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Cast:
Jackie
Chan
Mars
Whang
In Sik
Chan
Hui Man
Tien
Fong
Kwon
Young Moon
Sydney
Yim
Tai
Po
Action:
Jackie
Chan
Shing
Brothers
Yuen
Kwai
Producer:
Jackie
Chan
Leonard
Ho
Director:
Jackie
Chan
Score:
 
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DRAGON
LORD
AKA:
Young Master In Love ||
Dragon Strike
Year:
1982 Reviewer: Andrew
Saroch
It's
said that a gifted person does what they can whereas a genius
does what they want. This seems an effective link to Jackie
Chan's first real piece of self-indulgence, 'Dragon Lord'.
After the superb 'Young
Master' had triumphed financially and critically, Chan was
given carte blanche for the follow-up and spent a considerable
amount of time and money on the project. The result, 'Dragon
Lord', disappointed a sizeable portion of Chan's vast
audience and failed to cause the windfall at the box-office
that was expected.
Dragon
(Chan) and Cowboy (Mars) are sons of the two wealthiest men in
town. This spoilt lifestyle and the aimless merriment they
engage in is their main objective in life as is their mutual
desire for the town's most beautiful resident. A sweeping
change arrives when they discover that their country's
treasures are being sold to foreign powers under their very
noses. The two look after an injured criminal who has broken
ties with the antique-selling gang and is now hunted by them;
little do they realise how much danger this puts them in. When
the intimidating leader arrives looking for his former cohort,
the scene is set for the immature young men to finally show
their mettle and win this war of principles. With Cowboy's
father now held hostage by the arch villain and the odds
stacked against them, the not-so-dynamic duo are now ready for
the final showdown.
For
all the criticisms that 'Dragon Lord' has received, it is
still a tremendous amount of fun. The key to enjoying this is
distancing oneself from expectations that it will be another
'Young Master' and taking it on its own merits. Coming out
around the same time as the seminal masterpiece 'Prodigal
Son', this Jackie Chan feature doesn't pretend to be the
genre classic that Sammo's hit is. Instead Chan tries to
introduce the new quick-cut style of action alongside a
significant measure of pure entertainment and humour. For the
most part it achieves its goals and delivers Jackie Chan's own
polished brand of entertainment. In what could be described as
a kung-fu rites of passage film, narrative takes a backseat to
the actual development of the characters played by Chan and
Mars. Although rarely afforded an opportunity to enjoy a big
starring role, Mars is a fine sidekick for the masterful lead.
Both actors click in the way that the best buddy-buddy films
demand of their stars while the numerous episodes that make up
the body of 'Dragon Lord' are often very amusing. Fans looking
for the action that is associated with Jackie Chan will have
to wait for the final twenty minutes to see his remarkable
prowess. However, when it does arrive, the finale - with Chan
and Mars facing up to Korean supervillain Whang In Sik - is
reward enough for those who specifically want fight action.
There's
no need to compare 'Dragon Lord' to Jackie Chan's best or the
cream of the genre (i.e. 'Prodigal Son') as it cannot compete
with them, though it doesn't try to. A fine evening's viewing.
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