You are currently displaying English
龍在天涯 (1989)
Dragon Fight


Reviewed by: PAUL MARTINEZ
Date: 02/12/2006
Summary: An early look at 2 of HK's biggest stars

Dragon Fight's biggest claim is that it's the only on-screen pairing of 2 legends of Hong Kong cinema. Jet Li & Stephen Chow were both at very early stages of their respective careers when this was filmed. But both showed promise of what was to come.

Plot-wise this was pretty generic. So there wasn't much that they could have screwed up. One comment though, it's funny to me to see how they have the Mafia as the heavies but they use Asian and Afro-American henchmen to do their work. Something that is totally unbelievable, and yet I've seen it depicted in other HK films as well.

The acting wasn't all bad. Jet showed a different type of character than in most of his later work. Nothing tremendous but he wasn't awful either. Stephen Chow I felt stole the show, he definately showed signs of his great comedic acting style. Dick Wei was good as Jet's former friend turned bad. Nina Li was not as good as I've seen her elsewhere. Of course all of the english speaking actors were laughably bad.

The action scenes were well done as you would expect from a Jet Li vehicle. Dick Wei suprised me with his fight scenes as They came pretty smoothly.

Not a great film but definately one to see if you're a fan of Jet or Stephen and positively if you're a fan of both.

Reviewer Score: 5

Reviewed by: pjshimmer
Date: 11/19/2005
Summary: Standard fare

Dragon Fight is very standard. Dick Wei is the highlight of the film.

[5/10]

Reviewer Score: 5

Reviewed by: mrblue
Date: 09/15/2005

Even though he is one of the world's biggest action stars and pulls down millions of dollars per movie, there was a time in his career when Jet Li wasn't an international household name. And that time was around 1989, when Dragon Fight was released. Jet had established himself as a star in China with projects like Martial Arts of Shaolin. However, even though he was bankable in films, the paychecks weren't matching his success, and so Jet headed to America to attempt to crack the international market with this production, which also stars future Hong Kong superstar Stephen Chow in one of his first film roles.

The plot has Jet as part of a touring wushu troupe who are preparing to leave America after a successful tour. However, one of the members (longtime Hong Kong movie heavy Dick Wei) is tired of getting small paychecks and decides to defect, killing a policeman in the process. Jet is mistakenly arrested for the crime, but manages to escape and meets up with a wise-cracking delivery driver (Stephen Chow) and sets about to try and get back to China. Things get more complicated as Dick becomes a heavy hitter in the local crime world and tries to get Jet to join his new "family".

Story-wise, Dragon Fight isn't going to win any awards, and the acting doesn't help matters any. It's a given that any western actors in a Hong Kong movie are going to suck, but it seems strange that given that this production was actually shot in America, the film-makers could have actually found some actors who could actually speak English. The Chinese actors don't fare much better, since the Cantonese parts of the soundtrack are dubbed over fairly poorly -- though it was pretty funny hearing Stephen Chow curse and try to pick up women in English.

However, things are redeemed by the action. Though I would have liked more of it, the stuff here is hard-hitting and wire-free (this was filmed before Jet hurt his back during the filming of Once Upon a Time in China and became more wire-dependent). As might be expected from a movie directed by "bloody" Billy Tang, there's a nice dose of violence as well, which makes the fight scenes all that much more brutal. Of particular note is the finale, where Jet takes on a group of fighters using various weapons, which puts him in a great position to show off his various skills.

This little-known entry in the Jet Li canon hasn't been seen by too many people, but it has been recently issued on DVD, allowing Jet's fans to check out his first attempt at creating a movie on US soil. The results are definitely a mixed bag, especially if you are getting this movie to check out Stephen Chow, whose role doesn't allow him to do any of his trademark "moy len tau" (nonsense comedy) antics. However, the good outweighs the bad, and Dragon Fight should be a part of any Jet Li fan's collection.

[review from www.hkfilm.net]


Reviewed by: kjohnson
Date: 12/09/1999

When I saw this, due to a combination of the intentional and unintentional comedy on the screen, really bad subtitles, plus audience contributions, the whole theater was roaring with laughter. A good film to watch with a group of friends in your living room.


Reviewed by: hokazak
Date: 12/09/1999

Modern-day story set in San Francisco. Jet Li plays a member of thevisiting Chinese martial arts/acrobatic team who gets involved in stuff happening in S.F.


Reviewed by: hkcinema
Date: 12/08/1999

Zero wired stunts. Just some good wushu style fighting. Jet Li gets whacked in the head quite a few times but that probably makes the movie more realistic. The story is set in America and Jet Li has a short haircut but not as cool looking as the Fist of Legend. Probably the only movie you will see Jet Li drinking beer in an American bar though. IMO, there are some scenes which Chinese people in America will relate to and probably laugh at. The story is good which means the movie is not all fighting. But the fighting is good. If you are a Jet Li fan AND IF you can find this title, then go see it.

[Reviewed by Anonymous]


Reviewed by: spinali
Date: 12/08/1999
Summary: NULL

Maybe Jet Li's worst -- which is saying something, since I haven't seen all his films. When martial arts champion Dick Wei defects to America, teammate Jet Li gets left behind as well; but while Wei links up with a San Francisco organized crime outfit, Li finds himself accused of a murder his friend committed. Li is rescued by goofball deliveryman Stephen Chow, who chances upon a few kilos of cocaine lost in a bloody gunfight just outside his van; unfortunately for him, his dad uses the coke for laundry detergent, and soon the bad guys are on top of the good guys, and with a vengeance. Ex-moll Nina Li-Chi provides visual relief, and helps out in a nifty car chase down hilly lower-California Street -- almost certain death for any car's suspension, even at low speeds. Nearly everybody gets killed or beaten to a bloody pulp (except Li and Li-Chi, who live happily ever after). The usual assortment of SF sites and scenery, and one too many unintentional laffs.

(2/4)



[Reviewed by Steve Spinali]

Reviewer Score: 5