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Cast:
Ronald
Cheng
Sam
Lee
Cheung
Tat Ming
Miki
Yeung
James
Wong
Ken
Lo
Mimi
Chu
Tang
Jin-Fung
Kary
Ng
Action:
Yeung
Tak Ngai
Writer:
Vincent
Kok
Patrick
Kong
Producer:
Vincent
Kok
Director:
Vincent
Kok
Score:
 
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DRAGON
LOADED 2: DRAGON RELOADED
AKA:
Dragon Reloaded
Year:
2005 Reviewer: Andrew
Saroch
2003
saw Ronald Cheng not only score a surprise hit with 'Dragon
Loaded', but, due to the aforementioned success, found
himself hailed as the new king of canto-comedy. With a few
more blockbusters under his belt, Cheng now returns with
director Vincent Kok to the very franchise responsible for his
rise to stardom. If the original did absolutely nothing for
you, stop reading now.
Despite
a brief stint as a national hero, Dragon (Cheng) and his two
bumbling buddies Gold (Cheung Tat Ming) and Hei (Sam Lee) are
forced to make the uneasy transition back to real police
duties. When Dragon's former girlfriend Stephy sends an
invitation to her upcoming wedding, the distraught cop and his
friends decide to ditch the drudgery and head off to remote
'Golden Pond Village' to relax. Their destination is not only
a dreadful excuse for a health spar, but is also plagued by a
thief whose latest 'acquisition' is accidentally aided by our
heroes, making them instant figures of hatred in the area. The
temptation to leave is great, but Dragon resolves to catch the
thief in a bid to impress a local girl who has caught his
wandering eye.
'Dragon
Loaded 2: Dragon Reloaded' is the kind of 'nonsense comedy'
that, while beloved in their home territory, rarely travel
beyond those borders. To enjoy this latest Ronald Cheng film,
therefore, the viewer either needs to be a native Cantonese
speaker or a foreigner with a vague knowledge of this unusual
sub-genre. As someone who sits firmly in the second camp, I
can certainly see how parochial this production is - it will
not be making Ronald Cheng a global superstar a la 'Shaolin
Soccer'. Nevertheless, with very impressive box-office
receipts once again, it looks as if all those involved in this
sequel have an adoring market.
As
the Cantonese in-jokes went straight over my head, I was
obviously left the the visual gags and what excuse there is
for a storyline. Firstly the former. As with the early Chow
Sing Chi comedy hits, 'Dragon Loaded 2' is crammed full of
local humour, but tries to mix it with the easy-to-translate
'over-the-top' antics of its star. Cheng excels in these
displays of outrageous facial expressions and histrionics,
shamelessly playing to the camera and breaking every cinematic
rule going. To see him and his two sidekicks reference the
previous film and spoof generic conventions gives the viewer
some idea of just how much regard the film-makers have for
verisimilitude. They also have very little regard for even the
most basic concept of political correctness, something that
explains a few dubious jokes about Dragon's ex marrying the
'Dark Prince of Africa'. Fortunately, director Vincent Kok
does pepper the story with genuinely amusing moments, even a
couple of hearty chuckles. Kok may not be a director who I
have much fondness for, but he knows what the audience wants
and, despite his usual flirtations with bad taste, gives his
star a chance to show off his energetic comedic persona.
The
storyline is a far easier thing to discuss; put quite simply,
there isn't one. The 101 minute running time is incredibly
generous considering just how thin the material is and how
spasmodic the laughs are. With a framework that makes the
original 'Dragon Loaded' look like 'War and Peace', this
follow-up is merely an excuse for Ronald Cheng to take centre
stage while being ably supported by such fine comic actors as
Cheung Tat Ming and Sam Lee. Whether or not you can ignore the
gaping holes in the 'plot' and the general inconsistency will
depend on how much you like watching the pratfalls of these
three. From a personal perspective, his skills to be better
served in a film with even a slight hint of a storyline; 'Super
Model' was easily his most effective comedic concoction as
his outrageous hero at least had some grounded characters to
play the straight man. 'Dragon Loaded 2' is so full of
eccentrics and typical Hong Kong stereotypes that Cheng's
brand of humour has very little to play off.
Ronald
Cheng is polarising public opinion quicker than any performer
I can think of. While many have grown tired of his insanity
very quickly, he undoubtedly has a certain screen persona that
keeps the audiences coming back for more. His work here is at
times maddening and at times endearing, but it is easy to
forget just how similar the Western reactions were when a
certain Mr. Chow started churning out localised comedies for a
die-hard audience. 'Dragon Loaded 2: Dragon Reloaded' may not
be a patch on the far more varied 'Super Model' and it may
even be his least accessible film yet, but Ronald Cheng is
nonetheless a comedian whose confidence in front of the lens
is hard not to warm to. The greatest virtue of this slipshod
diversion, though, is that it is not 'Himalaya
Singh'.
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