Chasing the Dragon is coming to DVD on the 22nd of January 2018.
Director: Jason Kwan, Jing Wong
Writer: Jing Wong (Screenplay)
Starring: Donnie Yen, Andy Lau, Philip Keung, Kang Yu, Kent Cheng
Plot: An illegal immigrant from Mainland China sneaks into corrupt British-colonized Hong Kong in 1963, transforming himself into a ruthless and emerging drug lord.
Runtime: 2 Hours 8 Minutes
There may be spoilers the rest of the review
Verdict: Brutal Gangster Movie
Story: Chasing the Dragon starts as we follow Ho (Yen) as he illegal immigrates from China to the British-colonized Hong Kong in the early 60s. we see how two different gangs are trying to take over Hong Kong while the British will go to any force to stop them. Police Detective Lee Rock (Lau) has been rising the ranks of the force for years now, he sees what Ho has to offer and helps him for his own personal corrupt reasons.
When Ho and Lee make a move to take over the troubled neighbourhood, Ho gets wounded taking away his fighting abilities, while Lee is lucky to walk away. The pair refuse to take this backing down and come up with their own plan to be the ruthless crime lords in Hong Kong, showing how far they will go against anyone that gets in their way.
Thoughts on Chasing the Dragon
Characters – Ho starts as a young man immigrating illegal to Hong Kong, he gets involved in fights and petty crimes before climbing up to more serious offences, his combat skills strike fear into his enemies, after he is crippled in an attack, he changes, he becomes psychotic with his behavior killing, injuring anyone who gets in his way or disobeys his orders. Lee Rock is a detective that has risen in the Hong Kong force even though he has been against the British involvement in the country, he works with Ho to become a force that could take on the British, but with the corruption investigation in the force, he must step away from the light. He always seems to be thinking one step ahead of anyone he is working with. We do meet rival gangs, the British officers that abuse their power.
Performances – Donnie Yen is known the world over for his combat skills in any movie, he has shown us year after year he could be the best combat actor in the industry today. In this role he has that skill removed and must show us his acting chops, he impresses big time here showing he is more than just a combat actor. Andy Lau on the other hand is an actor we know for his more serious roles in the Infernal Affairs movies being the most notable for the Western audience, he is great as this shady cop figures and this is no different.
Story – The story follows two men either side of the law that rose to power in the drug battle in Hong Kong, one a petty criminal, the other a cop, the partnership took them to new heights and controlling the streets that the British have been taking over. The story shows how both use their skills and go after the people that cross them. If you want a gangster movie based on real people and see people outside of the normal American related gangsters.
Action/Biopic/Crime/History – The action in the film does mix the start has more hand to hand combat before jumping into gun battles which entertain throughout. Diving into the biopic side of things, we only focus on the time in Hong Kong which focuses on the crime world for that moment in history.
Settings – The settings show us the compact setting of Hong Kong which shows how the tensions will be rising during the drug war going on.
Scene of the Movie – The final showdown.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – The Brits are painted well in this.
Final Thoughts – This movie flows nicely, it has a pace which increases to the explosive conclusion and offers us the story of one of the more notorious gangsters in the history of Hong Kong.
Overall: Must watch for gangster movie fans.
Rating