HK cinema, which has been very successfully keeping on and intensifying the good old traditions of entertainment with human heart, once ignited by Mr Charles Chaplin and Mr Buster Keaton, strikes again. Jokes are put aside this time though.
The movie is a must-have for anybody who respects proper action. During my childhood I watched "Lethal Weapon" and thought that it was the best of the best. But now as I watch this HK production, all the memories of "Lethal Weapon" go blank. "Dragon Squad" is tough and stylish. The camera is very jerky sometimes and one should get accustomed to this. But when you get accustomed, you get a real modern action treat.
When I bought the movie on DVD I had no info about it. I just noticed some strange title "Dragon Squad" on the shelf. I even could not trace the year of production on the box. Then I saw Mr Sammo Hung among the actors. It was "the final straw". Now I cannot believe my eyes - the rating for this movie on IMDb is ridiculous. If I tend to doze off during "Godfather", I have no such problem during "Dragon Squad". All through the movie the incredible action keeps me up even when I re-watch it and even when I'm dead tired. The original soundtrack plus the English subs is a perfect combination for this film. I am also more than just satisfied with the overall DVD quality: the sound, the picture, the animated menu, the synopsis, the impressive crew photo where every single actor is "showing his character off" - everything is slick.
I've always been looking to enjoying a real HK serious modern action (not a comedy HK one, which are abundant with you-know-who starring), and now I have it. It is very unlike the Hollywood productions. It has very bitter oriental flavour (masks, knives, kung fu, very menacing attitude of the bad boys and girls, impressive looks, complicated set of heroes/villains, and I should also mention smoking and jogging at the same time - Mr Sammo Hung is as cool as a Chinese cucumber) and, damn, it has most disturbing violent scenes (artistically shot and reserved at the same time). I despise "Oldboy" kind of violence, when the torture scenes are prolonged, disgusting, and shown in detail. Here it is different - it's more like "BR" violence: quick, quirky, and unexpected (like a gully that all of a sudden pins some character to the wall). Remember the scene with the "mohawked" Chinese, when he was hanging on some hooks and Ku was coming up to him with his trademark knife? The camera just sails away saving the movie from turning into a blood-fest for maniacs. Brilliant. It's not a teen movie, definitely absolutely. It's a movie for those who are 20 and older. And I don't think that even 1% of females can sit through this insane action-packed experience. Well, in my humble opinion, of course. I cannot recall any action movie, which overdoes this one in "action density". The story of each squad member is shown in a few seconds and some episode is shown revealing his or her abilities. If you wink a couple of times, you miss the point. Everything goes cut, cut, and cut with colour scheme changing, titles appearing, etc., like in a newsreel.
Last, but not least, this film makes a viewer (me to be sure) feel for the good characters. Their young age intensifies this feeling. The "Dragon Squad" look so young and slim and the sergeant Kong looks so old and depressed, but they work miracles and confront most ruthless villains in the streets of Hong Kong.
I've been thinking that the time of perfect action passed long time ago and this action film has challenged my point of view. One scene at the cemetery alone is a treat but there are lots of others not worse than this. A pleasant surprise.
The IMDb rating for this action makes me laugh.
10 out of 10, HK keeps me wondering, how much more action treats those Chinese guys have. Almost forgot: the movie is free from sex scenes, stupid nakedness, and boring sentiments (modern action/crime flicks suck because of this and this movie rules without it). Thank you for attention.
The movie is a must-have for anybody who respects proper action. During my childhood I watched "Lethal Weapon" and thought that it was the best of the best. But now as I watch this HK production, all the memories of "Lethal Weapon" go blank. "Dragon Squad" is tough and stylish. The camera is very jerky sometimes and one should get accustomed to this. But when you get accustomed, you get a real modern action treat.
When I bought the movie on DVD I had no info about it. I just noticed some strange title "Dragon Squad" on the shelf. I even could not trace the year of production on the box. Then I saw Mr Sammo Hung among the actors. It was "the final straw". Now I cannot believe my eyes - the rating for this movie on IMDb is ridiculous. If I tend to doze off during "Godfather", I have no such problem during "Dragon Squad". All through the movie the incredible action keeps me up even when I re-watch it and even when I'm dead tired. The original soundtrack plus the English subs is a perfect combination for this film. I am also more than just satisfied with the overall DVD quality: the sound, the picture, the animated menu, the synopsis, the impressive crew photo where every single actor is "showing his character off" - everything is slick.
I've always been looking to enjoying a real HK serious modern action (not a comedy HK one, which are abundant with you-know-who starring), and now I have it. It is very unlike the Hollywood productions. It has very bitter oriental flavour (masks, knives, kung fu, very menacing attitude of the bad boys and girls, impressive looks, complicated set of heroes/villains, and I should also mention smoking and jogging at the same time - Mr Sammo Hung is as cool as a Chinese cucumber) and, damn, it has most disturbing violent scenes (artistically shot and reserved at the same time). I despise "Oldboy" kind of violence, when the torture scenes are prolonged, disgusting, and shown in detail. Here it is different - it's more like "BR" violence: quick, quirky, and unexpected (like a gully that all of a sudden pins some character to the wall). Remember the scene with the "mohawked" Chinese, when he was hanging on some hooks and Ku was coming up to him with his trademark knife? The camera just sails away saving the movie from turning into a blood-fest for maniacs. Brilliant. It's not a teen movie, definitely absolutely. It's a movie for those who are 20 and older. And I don't think that even 1% of females can sit through this insane action-packed experience. Well, in my humble opinion, of course. I cannot recall any action movie, which overdoes this one in "action density". The story of each squad member is shown in a few seconds and some episode is shown revealing his or her abilities. If you wink a couple of times, you miss the point. Everything goes cut, cut, and cut with colour scheme changing, titles appearing, etc., like in a newsreel.
Last, but not least, this film makes a viewer (me to be sure) feel for the good characters. Their young age intensifies this feeling. The "Dragon Squad" look so young and slim and the sergeant Kong looks so old and depressed, but they work miracles and confront most ruthless villains in the streets of Hong Kong.
I've been thinking that the time of perfect action passed long time ago and this action film has challenged my point of view. One scene at the cemetery alone is a treat but there are lots of others not worse than this. A pleasant surprise.
The IMDb rating for this action makes me laugh.
10 out of 10, HK keeps me wondering, how much more action treats those Chinese guys have. Almost forgot: the movie is free from sex scenes, stupid nakedness, and boring sentiments (modern action/crime flicks suck because of this and this movie rules without it). Thank you for attention.