Heart of Dragon (1985)

Jackie Chan and Sammo Hung are both my favorite marital artists/stars, other then having all of the cool moves they never stopped surprising me and this film was one heck of a surprise. This is an under the radar gem for both of them, it's not quite a favorite of mine from both of them but it comes close.It's no doubt different from the normal Jackie Chan and Sammo Hung films were use to instead of action action this film is drama action which is a combo I rarely see in the marital arts sub genre, in fact it's something I rarely see in the action genre in genre. This film to me is one of those examples that the combo can actually work when done the right way.Jackie and Samo are just great, both of them get to for once and one of the only times actually get to exercise more of their acting ability. I really liked seeing them play characters that actually have more range and almost feel like these people could exist, than the typical lovable lead actioneers which are usually just both playing themselves sort of.Samo was just excellent in his role as Dodo, I really did by him as a mentally disabled man, oh and for the record he doesn't do any of his martial arts sorry fans. But that's not a bad thing and it makes sense for his character. Dodo is very sympathetic, he's mentally disabled but he's slightly aware of it and you can tell wishes he wasn't, but despite his limitations he does try and struggle to fit in to contemporary life and really wants his brother to be happy.One scene, he tries to get a job and goes to this restaurant but of course the manager just humiliates him by practically hazing Dodo. I'll admit I really wanted to punch that manager (one of Tad's friends does, I high five the dude.) there are scummy guys like that that do exist whom are just the worst kinds of hypocrites, making fun/insult people, making themselves look all high and mighty when there not; to me Dodo (even Tad's buddy) was a bigger man than him.Jackie was excellent as Tad, I really bought him as a struggling brother whom is conflicted with taking care of his brother but also his dream of becoming a sailor which he feels has drifted further away from him. This to me makes his character relatable because we've all been there where were conflicted between our responsibilities and dreams.Both of them have great chemistry and some memorable scenes were some are touching and surprisingly really sad, at times it really made me wonder if these are the kind of things that people mentally disabled go though as well as the people taking care of them.One scene which of course is memorable is the argument scene where Tad of coruse is just spewing out his raw emotion toward Dodo and goes to his room afterward. After a minute or two passes Dodo goes to Tad's room finding him crying and of coruse Tad apologies and both hug. I just found it touching and it actually put a tear or two in my eye, but the scene for me pertained to the theme of brotherhood.Even like some of the supporting characters like Tad's girlfriend Jenny, really liked the interaction with the two it really felt like a serious relationship and we even see both kiss which is something Jackie doesn't do in films much. As well as Tads friends where we get a good feel for them and some solid interaction.And of course the action is great despite somewhat taking a bit of a back seat, to me it helped keep things moving and gave the film a sense of fun which helped give the film a three dimensional sensibility. From the training ground battle at the beginning, but of course my favorite is the final battle near the end of the film which to me is one of my favorite battles of all time and one that lasts about 20 mins making it one of the longest. I really like the use of the building location and the chirography in both gun play and martial arts was spot on.I really love the them of the film which is about brotherhood, we see despite both DoDo and Tads struggles they always stick together and do the best they can to make each other happy. It also the same with Tad's significant other and his friends along with some of Dodo's friends who are supportive of both of them which shows that brotherhood isn't just about brothers but also about the people in your life whom would do anything for you as you would for them.The only bad thing for me is that the pacing is a bit slow, it kinda lags a bit in the middle because not much really happens. But things do pick up again on the third half so that a blemish I can get past.Brotherhood is always strong because of the sum of it's parts to make a whole.Rating: 3 and a half stars

They are: - the initial "CID vs. SWAT" extravaganza with the cheap electronic soundtrack as the background (the scenes with all that acrobatic stuff are useless here - they have guns, damn it! and the neck-breaking scene looks absurd), - the overblown eyebrows of the SWAT commander (my! did they really have to do it?), - the proper fights, which were moved to "deleted scenes" section (even if they could not add anything good to the story, they should have been included into the movie, while they are great), - too little real violence (after reading about the brutality of the final showdown I was disappointed by the actual grand finale of the movie, while even the notorious "blade-into-the-neck" scene is too swift and too dark)... well, this is about it.All the rest is great. I really enjoy the story and the performance of Mr Sammo Hung. A very neat job.I can give it a definite 7 out of 10 (I wish the movie-making team could stay away from the comedy elements during this production - it would be, quite possibly, my favourite Jackie Chan film then). Thanks for attention.

Heart Of The Dragon can be described as Rain Man with martial arts, which is not a bad description, although this was actually made several years before. Made around the time Jackie Chan was churning out loads of great films, such as Police Story, Project A, Wheels On Meals and Dragons Forever, as well as poorer but hugely successful efforts like the 'Lucky Stars' films, this movie has somewhat been ignored, which is a shame, as it's a brave attempt at something a little different.For the first 50 mins or so, this is mostly a drama, but both Jackie Chan, playing a character who is initially none too sympathetic, and Samo Hung, as his mentally challenged brother, give amazingly strong performances. There are laughs [such as when Chan is walking around holding his brother's hand saying to people "he's my brother" in case they might think they are gay],but there is also a great deal of sensitivity and honesty, climaxing in a powerful scene where Jackie almost breaks down in sheer fustration in front of Samo.After this the film suddenly becomes an action movie, but the transition is not badly done, and, as if to reward patient action fans, the film climaxes with what is quite simply one of the best staged fight sequences EVER, a small masterpiece of choreography, editing and lighting. Jackie is as vicious as Bruce Lee ever was here, he's never been meaner.There are two extra fight scenes which exist, but in most places they were removed from the film to emphasise the drama. Indeed the other elements of the film are so good that it can exist perfectly well without them. Of course there are a few silly touches, including TWO montages with the sentimental theme song, and Dick Wie's eyebrows! Generally a fine film, though.

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.