Very cool movie. I watched it with my students and really enjoyed it. The plot is solid and the action is good. Nice to see an independent movie shown this way. Well done!! Compliments to the director Mark Steven Grove for his work. Give me a call next time!!
5 Reviews
Worst movie I've ever seen
jaottoson24 May 2002
I've seen stinkers like Warrior and the Sorceress, Warlords, Fists of Legend 2, and movies featuring Hulk Hogan, and none of them can rival the sheer lack of talent exhibited by Dragon and the Hawk's writers, actors, (a term I use loosely in the case of this movie) and fight coreographers.
That may sound like a drastic claim, but this is the first movie I've seen where the actors visibly wait for one to finish their lines before they begin their rote delivery of cliche after cliche. There is absolutely no emotion of chemistry displayed by any of the actors. Imagine a movie all shot in one take where the actors simply read their lines off cue cards. That's about the effect Dragon and the Hawk managed throughout the entire production. The forced peformances also manage to gut any humor the movie might have had. To top it off, the plot's terrible, so the storyline can't even shore up the horrible performances by all involved.
When you have a movie about a man who travels to America to look for his missing sister, you don't expect him to just travel aimlessly around showing his sister's picture to anyone he meets, but Dragon Pak does. The "Hawk", the police officer that eventually gets around to helping Pak in his plight spends most of her time whining about people touching her car. Gripping.
I picked up the movie partially due to word of mouth, and an old Rocky Mountain News article since it mentioned that the star was a Tae Kwon Do master, and after seeing some amazing performances by TKD pratitioners in The Legend of Drunken Master, Who Am I?, and even in Kiss of the Dragon, I was looking forward to see a movie centered around the art. Dragon and the Hawk failed to deliver anything to the level of the aforementioned films. Instead, there's little more than a series of confused and sloppy fight sequences where every kung fu movie cliche is wheeled out with all the aplomb of a police training video. Dragon Pak fends off one fighter at a time, even when he's surrounded on all sides. Finishing moves typically involve Dragon tripping someone then punching them in the face while they're down. While the others involved in the fight mill around in the background. The fights are ugly, uninspired, and worst of all, they're boring. Not a good thing when it's supposed to be a kung-fu movie.
The only real highlight is watching the lead bad guy try to act. He grimaces, and googles his eyes at the camera as if it's supposed to impart some kind of meaning to his flat monotone. He looks like he has some strange medical condition, which resulted in everyone who watched the movie with me breaking into laughter every time he appeared onscreen.
That may sound like a drastic claim, but this is the first movie I've seen where the actors visibly wait for one to finish their lines before they begin their rote delivery of cliche after cliche. There is absolutely no emotion of chemistry displayed by any of the actors. Imagine a movie all shot in one take where the actors simply read their lines off cue cards. That's about the effect Dragon and the Hawk managed throughout the entire production. The forced peformances also manage to gut any humor the movie might have had. To top it off, the plot's terrible, so the storyline can't even shore up the horrible performances by all involved.
When you have a movie about a man who travels to America to look for his missing sister, you don't expect him to just travel aimlessly around showing his sister's picture to anyone he meets, but Dragon Pak does. The "Hawk", the police officer that eventually gets around to helping Pak in his plight spends most of her time whining about people touching her car. Gripping.
I picked up the movie partially due to word of mouth, and an old Rocky Mountain News article since it mentioned that the star was a Tae Kwon Do master, and after seeing some amazing performances by TKD pratitioners in The Legend of Drunken Master, Who Am I?, and even in Kiss of the Dragon, I was looking forward to see a movie centered around the art. Dragon and the Hawk failed to deliver anything to the level of the aforementioned films. Instead, there's little more than a series of confused and sloppy fight sequences where every kung fu movie cliche is wheeled out with all the aplomb of a police training video. Dragon Pak fends off one fighter at a time, even when he's surrounded on all sides. Finishing moves typically involve Dragon tripping someone then punching them in the face while they're down. While the others involved in the fight mill around in the background. The fights are ugly, uninspired, and worst of all, they're boring. Not a good thing when it's supposed to be a kung-fu movie.
The only real highlight is watching the lead bad guy try to act. He grimaces, and googles his eyes at the camera as if it's supposed to impart some kind of meaning to his flat monotone. He looks like he has some strange medical condition, which resulted in everyone who watched the movie with me breaking into laughter every time he appeared onscreen.
The fights are okay, the rest is a waste of time
Leofwine_draca20 October 2017
Warning: Spoilers
DRAGON AND THE HAWK is an indie martial arts thriller shot in Colorado. The hero of the piece is a nondescript South Korean fighter who comes to the USA after the disappearance of his sister. He's soon on the trail of the criminal goons responsible and he teams up with a female cop to bring them down. The film as a whole is a disappointment, a blur of wooden acting and join-the-dots plotting, but there are four or five crunchy fight scenes which are fairly well done on a low budget. The moves performed by the actors are quite creative and there's even a little Hong Kong-style choreography thrown in.
Not just for martial arts enthusiasts!
kmurcray20 November 2001
I'm not normally a very big fan of martial arts films - I need more than lots of good fight scenes to really enjoy a movie. This one has more. Most of the (admittedly very few) martial arts movies I've seen have fairly week plots that serve only to carry the action, and little in the way of a true story, character development, humor (Jackie Chan movies being a notable exception), etc.
Dragon and the Hawk is a pleasant exception. It has a tight plot that delivers a good story without any notable plot holes, very good dialogue and reasonable character development, a bit of humor sprinkled in, believable characters that are well-acted, and a high-energy soundtrack to go with the high-energy action. The evil scientist Therion (Trygve Lode) is downright creepy...
All in all, I think Dragon and the Hawk is an excellent film, even for people like me that aren't all that into martial arts films. And for those of you who are, you won't be disappointed - if it's fight scenes you want, Dragon and the Hawk really delivers!
Dragon and the Hawk is a pleasant exception. It has a tight plot that delivers a good story without any notable plot holes, very good dialogue and reasonable character development, a bit of humor sprinkled in, believable characters that are well-acted, and a high-energy soundtrack to go with the high-energy action. The evil scientist Therion (Trygve Lode) is downright creepy...
All in all, I think Dragon and the Hawk is an excellent film, even for people like me that aren't all that into martial arts films. And for those of you who are, you won't be disappointed - if it's fight scenes you want, Dragon and the Hawk really delivers!
Talented Colorado filmmakers
redplanet7311 January 2005
Gritty hard hitting martial arts film from talented Colorado filmmakers. Julian Lee, is outstanding. Check out this classic. We want more! I love 'magic realism' meets 'martial arts'. Reminds me a little of 'Big Trouble in Little China' For anyone who loves the genre, this is a must have. Also, don't forget to check out more films with Julian Lee and (dir.)Mark Grove. Wonderful performances as well. Quality acting from Barbra Gehring who is a well sought after actress. She brings depth and reality to an amazing martial arts world. And don't forget to check out Trygve Lode as the strange and haunting villain. Wouldn't want to run into him in a dark alley.
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