I stumbled upon the 1989 Hong Kong martial arts action movie "Lung Joi Tin Aai" (aka "Dragon Fight") by random chance here in 2022. I have never seen or heard about this movie before. And seeing that the movie had both Jet Li and Stephen Chow on the cast list was sufficient to make me want to watch it.
"Lung Joi Tin Aai" is an archetypical late 1980s Hong Kong action movie, for better or worse. So if you are a fan of that era and genre, then you know what you are getting here.
The storyline in "Lung Joi Tin Aai", as written by James Yuen and Sally Nichols, is pretty straight forward, if not actually a bit generic. But it does work out well enough, given the time that the movie was made. This is not a movie that will challenge you intellectually; nay, you just lean back in the seat and munch on your snacks while watching the action. I will say, however, that the storyline was entertaining enough actually.
There is a good amount of action and martial arts throughout the course of the movie, and it is nicely choreographed and executed on the screen. Keep in mind that Stephen Chow is not really participating in the fight scenes here, just so you don't get disappointed. Something that is also archetypical for a Hong Kong action movie here is the sound effects during the fights. Sure, the sounds are awful and over the top, but it is just something that you are accustomed to if you've seen your share of these types of action movies.
And while the movie is taking place in San Francisco, I found it odd that the American people in the movie seemed to have been dubbed, and poorly dubbed at well. It was just downright laughably stupid. And it was toe-curling to listen to.
"Lung Joi Tin Aai" does have a good cast ensemble. I didn't know that Jet Li and Stephen Chow had made a movie together, but it sure was enjoyable to watch them on the screen. The movie also has Dick Wei on the cast list in a role that seemed to have been tailored for him, as he was just excellent in that role and character.
All in all, then "Lung Joi Tin Aai" is an enjoyable and watchable older martial arts action movie. This is definitely something for fans of the Hong Kong martial arts genre.
My rating of "Lung Joi Tin Aai" lands on a six out of ten stars.
