Dragon Fight

In "Dragon Fight", one of his earliest and least-seen films, Jet Li is part of a Chinese team that comes to San Francisco for a martial-arts exhibition. However, after the show one of his partners (played by Dick Wei) decides that he doesn't want to go back to his country, and during his getaway he accidentally kills a cop. Jet is wrongly accused of the crime, gets arrested, escapes and finds refuge in the home of a guy who had seen and admired him in the show, while Dick becomes a well-paid assassin in the service of a gangster. Through a few too many coincidences, the paths of these two former friends cross again...

Because so few people have seen "Dragon Fight" (it hasn't even been released on DVD yet!), there is a temptation to say that it's a "hidden treasure" in Jet Li's filmography. Well, it isn't. It is a rather unremarkable movie. But what is remarkable about it is some of the fighting, which is refreshingly realistic (the word "refreshingly" goes for those who, like me, hate flying-fu). Jet Li is at his most youthful, handsome and likable, but "Dragon Fight" is almost as much Dick Wei's film as it is Jet's. This is the only time they worked together on a film, and their final showdown is definitely worth waiting for. (**1/2)

I found this movie particularly interesting from a cultural perspective. It was filmed by people from Hong Kong, in San Francisco, for an Asian audience, and it provides a fairly interesting view of what Asian capitalist political separatists think America is like. The action is quite good, with a surprising amount of plot for the genre. (It even makes sense!) And of course it stars Jet Li, who it goes without saying makes Jackie Chan look like Mr. Yunioshi.

As one of Jet's earlier films, and along with The Master, one of his first steps into the West, Dragon Fight plays like a late eighties romp on Jackie Chan's ever popular Rumble In The Bronx.

But whereas, Rumble In The Bronx aims more at a family friendly audience, Dragon Fight features some brutal moments with heavy language and hard fight action!

Somewhat lost in the magic world of 'film', I'm surprised this little gem hasn't been cleaned up and re-released properly due to Jet's success as a worldwide action star.

Sharing the limelight with the always hard hitting Dick Wei (who has been noted to choreograph the action scenes here), a simple tale of 2 brothers following different paths in life while being fish out of water is pumped up with some great martial arts fights and an earlier comedic supporting role from the amazing Stephen Chow Sing Chi...

Worth a look for all fans of each star, Dragon Fight is pretty damn good!

This is a Hong Kong action drama movie starring Jet Li as a martial artist from China who performs a Kung-Fu in America. He stirs trouble when he decides to defect and stay in America. Though I don't remember much from this film, I do remember it is full of dry humor courtesy of Stephen Chow, which is what the film sorely needed, and lots of drama and action from Li. Just him playing a martial artist in a foreign land, trying to make ends meet, is pretty suspenseful.

However, the plot is somewhat blurry and all you really get are violent scenes after the other that are way overkill. You don't see Stephen Chow and Jet Li on screen together often, so, it is a rare film nonetheless. But, not one of the better action movies from HK I've seen.

Grade D+

Not quite as coherent or well-scripted as some of his other films, Jet Li's performance is still quite good. The setting (San Francisco) makes it interesting for bay area viewers, seeing their city through the eyes of Chinese filmmakers as an exotic foreign place. Many of the characters are ridiculously flat and caricature-ish, plot complications are unlikely and unrealistic, and many are left unresolved at the end. Still, if you're a Jet Li fan and you can handle these shortcomings, you'll be as happy as a sandboy. I took two friends to see this and we all loved it.