I was just given the chance to sit down and watch the 2005 Hong Kong action movie titled "Dragon Squad" (aka "Mang lung") here in 2021. And this was actually my first time to watch it. Sure, I had heard about the movie before, but I just never have gotten around to watch it. So of course I jumped at the chance to do so now.
And I will say that "Dragon Squad" was an adequately entertaining action movie, though it wasn't among the best that the action cinema from Hong Kong has to offer. But it is definitely an entertaining and watchable movie.
The storyline told in "Dragon Squad" was a bit simplistic and linear. Sure, it made for proper entertainment, but the writers Daniel Lee and Ho-Leung Lau didn't really venture into new territory, deciding to play it safe and following a strict how-to-make-an-action-movie blueprint.
The action sequences in the movie were nicely choreographed and executed on the screen, and there was indeed an abundance of action throughout the course of the movie. And director Daniel Lee brought this to life on the screen in a good manner with lots of high speed and adrenaline.
"Dragon Squad" has a rather impressive cast list ensemble, which includes Shawn Yue, Sammo Kam-Bo Hung, Maggie Q, Andy On and Simon Yam; so there is an abundance of familiar faces in the movie, if you are familiar with Hong Kong cinema. And it was an absolute blast to have Michael Biehn in the movie as well, and he was definitely back in form here.
I found this 2005 movie to be a nice surprise, and it definitely proved entertaining enough. However, I don't think that this is a movie that I will be returning to watch a second time though, as the storyline just was a bit too weak for supporting multiple viewings. My rating of "Dragon Squad" is a six out of ten stars.
