Dragon Tiger Gate (2006)

This movie is based on a comic book which i haven't read, but i understood the plot and characters surprisingly flawless through great storytelling.The cinematography and editing of this film is very stylish and fairly creative, especially with the interesting lighting of the settings.The stunts and fights are marvellously done, entertaining and, through great sound design, very impactful.The best part for me were (like i said) the characters. I understood the motivations of all of them, and never lost interest. A big part of this is the great storytelling, every time something is setup that seems to be little, or unimportant at first, it get's a big pay off.The actors all fit their roles very well, and it wasn't just a Donny Yen one-man-show like i expected, which was a big surprise.The visual effects are okay for the most part and not overdone (for the most part).The only real flaw is the pacing of the third act, which drags for a while and looses some of it's momentum before it get's to a big climactic fight, which is a good counter balance, but also fairly long.A heart-warming, investing story, full of great action and drama...

OK firstly I have to just say that I watched this movie on Netflix with English Subtitles and I was disappointed with the overall movie but then I re-watched it online in it's original language Cantonese with English subtitles and it really makes a huge difference. The English dubbing is so cheesy and they even mistranslated a few important lines which cleared a few things up for me that I had been confused about! I won't say what they are for spoiler purposes but if you can find the Cantonese I suggest that 100% over the English dubbed. OK on to my review: This movie is worth watching for Donnie Yen's fight/action sequences alone. He is top notch as far as martial arts skills go in my opinion and while he usually doesn't do a lot of wire work in his films in this one he does some but it adds to that comic book feeling. He is so kick-ass in this movie that I have re watched his action scenes over and over again. And...he does it all in leather pants!This movie obviously doesn't have the budget of Hollywood films so the CGI created environment parts of it are lacking but I believe it still works since this is supposed to be based off of a comic book. Of course having a bigger budget would have taken this film up a to a higher level. A little more explanation of the characters is needed and they could have utilized the musical soundtrack more to add to the intensity in some scenes. However, I think Donnie Yen's action sequences make up for the lacking parts in this. Overall I find it to be a fun movie with great scenes from Yen. I am a fan of movies like Tomb Raider so if you don't like that movie you probably won't like this one just because it has that same kind of vibe to me. I really liked one reviewer on here who basically said if your going to watch this and take it too seriously then your wasting your time, they are 100% right. This is one of those "for fun "movies and is not meant to be some gripping, emotional story. It's meant to be fun and have things in it that go beyond reality. I also really find it to be a movie that grows on you. And once again Donnie Yen is fantastic if I had to judge just him my rating would be 10 stars for his action directing alone.

From the first seconds of Dragon Tiger Gate,it's easy to note its absence of originality and its intention of copying scenes,characters and concepts from other movies with the intention of entertaining the spectator.And the film gets that intention.There's nothing original in this movie,but director Wilson Yip knows how to adapt all the elements from other movies to Dragon Tiger Gate for finally getting a fun movie with a lot of energy.This film takes elements from the films directed by Tsui Hark,Ronny Yu and a lot more.As I said before,the story is not original and it has clichés,so,we do not see nothing new,but the film made a good work in keeping me fun.Dragon Tiger Gate is not as subversive and as good as director Stephen Chow's films(like Shaolin Soccer and Kung Fu Hustle) and it is not as intensely dramatic as the masterpiece Time and Tide.I would say this film is in some intermediate point,far away from the excellence,but pretty fun.I'm usually against the absence of originality but,on some occasions,like in this movie,the final result is a good film.I can recommend Dragon Tiger Gate because,without being great,it's pretty fun.

Since i was a youngster i have always been fascinated with martial arts films and this is one of the best martial arts films you will ever see.If you enjoyed Kung Fu Hustle then you will have an absolute ball with this film. You will be treated to some of the most mesmerising fight scenes you will ever see, and the best rope work in any martial arts film out at the moment.The story is fairly good, not great but to be honest it wasn't the main focus. This film also reminded me of another called "A man called Hero" which focused on the struggling hero with great ability and guilt fighting evil, which is the main story running through this film.If you are into great martial arts films do not miss this opportunity you will not be disappointed.