![]() ![]() Come the ending, with it encroaching into more fantastical territory, it would be impossible to view it with anything else. Audiences may gain more enjoyment from the film if they view it with less serious eyes. It could be their attempt at a parody to the action genre, but this is not inherently clear. It is unclear what they were trying to say with this film, as some of their other ventures have clearly had a message. However, even these are poorly established, with Chan and Lam’s script lacking the complexity of some of their previous work. They do include some nice ideas, such as Kowloon clearly suffering from a mental illness and Sinclair having a little more depth than typical villains. Working with long time writing partner Jason Lam Kee-To, their script is a convoluted mess. The incoherence of the film could perhaps be laid at the feet of someone other than Chan if he was not also responsible for the script. Other’s speak of him being the best, but the film does not exactly show any evidence of him carrying out proper detective work, with him just coming to the correct conclusion. Kowloon’s methods of detective work range from re-enacting crime scenes, angrily beating up suspects or having a dream about the case. I would love a copy of his fitness regime. Remarkably, his two weeks training seems to be enough to shape Zhang back into a lean, mean fighting machine. The film makers idea of making Zhang look out of shape is laughable, giving him some facial hair and what looks like a pillow stuffed into the front of his hoodie. This is shown in a musical montage that harkens back to the action movies of the 80’s and 90’s. With this, you would think he would perhaps spend his time focusing on the case, instead of spending his time getting back into shape in order to take on Sinclair. ![]() During the film, Zhang’s Kowloon is only given two weeks to catch the killer. In addition, the film is poorly paced and incoherent. There are elements of film noir, with an unneeded voice over that is seemingly only included to explain away the plot as well as the inclusion of unnecessary black and white flashbacks. While it does initially appear that we are going to be served with a straightforward martial arts action thriller, similar to Max Zhang’s recent action hit The Brink (2017), Chan begins to fill his film with many stylistic touches that jar with the story being told. It certainly seemed so in regards to the films promotional material. ![]() Cutting his teeth on indie fare like Made in Hong Kong (1997) and The Longest Summer (1998), it would seem that The Invincible Dragon was more of a step towards the mainstream. With Fruit Chan at the helm, it should have been apparent that The Invincible Dragon would not have been a straightforward action movie. Saying this, there are aspects of The Invincible Dragon that still make it a worthwhile viewing experience, notably a charismatic leading performance from Max Zhang and some well-done fight scenes. Unfortunately, this is not the case with The Invincible Dragon, with these inconsistencies being a major detriment to the overall flow of the movie. On many occasions this can work to a film’s advantage, being one of the contributing factors in many Hong Kong classics that set them apart from typical movie fare. Sadly, The Invincible Dragon is one of the poorer films to come from both Chan and Zhang, at times blackly comic, brutally violent and tonally inconsistent. Originally titled The Man with the Dragon Tattoo, it is clear upon viewing the completed product that a retitle was not the only issue facing the action thriller. Fruit Chan’s long delayed The Invincible Dragon finally makes its ways to cinema screens, released on the coattails of Chan’s recent Three Husband’s (2019) and leading man Max Zhang’s Master Z: Ip Man Legacy (2019).
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |