Chasing the Dragon

Here's The Lowedown on "Chasing the Dragon" (NR - 2017 - China)...who says we can't win?

Genre: Action/Foreign My Score: 7.4

Cast=8 Acting=9 Plot=7 Ending=8 Story=5 Violent=9 Pace=4 F/X=7 Crime=8 Dubbed=9

An illegal immigrant from Mainland China sneaks into corrupt British-colonized Hong Kong in 1963, transforming himself into a ruthless and emerging drug lord.

"Life or Death...Poverty or Riches...it is all destined." When I saw this was Donnie Yen and Andy Lau...I jumped at the chance to buy this. It was a solid movie all around. The only issue I had was with the pace...it's 128 minutes and seemed like a lot longer. I guess in the 60's everyone was corrupt. This period piece is worth a look if you like foreign crime movies.

Obviously, the movie "Chasing the Dragon" is not a remake of the 1991 movies "Lee Rock" and "To be Number One". Instead, it borrows their main protagonists and antagonists, and tells a completely different story. In some sense, "Chasing the Dragon" is a reboot of the gangster epics.

The production design, music score, action sequences and acting performances are most notably brilliant. The action sequences are unexpectedly brutal and bloody, and really stun me from time to time. Donnie Yen has long established himself as one of the best martial artists of all time, and here in "Chasing the Dragon" he gives an almost career-best emotional performance, even better than that in "Rogue One". The acting of Andy Lau, Kent Tong, Kent Cheng, and Ben Ng is fantastic as always.

On the other hand, the plot and the editing are not satisfying. Wong Jing is not a talented filmmaker. Some scenes simply lack consistency and credibility.

In a nutshell, the rating for this movie is 7/10.

With a script this complex, spanning the rise and life of the main character from poor street fighter to druglord, it almost felt like they were going for a Scarface-level epic. but instead of developing realistic characters they used caricatures - the British villain felt particularly bogus - and unrealistic scenarios, such as large groups of people brawling in the streets with sticks and saucepans, who all happen to be amazing at martial arts. Perhaps having a main character who is too good at martial arts distracts from the biographical, historical tale. Tries to walk a balance between a heartfelt historical drama and an action movie. Didn't really work for me

6/10/18. It's a gangsta movie, Hong Kong style. Interesting backstory - not the type of story the current Chinese regime would allow, given the violence portrayed. However, because the time period when all this was going on was during the British colonial times, and then it was ok because such violence was inspired by colonialism. Whatever. Lots of shooting and violence of all kinds.

I am remembering the days when i was watching at least 7-8 films from hong kong cinema each year and one or even two movies from these would have make my back-hair lift of excitement and awesomeness. But since 2008 or 2009 forward, i must say, the chinese/hong kong movie industry has become something without head and tale. The screenplays are at the lowest level of intelligence, the editing of every film is downright baaaad, they are trying so hard to copy american movies, that it makes me almost wanting to give up watching any movie from HK or the main land. Jackie Chan, Jet Li, Donnie Yen... it's been a decade since any of them had made a good movie (the last big HK movie beeing IpMan - first part from 2008). I am only hoping that someone will appear, someone new (a director and writer), although is hard; i think the audience in china is very uneducated and they love films that are so easy to swallow, and they are many, there strenght is in their numbers. But who knows, maybe with not so many money, but with conviction, a young writer/director will get his chance, you never know. Greetings from Bucharest, Romania! :)