Dragon Lord (1982)

Of all the similarly-themed Chan flicks from the period (YOUNG MASTER and the like) I have to say that this one was my favourite. Made the year before he moved into bigger-budget period flicks, this is an inventive, thoroughly enjoyable Chan adventure, mixing together the best aspects of comedy and action whilst following a set, somewhat bizarre formula brought together in his earlier movies. Most of the film features non-stop comic hijinks, as Chan and his buddy Mars court the same girl and fall out over her, whilst there's a serious (if minor) sub-plot involving Chinese antiques being smuggled out of the country. Eventually, the plot less cross each other, resulting in a huge 20 minute fight finale in a barn, incorporating all kinds of major stunt work. Mars himself, usually in lesser roles in Chan's movies, shines in perhaps his best turn as the dim-witted friend who gets pretty fierce. Chan himself plays his typical bumbling happy-go-lucky character and his likability (is that even a word?) pays off in spades.Perhaps the most original element of the film is the sports action, in which various teams play a game of football with one difference: they use a shuttlecock instead of a ball. Yes, it's as fast, furious and frenetic as it sounds, and makes for excellent entertainment just watching the skills of the players. The comedy is as broad as usual, one laugh involving somebody peeing over Jackie's leg, so you know the kind of harmless, childish tone to expect. The martial arts work is excellent with plenty of loose-limbed bad guys (led by Wong In-sik) who are EXTREMELY hard and solid work from the likes of Dick Wei. Chan himself runs up walls, falls from railings, and spins in the air in gravity-defying shenanigans, highlighted in the lengthy final fight which is riveting and in my opinion, in his all-time top five action sequences. Fans will know what to expect and love this fast-moving, fat-free adventure.

Review: I was really looking forward to watching this movie because it seemed like one of those authentic Kung Fu movies that I used to watch back in the day but it turned out to be quite disappointing. In this movie, Chan plays a talented sportsman with some impressive Kung Fu skills but he can't help getting himself in trouble with friends while they go around the village causing mischief. Chan then meets a girl who he tries to impress by fighting any and everyone but he ends up messing with the wrong guys who are stealing precious artifacts to ship to China. He then gets blamed for stealing some of the artifacts and he ends up fighting for his life, even though he's innocent. Although it was made in the earlier days of Chans career, it's still packed with the silly comedy that I'm really getting fed up with. The end fight, which seemed a bit pointless, was very impressive because Chan is really going nuts but the rest of the film is just about Chan trying to woo a girl. The comedic side of the movie was also pretty poor, along with the acting but like a lot of Chans movies, the action is really worth waiting for. You can tell that the director added the artifact element to try and give the movie some depth but that was also disappointing. At the end of the day, it's worth a watch just for the last fight but the rest of the movie was a waste of time. Disappointing! Round-Up: This was the third movie to be directed by Jackie Chan, after the success of the Young Master, so with that in mind it was a big achievement for Chan in the earlier part of his career but I just can't understand why he has to add them silly comedic scenes. That's why Bruce Lee has always been called the master because his fighting was unique and his films were all decent. I'm struggling with Jackie Chan because he has only made a handful of movies that were great. Maybe the best is yet to come! I still have quite a few movies to get through during this Jackie Chan so I'm hoping that it will pick up soon.I recommend this movie to people who are into their action/comedy/sport/martial arts movies starring Jackie Chan, Mars, Wai-Man Chan and Lei Suet. 3/10

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!!!

This review is for the extended cut of this movie.I first watched Dragon Lord when I bought it on DVD many years ago. I always liked this movie and you can read some of the more positive reviews of it to get the general idea.That being said. I've always found the storyline a bit confusing. The movie is, after all, a love story. And it always seemed strange to me that a love story should end with a 20 minute fight scene.Well, in the extended version this is no longer so. The old "original" version begins off with a huge barrel-climb/rugby-like sequence which is the new ending sequence in the extended version. The opening sequence is Dragon(Jackie Chan) hanging around his house and pretending to be training and reciting whenever his father is around.Other sequenced have also been shift or prolonged in the extended cut and the story makes a lot more sense when you watch it. The pacing is also better and overall it just works better. It feels more like a love story and doesn't leave you asking questions about why it ends so drastically and dramatically as the regular version does.I suggest everyone who is a Hong-Kong cinema, or just plain Jackie Chan fanatic to get a hold of the extended version and watch the movie the way it was originally intended.(Or at least that's how I think it was intended. Why else would they make it and rearrange some of the scenes) When I was done watching it, I felt like I had watched a completely new Jackie Chan movie although most of the sequences were the same.