Fire Dragon (1994)

best movie i've ever seen.

At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

Blistering performances.

what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.

Director Yuen Woo-ping has been responsible for some of the finest action films to ever come out of Hong Kong, and is renowned in the west for his martial arts choreography for such hits as The Matrix, Kill Bill and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon; coming from such a legend of the industry, Fire Dragon can only be considered a huge disappointment for kung fu fans, its frantic, poorly edited fight scenes not only being hard to follow, but playing second fiddle to loads of painfully unfunny bufoonery.Brigitte Lin plays Fire Devil (AKA Fire Dragon, Aunty Lu, Sunset), an assassin for evil Prince Six (Lap-Man Sin), who is given the task of retrieving an incriminating letter that has fallen into the hands of good guy Chun (Joe Chu). Masquerading as an injured stranger, she infiltrates the camp of the performance troupe with which Chun is staying, but finds her allegiance to Prince Six waning once she gets to know the enemy. When the prince sends out a second assassin to finish the job, Fire Devil finds herself fighting on the side of her new-found friends.The film is book-ended with delirious scenes of wire-fu enhanced wuxia action, but only the final battle, with its fiery explosions and impressive three-way sword fight, is worth getting excited about, and to get there one has to endure the worst kind of Asian comedy (childish slapstick complete with plenty of silly facial expressions) and lots of cloying, over-sentimental garbage in which Fire Devil cares for 'cute' orphan TaoTao. For a Woo-ping flick, the fast-forward button has never looked so tempting...3.5/10, rounded up to 4 for the lovely Chuan Chen Yeh as sexy assassin number two, Snow.

I came across this movie an odd way. I was at a local comic convention and won this movie along with some other stuff as a door prize. When I popped this DVD in I could barely believe my eyes. What I was watching was some crazy stunts and fx. Then a really interesting story comes in about a corrupt general and we learn the story of this woman assassin who works for him (only I get the feeling she's not to thrilled about serving him. But she seems to be in debt to him for his teaching of the "fire stance") Then to top it off we get some HUGE laughs that had me rolling on the floor. I don't agree with some of the other commenter's that think the plot is boring or the humor bad because so far I'm enjoying every moment of this wonderful tale. The only way I can describe this film is like you are watching a live action cartoon. Sometimes I feel like I am watching anime but I'm shocked to see live actors!It achieves this surreal experience through two things: a) Stunning special fx that leave you asking "how'd they do that!" and b) Off the wall comic jokes and characters. My opinion: How could you go wrong with this one? 10 stars and I haven't even finished watching the movie!

If not, let me elaborate. Fire Dragon is a bright, colourful period kung-fu movie, blending intricate and visually stunning wire-work kung fu sequences with gentle slapstick comedy. It isn't Ping's best, and it sees the director working with a lower budget than he had on the previous year's Iron Monkey, but it's a spirited adventure with some breathtaking action sequences.Personally, I enjoyed Fire Dragon a lot, but as a genre movie, not necessarily because it was a standout film. As the genre goes, Fire Dragon is a solid exciting entry that I can see myself watching again, but it doesn't quite bridge the gap from a fun genre flick to full accessibility, meaning that this movie will be great for kung-fu buffs like me but not necessarily much fun for the uninitiated. As an example, Fire Dragon reveals it's age and intentions in it's pacing, putting all the fights in the first and third acts and spending most of the time in the middle on the knockabout comedy that the HK audience and most of us Kung-fu fans are used to, which is fine, but will probably alienate people who wanted a full on action movie.Still, despite typical Hong-Kong cinema pacing and the fact that it needs viewers to be tuned in to the genre to gain full enjoyment from it, don't think Fire Dragon has nothing to offer to casual viewers. The sheer visual spectacle of the fight sequences (remember, Ping masterminded the action in the Matrix and Kill Bill series' as well) will probably be enough to keep yer bum on your seat, as they're highly infectious and full of pyrotechnics, plus Brigitte Lin is fantastic as the titular assassin.It's worth checking out. If you're a Ping fan, you'll dig this movie, and if not, well, it might peak your interest :).

Fabulous cinematography, costumes, the always competent presence of Brigitte Lin, and a handful of effects laden fights cant save this movie from its focus on a dud of a plot and comedic turns that make up most of the film. Woo Ping fans know that there are two things he likes to do- dazzling, well-choreographed fight sequences and hair-brained comedy. Unfortunately, it is his comedy focus that can often drag his movies down, such is the case with Fire Dragon. Instead of getting fantastic fight scene after fantastic fight scene (Iron Monkey), this flying kung fu fantasy spends the better part of the movie expanding on lame jokes and flat character interaction. Sure there are a few action scenes throughout, but they are very brief. It is only at the beginning and, particularly, the end, in which we get the masterful, jaw dropping, fights one expects from Woo Ping.This film belongs in the Swordsman 2, Chinese Ghost Story, and Deadful Melody category of HK fantasy. Although, in many ways, Woo Ping outdoes those other films in the genre with his harrowing use of pyrotechnics and wirework, the action makes up so little of the running time, its hard to recommend Fire Dragon to anyone outside of the die-hard Woo Ping/ Brigitte Lin fanatics. But, even they may be turned off by a film so mired in the finer points of stale character development and jokes that are repeatedly hammered into the ground. Sure, the finale is as good as anything Woo Ping has directed, but it is too little too late. Its drudgery, like watching paint dry, the hour and ten minutes that leads up to the conclusion. There just isn't enough of a story and the jokes are not funny enough to justify the lack of action.