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DRAGON
FIST
AKA:
In Eagle Dragon Fist
Year:
1979 Reviewer: Andrew
Saroch
It's
widely said in Hong Kong film circles that director Lo Wei did
little more than point a camera at action and let it roll.
Whether this rather harsh criticism is justified or not is
unimportant as Lo Wei has still managed to produce a few
genuine genre hits. 'Dragon Fist' is one of the less
recognised, yet strongest kung fu films of both Lo Wei's and
Jackie Chan's careers.
Jackie
stars as a young fighter who watches in horror as his master
is soundly beaten by a callous fighter who throws down a
challenge. Eventually the wounds lead to the master's untimely
death and the school is destroyed as a result. Jackie
therefore trains until his skills are good enough to combat
the killer's and, alongside his late mentor's wife and
daughter, travels across China in search of revenge. What
seems a straight-forward mission for him proves to be anything
but though as the killer has since crippled himself after his
wife's related suicide. The avenger is therefore trapped in a
situation where he cannot take revenge without appearing to be
a coward. Another blow comes when his late master's wife falls
ill with a mysterious ailment and the only cure is owned by a
ruthless local school. Deciding to aid them in return for the
valuable medicine, he once again finds himself in a very
tension-filled situation that inevitably leads to bloodshed.
'Dragon
Fist' takes a ragged plot and twists it into something
refreshingly different. The typical revenge device suddenly
gets turned into a far more mature character study after the
half-hour mark and then proceeds to introduce a far more
sinister enemy for the principal leads to deal with. Credit
should certainly go to Lo Wei for creating a production that
doesn't just throw action at its audience, but lets them
understand the well fleshed-out characters more than usual.
Wei is not one of Hong Kong's greatest directors, but his part
in making an excellent kung-fu film like this should be
appreciated. Jackie Chan is given one of his more serious
roles and succeeds in giving a fine performance both in the
acting and the fighting departments. Some Chan fans will be
disappointed by the lack of comedy, but the open-minded viewer
will be rewarded by a hidden gem of his early career.
Significantly, the action is also very well performed and
choreographed with a stand-out finale that features some
powerful action. 'Dragon Fist' is well worth watching and it
remains another solid production from the Lo Wei years.
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