Version: 'Kung Fu Theatre' DVD, English dub
Be forewarned: 'Dragon vs Needles of Death is nowhere near as cool as the cover might suggest. The cover does a good job of presenting what could be an entirely different movie altogether, as 'Dragon vs Needles of Death' certainly did not feature the kung-fu fighter who sported an afro. The afro was on the DVD cover, but not in the movie. I'm not impressed. I want my five dollars back.
Needle Throwing Dude (I can't remember his name) enters a kung-fu school, but as soon as he joins, he runs off with the master's daughter Mei Lei. They leave behind a jealous Sami, the school's top fighter, who also runs off. Coincidentally, they end up in the same town - Needle Throwing Dude as a salt smuggler, and Sami as an apprentice blacksmith - and opposing the local mob leader, who wants all the salt for himself. Or something. I missed that.
'Dragon vs Needles of Death' isn't the worst chop-socky flick I've ever seen, but it is nowhere near any of the best. As the plot progresses we get treated to far too much 'intrigue' and "I am your father" type stuff, until the final scenes where the kung-fu just drags on far too long. Most of the fights up towards the end were poorly edited and choreographed (I suspect that many extras were really just flailing their arms about wildly). The scenes towards the end were much better, but managed to continue until long after I had gotten quite bored.
'Dragon vs Needles of Death' is pretty boring, but fans of this kind of stuff should at least give it one go - 2/10
