Heart of Dragon (1985)

I am only giving this movie a 1 for the great cast, though I can't imagine what any of them were thinking. This movie was horrible

Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

It's simply great fun, a winsome film and an occasionally over-the-top luxury fantasy that never flags.

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

Hong Kong action cinema has long been in the habit of strange mixtures of action, humour and sentiment, but Heart of the Dragon may be one of the loopiest of all. It works on admirable lines, a look at sibling love and sacrifice as well as the mistreatment of the mentally handicapped, but turns into an action film in the end for some quality action and fighting. It seems to have captured some hearts and tends to be well rated but sadly I wasn't won over, though I was never bored, instead spending most of my viewing in a state of mildly amused confusion until the kick ass final block. Jackie Chan plays a cop and devoted brother to the mentally handicapped Sammo Hung, whose play time with neighbouring kids leads him to japes of escalating seriousness until he finds himself in serious danger. The problem for me is that the whole thing seemed written with less rational thought and more manipulation. The audience is asked to buy that Chan's character is devoted, yet he works as a cop (not a job that is especially safe) and although there are clear means for him to put his brother in the care of others when it appears he is getting into trouble he neither does this, nor does he take action to stop his brother being able to hang out with the kids that get him into scrapes. Then there's the fact that no adults around seem to recognise Hung's character for mentally handicapped, nor question the fact that he hangs out with children much of the time. The general meanness on display is questionable as well, though I guess that goes towards making the films point. Its all supposed to be rather touching, but it never quite works emotionally, both leads are quality actors in later films but here the big emotional scenes don't pack much of a punch, coming across rather as sentimentally overblown. On the other hand the sheer wrong-headed sincerity makes for some entertainment in the sense of watching it deadpan, awaiting the whole spiral of melodrama. I wouldn't describe it as good, but its bizarrely compelling stuff and holds the fort reasonably until the actual plot gets into gear. Then there's fun car action and a sweet warehouse group attack scene, unexpectedly violent with some fine choreography and great showing from notable baddie Dick Wei. Things round out with more sentimental oddity and either not a dry eye in the house or a swell of bemused gapes (I know which one I was). All in all I can't recommend this to anyone other than Jackie Chan completists but for those who simply have to see it the ending at least rocks and unusual notability is rampant. 5/10

Like most people, I saw Jackie Chan & Sammo Hung and picked this up for a cheesy 80's action flick. I wish I had realized this was going to be a drama. I was not prepared for the heavy subject matter.Nonetheless I was very impressed with the plot of the brother sacrificing all his dreams and his life to care for his mentally disabled brother. Jackie and Sammo did a great job showing what life is like for both of them. Seeing how much Jackie suffered taking care of his brother, watching over him, seeing him insulted and not getting to live his own life was heartbreakingly sad.WARNING- Minor SPOILER ahead.....I'm not one to need happy Hollywood endings, nor do I mind the occasional HK bloodbath ending where everyone dies... but for some reason the ending to this film really really depressed me and sort of ruined it for me. It was realistic and that's fine, since the rest of the film was going for realism. I just wanted some silver lining that things might improve in their lives. Or at least... not actually get WORSE! While I found the movie sad, I just found the ending to be too depressing.So, it's worth seeing, just be prepared.

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.

In this atypical movie starring Jackie Chan and Sammo Hung, Jackie stars as Tad, a former SWAT member turned CID officer. He has a steady job and a girlfriend, but he is forced to reconsider the golden opportunity of becoming a sailor on a cruise ship, for his older brother Dodo (Hung) is mentally retarded and acts like someone about a third of his age (even his friends are little boys). Dodo tries desperately to become more adult, even trying to get a job, but is either rejected or humiliated. Further problems arise when Dodo gets entangled in a jewellery heist...Action fans beware. This is NOT really an action movie at all (although it does have a couple of scraps), it's a heart-wrenching drama in which Jackie jettisons his usual happy-go-lucky action persona. There are some truly tear-jerking moments as the relationship between Tad and Dodo becomes more strained the more trouble the latter gets into, and Sammo Hung truly deserves acclaim for his performance as the child trapped in a 29-year-old body, especially as he gets no chances to fight whatsoever. The scene where, after a heated argument between Tad and one of his friends (where Tad blurts out some cutting questions in the presence of Dodo such as 'What would you do if you had a brother like him?' before admitting to being cold-blooded and retreating into his bedroom), Dodo goes into Tad's room, finds him on the bed shedding tears, begs him not to be angry, and both brothers hug each other tearfully, is one of the most memorable parts of the movie.Even though there's little action, what's there is good, particularly at the end where Tad is on a rescue mission. The action, choreographed by Yuen Biao, is among the best Jackie has done, with him doing all manner of punches, kicks, and even a backwards flip off a pillar (a bit like Keanu Reeves does in the training session with Laurence Fishburne in The Matrix, but being an early 1980's Hong Kong movie there was no need for wires, thus making it even more impressive). Jackie also gets to fight against then-Hong Kong regular nemesis Dick Wei (best known as Sanpao, the pirate leader in Project A) in a blistering exchange of kicks and punches. Don't expect a light-hearted battle, because this is more rough-and-tumble than Chan fans may be used to.In fact, the whole movie should be praised for carrying off such a subject in the commendable way shown here. Jackie turns in a fine acting performance (which is not surprising since he learned acting at Peking Opera School as well as the trademark flips and martial artistry his other movies have displayed), and his character even gets to kiss his girlfriend intimately, which, as Chan fans know, is something not often seen at this time due to the reactions it allegedly provoked among female fans.I have seen both the dubbed version and the subtitled version. I'd definitely recommend the latter; while the dubbing in the former is not the worst I've heard, it lacks the intensity of the original Cantonese track.Look out for appearances from Wu Ma, Dennis Chan (he played a character who trained Jean-Claude Van Damme's character in 'Kickboxer') and the sadly-now-departed wonder that is Lam Ching-Ying.Definitely worth a look if you're into Chan and want something a little different (OK, a LOT different).