Heart of Dragon

The first half of "Heart of Dragon" is essentially a tearjerker (with occasional light moments): Jackie Chan is a lot more serious than usual, and Sammo Hung gives an un-self-conscious and honest performance as the mentally handicapped Dodo - he is forced to do the most ridiculous things and does them without any apparent embarrassment. The second half is a rather complicated crime caper, and the stunts, fights and chases are top-notch. Sammo doesn't get to do any fighting, of course, though he takes quite a few brutal hits. Jackie is in great form, and in typical HK-cinema tradition the villains can certainly hold their own in a fight. The total result is one of Jackie's best films, because the comic, the dramatic and the action-packed moments all work on their own terms. (***)

I enjoyed this movie, but that's because I'm a big fan of Jackie Chan, so if your not, it may not be a good idea to go and see it. Also, this movie is for those who like martial art movies no matter the quality or when it was made, and where. It was set in Hong Kong, made is the 80s obviously, but is also set in the 80s. So high quality can not be expected, and if you can look passed it it can be an enjoyable movie. This movie is about a guy who's a police officer (Jackies character) who takes care of his mentally ill brother. They set up the brother relationship in this movie pretty well, and Jackies acting goes a little bit passed what most people are used to. (I've seen many of his movies and it's the first time I've ever seen him cry) This movie is not funny like many of his movies out there, but its not to serious either. There two pretty good fight scenes, one right in the first 2 minutes of the movie, and one near the end. There are small brawls in between, but they are not really big. The movie is mostly story though, so the fighting is pretty much what I said it was. So if your looking for action packed Jackie Chan movie, this is probably not it. But if you are a fan, and want to try something maybe a little different then what you are used to, then this one may be a good one to see.

I find this title in the Chan catalogue to be one of the most disappointing ones. When you look at the cast list, and see Jackie Chan and Sammo Hung, you immediately assume that they will both be fighting. Unfortunately, only Jackie fights, and it's only near the end of the film that any real fighting gets done at all. Don't get me wrong - Sammo Hung's acting in this film is very good, so this is not to say that anything in THAT department is poor. It's just that watching this film, I felt it was a waste of Sammo's undoubted martial arts skill - he doesn't fight at all. The final fight is a decent one, but in my opinion, it does not make up for what is a tiresome film. If they were going to make a touchy-feely, "I've made so many sacrifices," type film, why employ Hong Kong's two most creative martial artists?

As fun as the story of a retarded person who acts like a child played by Sammo Hung would sound, it just doesn't work. The film is neither light-hearted nor up-lifting and is more embarrassing than anything. Not just to Jackie Chan, not just to Sammo Hung but to pretty much everyone involved with the movie. The film goes from depressing to down right suicide inducing without the slightest sign of levity. The film's tear-jerking moments are more likely to cause sporadic and hysterical fits of laughter simply because these scenes are so over-blown with hammy acting. The film drags the viewer down with it because at no point does the story seem to be going in a more uplifting direction. Add to this the unnecessary violence of the final act and we have a film that just isn't pleasing to watch. While I'm sure Chan and Hung did this film with the best of intentions, it's just another horrible Hong Kong film that just doesn't work.