Well Dragon Squad isn't nearly as good as Sha Po Lang (a.k.a. Killzone in the U.S.), but it's still one of the best action films to come out in a long time. Some people might be annoyed by the unique way the movie is filmed, what with the constant freeze frames, scenes that are literally labeled onscreen, and the endlessly shaky camera. Too many action films are shot normally until the action begins, at which point the camera starts jumping all over the place creating an obnoxious ADHD blur. I however found that it worked, if only because such tricks were consistently employed through the entire film. The film is basically about a good special squad taking on a bad special squad. There are a lot of characters, a lot of action scenes, and a lot of tragic moments handled of course in pure Hong Kong style. The movie is downright beautiful at times, and Sammo Hung of course is as impressive as always. On a side note, it's curious that this film was produced by Steven Seagal! It's 1000 times better than anything he's actually starred in! Dragon Dynasty will be releasing this film soon, though the Chinese DVD is cheaper and also plays on American players.
Some random thoughts: In American films tragic characters are usually people with drug addictions, bad habits, etc., basically people who cause their own problems, contributing to their own self-destruction and downward spiral. HK films seldom ask audiences to feel sorry for such people. In HK cinema a tragic character is a TRAGIC character. BAD things happen to them that they didn't do to themselves. Though no one really ends up happy in this film, almost everyone does go out with quite a bang. The film's last line however was very unfortunate in my personal opinion. From the opening lines of the film through the climax the film, philosophically, seems to be building to a very Buddhist point, and then, with the film's very last line (about the character realizing there's no truth without faith), the director/screenwriter outright rejects the Buddhist point in favor of a Christian/Hindu take. Disappointing. I rather agreed with his original stance (with me being a psychologist) that memory is fallible and often leads to self-deception. |
Dragon Squad (AKA Maan Lone) (2005) dvd movie.