Dragon

At first it seems like it's going to be your standard period Chinese wuxia film then it turns into a bizarre Sherlock Holmes style murder mystery. Unfortunately it wasn't ballsy enough to keep that mystery and drama focus going until the end. It gets sidetracked back into the typical wuxia action fest. Which isn't horrible but seems to be a major cop out. There's much to like about this film's strange and moody atmosphere though. Kaneshiro and Yen both turn in decent acting roles as well.

The detective's reenactment of the fight in the store was fantastic. Overall a very solid and well-made film in every way, especially visually, although I did think the villains were a bit over-the-top.

Donnie Yen spends most of the movie trying to pretend he isn't a kung fu badass, but when his identity is exposed by a dogged police inspector, he goes all kung fu badass and stomps the shit out of everyone. The mystery part of this movie is good (but takes too long), and Donnie's ability to brutally punch people in the face never gets old. I've said it before and I'll say it again: Donnie Yen is the best action choreographer working in Hong Kong today.

A psychological thriller/mystery with some great action scenes. I hate the summary on IMDB; gives away too much. The cinematography is beautiful in the first half of the movie, quite unlike many "action movies" I've seen, but it degenerates into typical stuff in the latter half when fight scenes feature more prominently. Some interesting moral questions raised by the film. Donnie Yen and Takeshi Kaneshiro are great in this.

Suffers somewhat with split personality. Is it a mystery movie or a martial arts movie? Is the movies main focus on the detective or suspect? "Dragon" never quite makes up it's mind, but ends up doing a pretty good job in most departments, even if some of the character choices seem a bit silly at times. Looks great, has some excellent fighting and is despite its flaws, good enjoyment.

I never tire of Donny Yen in martial arts movies. He is very charismatic. There are a few good fight scenes in this sometimes captivating story. The investigation narrative was somewhat interesting. The re-enactment was fun to watch. Lots of action. A modicum of old Chinese culture and politics. Beautiful sets and scenery. The final act was somewhat less than satisfying. Worthwhile, especially if you are a fan of martial arts movies.

This movie was awesome, I didn't really know what to expect when I started watching but I was enthralled by everything, the score, choreography, acting, editing it was perfect. Donnie Yen and Takeshi Kaneshiro were outstanding and both should've been nominated for best actor. Just about everyone including the children did well in their roles. The story was multi layered and fascinating, I enjoyed that Donnie's character wasn't really shown as being a hero or villain but simply a man.

It's acupuncturists who are the real bad-asses? Needed to lighten the detective superstitious/mentally ill noir stuff or make the fights more realistic though. Whilst I liked them separately they clashed tonally, like the east/west mixed up soundtrack, didn't work for me.

Well I certainly wasn't expecting to see that. I don't know what to say

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i am dying to see donnie yen and takeshi kaneshiro act together again and oh yeah the fight scenes were great too

"Peter Ho-Sun Chan and Deonnie Yen Chan are too resourceful to let things remain dull for long." - Andrew Schenker

Like Detective Dee, this mixes martial arts, mystery and some mythical treatment of deeper themes as welL (I'm not sure the film succeeds on this last point.)--but the filmmaking and film, overall, is so much better. The filmmakers did seem to want to recreate the look of Chinese ink paintings (and there are moments that reminded me of Rembrandt, with the use of dark, natural lighting). The filming and choreography of the fight scenes were good.

Pretty crazy, absolutely beautifully made visually

The fight scenes are stunning, as well as the story and suspense.

The Chinese version of "A History of Violence". The detective's split personality and inner monologue scenes were very clunky, and it always bugs me when not only do we not see the antagonist until the final third of the movie, but we don't even know a thing about him until he shows up. Good Choreography and acting, but very oddly paced and, in the end, Cronenberg's movie is more worth the watch.

- 6/18/12

Ippy!

Dark, depressing.