Dragon Lord (1982)

Tied for the best movie I have ever seen

Highly Overrated But Still Good

Tells a fascinating and unsettling true story, and does so well, without pretending to have all the answers.

Great example of an old-fashioned, pure-at-heart escapist event movie that doesn't pretend to be anything that it's not and has boat loads of fun being its own ludicrous self.

One from early in his career the movie has everything that would make him a Kung Fu super star.It's a great comedy about a spoiled rich brat trying to send a love note via a kite but ends up stumbling onto a plot to steal China's artifacts.It's the type of friendly kung fu flick for all the ages that Jackie Chan would become known for. Thought the stunts are small compared to the extreme risk he would take in the future, it was still impressive to see Jackie do the physical stuff not just the kung fu but there were scenes of Jackie and his friends playing sports similar to football but more extreme. Extremely entertaining!!!

Dragon Lord was something of a pivotal film for Jackie Chan in that it saw him decisively making the move away from old school style kung fu cinema to his own distinctive brand of goofy comedy and situational fighting. Its a shame then that it isn't great (this was apparently reflected in the cold initial box office response), though its charms are enough to make it a mostly good watch even though when all is weighed up it doesn't amount to much. It's a sequel of sorts to The Young Master, following his Dragon Ma character as he slacks off, hangs out with his buddy (a likable turn from Mars) and tries to pick up various local girls, eventually getting mixed up in the plans of nefarious individuals to smuggle Chinese relics out of the country. The juvenile nature of things takes a bit of getting used to, Chan being in his late twenties at the time yet paying essentially a teenager, but his gusto and innate likability carries things well enough. It helps that one or two scenes are actually pretty amusing in a silly sort of way, like Dragon trying to cheat his way through an exam of sorts by his dad. Although there's a downright criminal lack of actual threat to near the hour mark the film doesn't completely lack action, boasting a couple of quality sporting scenes, one somewhat modelled on rugby but considerably more chaotic and the other like football but with a shuttlecock (which apparently required a record number of takes to get right). When things warm up the results are pretty cool and the climatic fight is an absolute doozy, Wong In-Sik reprising his villainy from The Young Master in a great extended bout with Chan making good use of the barn setting and plentiful trading of crunching blows, its right up there with the finales of any of Chan's bona fide classics. Its just a shame that the film as a whole is so unfocused and generally inconsequential (with little hint of anything serious until close to the halfway mark), its an easy watch but mostly forgettable until the last twenty minutes or so, I liked it well enough as I'm kind of a geek for this kind of thing but it really isn't that good. Still a 6/10 as its quite fun, but definitely a completists only film.

This film has to be viewed in the right frame of mind. First, the central father-son relationship makes it pretty clear that the film was intended as a prequel to his Wong Fei Hung film "Drunken Master" (ideas from this film recur in "Drunken Master II), and not "Young Master"; that Chan backed away from this plan and renamed the characters indicates that he himself was not convinced the material was coming together properly; and, indeed, the film conveys a sense of being incomplete; for instance, the romantic relationship around which half the plot turns is left utterly hanging at the end of the film. "Young Master", from the same period, also feels underdone, but at least all its central threads are tied together at the end. This film feels as though Chan wrestled with the plot and characters trying to find his central theme, only to abandon the effort, possibly due to time and budget.Or perhaps the film is simply over-ambitious. This is an important turning point film in Chan's career, because he commits himself to development of the central character above all other concerns - which is why there's such a lack of kung fu throughout the film. Chan wants to make an historical romantic comedy that just happens to have kung fu in it. But both the historical element and the romantic element come across as little more than plot-twists.That leaves us with the comedy. Since Chan's concern is character-development, the comedy is largely character driven - as in the conflict between Chan's character and his best friend, an argument over a girl. But there's plenty of slapstick as well. Frankly, I find the comedy amusing enough to forgive the incompleteness of the plot.This film represents an effort on Chan's part to find a viable formula that he can use and develop over time. It doesn't quite work, and Chan would only find that formula after abandoning the historical elements of his earlier films, with the making of the contemporary action comedy "Police Story". But going back to view this film is still very informative as to how Chan worked his way through the historical genre, and perhaps why he abandoned it.

This movie is bufoonery! and I loved it! The "dragon lord" (Jacky Chan) and his buddy, "cowboy", totally made the movie fun, meaningful, and just plain silly. The movie is a rare blend of a good vs. evil fight and (somehow) the wonders and fun that is growing up. Long Shao Ye takes the viewer through the daily activities of the young "dragon lord" (so named because he is the son of a wealthy family) and "cowboy", which include implementing clever, elaborate ways to escape studying (with the help of the entire household, including the tutor), competing in rather boyish (and idiotically interesting) ways to gain the affection of a local girl, competing in "soccer" (you will see what i mean) and the list goes on. Somehow they find themselves in the midst of a fight to save the a shipment of valuable antiques and the lives of several people.The movie has its serious moments. But they do not depress, but rather inspire. The playfulness of the boys are not lost in this exchange, but is actually employed against evil. What I really loved about this movie is how it ends. Not the typical confrontation (which in itself was awesome), but well, you'll see. Let me just say it truly captures the spirit of the movie.silly, witty, meaningful, and nostalgic. great movie.