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By
WADE GOSSETT
Combining melodrama with
kung-fu and gun-fu has been a staple of Hong Kong
cinema, and at the hands of an expert director
like John Woo this distinctive genre has produced
a few masterpieces. But Daniel Lee, director of
this 2005 production, seems more obsessed with
style than action and while Dragon Heat contains a
few impressive set pieces, it is ultimately just a
puffed up concoction.
The plot concerns a super duper team of young --
too young, way too young -- Interpol agents who are after a
master criminal and his gang. Standard stuff, and
the action moves back and forth from the good guys
to the bad guys, giving each group its due and
playing with our divided loyalties. But here's a
big problem: The good guys look like teenage
underwear models, and many scenes are really
glamour shots. It's hard to take any one of these
slight, effeminate guys (and one girl) seriously.
On the other hand, the baddies are far more
compelling, but Michael Biehn, as their leader,
doesn't even try to act; instead he delivers his
lines in a slow, awkward staccato. Jun-ho Heo and
Sammo Hung are the best things about the film, but
they only have two fight scenes.
The movie looks fantastic, the sound is great too,
and there are a few extras -- a commentary track
and a couple of featurettes. So, for die-hard fans
of Hong Kong flicks, Id' recomend it. But for the
general action fan, you'll find the pretty boy
cops less than credible. |
