meets her end in a heroic showdown with one of the main villains, is genuinely quite tearjerking for such a lighthearted movie, which is a nice little bit of depth; and there's a lot of adorable character interplay around her, her daughter, and the various small boys. The visuals have some moments of true inspiration - such as when the Shaolin rebels are assembling just before the last big battle and their leader comes running in across the upraised blades of his warriors' weapons, crossing the entire courtyard on a flimsy bridge of steel before leaping gracefully to the ground, and the concept and the execution are as magical as each other and it's absolutely beautiful. Little touches, sure, but those can be what make a movie.
On the downside... well, I'm having trouble thinking of anything I'd single out as a specific negative, to be honest. The weaknesses of this film are the dodgy dubbing and the general B-movie vibe, rather than any one or two particular clangers, so if you don't mind making the necessary allowances before you start, Legend of the Red Dragon is a great low-demand movie. It's got enough humour to be fun, enough plot to make sense, enough action to have some real meat on its bones, enough visual impact to be exciting, and all-importantly, just enough serious moments to keep its self-respect as a story. 3/5, recommended if you like the genre and happen to have an evening free.
Laters,
Rath