Starring
Donnie Yen, Andy Lau, Philip Keung, Kang Yu, Kent Cheng, Bryan
Larkin, Niki Chow. Directed by Wong Jing & Jason Kwan. (2017, 128
min).
For
fans of Asian action movies, the first-time teaming of Donnie Yen and
Andy Lau is every bit as monumental as DeNiro & Pacino getting
together to do Heat. And like that classic crime thriller,
Chasing the Dragon doesn't disappoint. Not only is a film nearly
as epic, Yen and Lau share the screen a lot more than a single token
scene together.
A remake of 1991's, To Be Number One, the film chronicles the rise of
Crippled Ho (Yen) from a lowly illegal immigrant to Hong Kong's most
powerful druglord, with considerable help & protection from Lee
Rock (Lau), an ambitious and corrupt police inspector. Through the
years (roughly 1963 through the early-seventies), both rely on each other's knowledge, power and trust to form
a nearly-untouchable criminal empire.
And
yes, these are the good guys. Their enemies - on both sides of the
law - are far worse.
 |
| Donnie Yen...stayin' alive. |
But
unlike, say, Tony Montana in Scarface, who's a vicious,
hot-headed, lying bastard from the get-go, Ho and Rock are genuinely
likable. There's even a certain level of nobility in their loyalty to
each other and those who've earned their trust, to the point the
viewer tends to overlook their morally-questionable career choices.
This wouldn't happen without a compelling story, well-realized
characters and, most importantly, the two leads' natural charisma. Not only are Yen and Lay terrific, their onscreen chemistry
has one hoping this isn't the last time they work together.
 |
| Andy Lau regretfully confesses he actually hit that deer with his car. |
Sweeping in scope and gloriously over-the-top, Chasing the Dragon is
complex, violent and - even when checking-off familiar gangster movie
tropes - enjoyably unpredictable. Despite a fairly lengthy running
time, the film is fast-moving and rarely dull, generally only slowing
down long enough to provide necessary exposition, leaving plenty of
room to showcase Yen and Lau's considerable physical skills.
Chasing
the Dragon is an enormously entertaining crime thriller in the
fine tradition of such pulpy potboilers as Scarface, New
Jack City and Andy Lau's own Firestorm (one of my personal
favorites of his). With these two superstars leading the way,
it's hard to imagine an action fan who won't get a big kick out of
it. This is a very early candidate for the best action Blu-Ray of the year.
EXTRA
KIBBLES
TRAILER
ENGLISH
LANGUAGE OPTION
DVD
COPY
KITTY CONSENSUS:
MEE-OW! LIKE TAUNTING A MOUSE TO DEATH
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