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Dragon Heat AKA Dragon Squad AKA Maang Lung
R1 - America - Genius Products Review written by and copyright: Pat Pilon (31st October 2007). |
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The Film
 The biggest problem with this movie is that everybody in this movie knows it's a movie. They seem to wait for the wind to billow their coat so they can twirl their guns and pose. Indeed, the duck gallery carnival game sequence is a perfect example of this. The editing, acting and slight wind gust prove my point. There's nothing in here that seem realistic: everything is deliberate and self-conscious. When you also consider that the least annoying member of the group of heroes is pinged off halfway through the movie, you're left with an overwhelming feeling of disappointment. I do have to say that this is the third or fourth time I watch the movie, and it grows on me every time. The movie concerns a group, a squad if you will, of young cops that try to find out what happened to a crime lord who disappeared on his way from the police station to the courthouse for his hearing. He was taken, that's for sure but by whom? The plot unfolds deliberately and without very many surprises, except in leaps of logic. The movie is shot in this very slick style, and director Daniel Lee is partial to jump cuts. I don't mind those except in fights and at the expense of logic. When you have to ask questions like 'where did that gun come from?' or 'why is that good guy at that spot, perfect for, say, a roundhouse kick, when he and his opponent were nowhere near those same positions in the previous shot?', you know there's something sloppy going on. Another thing is that Mr. Lee seems to think that waving the camera around while you see people running is supposed to create tension in an action sequence. All it does is confuse the viewers because you can't really see who's on screen clearly. It might be Vanness Wu, but then again it might be Heo Joon-ho. On the plus side, the movie has a great style. Though some moments, like the little bits of the actors playing with their guns spliced in during the action sequences look nice and make the actors look cool, they don't serve much of a purpose. Eh, who cares, they look nice, right? The cinematography and editing also go towards creating a very slick, stylish and hip flick. The action sequences are also, for the most part, edited very well, yet you can see everything clearly. The shooting of a couple of scenes may make the scope a bit smaller than it actually is, but it's a well shot movie, and the action, choreographed by Chin Kar-lok, is quite well done. The cast is likewise quite impressive, to say the least. I mean, even Bey Logan is in here! Everybody is in here, whether in cameo, supporting or starring role: Simon Yam, Sammo Hung, Maggie Q, Isabella Leong, Heo Joon-ho, Li Bing-bing, Gordon Liu, Andy On, Shawn Yue, and even, of all people, Michael Biehn. Unfortunately, the group of friends, the Dragon Squad, I suppose, are all pretty boys (and girl) who really do nothing with their role except pose and mug for the camera. Most of the people mentioned are underused, though just seeing them is fun. With all the pluses and minuses for the movie, it's a toss-up as to whether you'll like it or not. If you think you will, you probably will, if you don't, chances are you won't. No aspect of the movie is perfect, but no aspect of the movie is completely flawed. The only think I can say is this: the first line of the movie is the Vanness Wu character saying that this is his first mission. If there's a sequel, I suppose you'll be seeing his second mission.
Video
1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen. Wow. The movie was shot on DV, and it looks great. There's nothing in terms of print flaws that has to be talked about. The colours are accurate, if a tiny bit desatureted and the contrast is very nice. There's no banding and very little noise. The only noise is in the background during darker scenes, which is never so bad. There's no grain and a pretty high level of detail, giving the movie a sleek look. I was impressed here. In comparison to the HK DVD, there's very little, if any, difference.
Audio
The movie has three tracks: Cantonese DTS, Cantonese Dolby Digital 5.1 and English Dolby Digital 5.1. I heard the DTS track and was very happy. The movie starts off with a bang, with the capture/rescue of the crime lord, and you can certainly hear it. The problem is that the mixing is a bit muddy here. The heroes' guns sound like canons, but come from every speaker, instead of simply one. The subwoofer likes the action, but it comes off as bad mixing. This, though, is simply to set the tone. The rest of the movie settles down and becomes more typical. The dialogue is always clear and audible. The score comes out of all the speakers at times. The effects mostly come from the front and their separation is pretty good. The biggest problem is that, for a somewhat slick and dynamic movie, the rears aren’t used too much.
Extras
Dragon Dynasty, again, comes up with a nice package. First off is an audio commentary by co-producer Bey Logan. This is the first commentary Bey Logan recorded where he actually worked on the movie. As such, it's absolutely filled with background information and on-set stories. He talks about absolutely everything you can possibly imagine. He talks about locations, the actors, the filming style, the director, the action, the shooting times, the careers of the actors, Sammo Hung and whatever else you'd want to know. He talks about what it was like on set and doesn't shy away from talking about who didn't work well with who and some of the problems with the movie. He also talks about making a movie in Hong Kong and getting the eclectic cast together. It's a really fascinating Next is The Making of 'Dragon Heat' featurette (28:21). This actually surprised me. Given the quality of Hong Kong making-ofs, I had pretty low expectations. Though there are too many montages of slow-motion footage from the set of the actors, you still get a really nice chunk of information. The making of shows you the alley shootout, and through that, you see have things like the action choreographer and director talking about action and the actors talking about the training. Then you see various other things, like a split screen of the movie (65 seconds worth), and time-lapse footage of the making of the scene (some 18 hours worth), showing you how much time goes into making a minute-long sequence. Who Dares, Wins: An Interview with Actor Lawrence Chou is next (10:25). Mr. Chou has some very nice comments to say. He talks about how he got the role and his character. He talks about shooting some action sequences for some 20 hours. He also talks about shooting a real gun for the first time, which is a pretty funny story. Oddly enough, he also talks about shooting a movie in DV versus film. A nice and informative interview. This interview is follwed by Illegal Alien: An Interview with Actor Michael Biehn (16:16). Mr. Biehn talks about how he got the project and how he felt about getting a role in a Hong Kong movie. He also talks about the director. He gives out his thoughts on the big shootout in the middle of the movie and gives out behind the scene stories of laughing with Maggie Q on the set. His character and his arc is also discussed. The Hong Kong movie industry is touched on, as well. This is a very nice and full interview. The disc is rounded out by a Rare Deleted Fight Sequence (3:37). Mr. Logan talks about this scene in his commentary. It's a nice little scene that establishes Sammo Hung's character. Ultimately, it doesn't really serve any purpose to the overall movie, but it's a nice little action piece.
Overall
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