Za jia gao shou

A typically madcap Taiwanese martial arts film from director Godfrey Ho, THE DRAGON, THE HERO has to be seen to be believed. Kung fu fans will be in their element as the film features performances from a number of famous performers who acquit themselves well with the cheap, slapdash material. There's also a plethora of fight scenes which is always a plus in a film such as this.

The film has two heroes played by John Liu and Tino Wong and a master villain played by film regular Phillip Ko as a delightfully evil character. The plot covers the usual ground and seems to throw a bit of everything into the mix in a bid to make something stick: there are training sequences, a drunken master, and even a wheelchair-bound mega villain to throw a spanner in the works.

The lead actors are fine fighters but it's the supporting players who really shine. Things kick off with a great little fight scene involving the inimitable Bolo Yeung, complete with chest hair and a Tarzan yell! Even better, Bolo has some kind of bestial style going on, which makes for hilarious viewing. Things slow down a notch from this point in, but there's still plenty of fun to be had from the action scenes, not least the lengthy and energetic climax. Phillip Ko is particularly efficient as one tough cookie. Other plot ingredients to watch out for include a castration by dog, milk spitting, a cameo from Bruce Lee imitator Dragon Lee, and a random rendition of Lee Marvin's "Wanderin' Star"!

"The Dragon, The Hero" stars superkicker John Liu as a government agent who goes undercover to thwart an antiques smuggling ring. He's also a master of something called the "strike rock fist," which proves a bone of contention when he finds himself obliged to team up with Tino Wong. The villains are led by wheelchair-bound Peter Chen Lau, whose strange malady is only partially explained halfway through the movie; his henchmen include the rancorous Phillip Ko (against whom Liu and Wong square off in the film's climax) and, in a pointless but mildly amusing cameo, Bolo Yeung.

Lots of entertaining fights and training sequences, along with some nice outdoor photography. The entire cast performs well, even cornball Bruce Lee imitator Dragon Lee in a relatively minor role as Tino Wong's buddy. As other reviewers have noted, this is Godfrey Ho's best film by a mile; though he receives sole director's credit, I'd venture to guess that he had some assistance, given the superior choreography and Taiwanese shooting locations. The print featured on the Crash Cinema DVD has burned-on English subtitles which are difficult to read, but it's a clear, strong widescreen print that allows you to see all the action.

Absolute madness, crazy dubbing and typical 70's plot nonsense are brought to you under the watchful eye of doctor Frankenstein himself, director Godfrey Ho.

I've always enjoyed a good Ho cut-n-paste, but The Dragon, The Hero seems to be one of his more accomplished works to date. Fight filled, with some fantastic choreography, and a great cast with superstars John Liu, Dragon Lee, Philip Ko, Tino Wong and more, there is plenty going on to keep you watching even though it does get typically lost along the way. With most of the characters portrayed in a cartoon-like way, hilariously dubbed one liners, and over the top training scenes, you never really get bored with this one, but you also may never need to see it again after you do!

In a nutshell - The Dragon, The Hero is almost a classic, with its great cast and top notch choreography, it is worthy of a watch for kung fu fans or that of its stars, alike.

In my opinion - Opening with the classic red screen training sequence, highlighting the amazing Philip Ko as the master with his students John Liu and Tino Wong, we soon jump into the feature to have Ko as a bad ass, style stealing, right hand man for the crazed wheelchair bad guy, John Liu as a wandering bad ass fighter, and Tino Wong as a friend of Dragon Lee's who isn't quite as skilled as the opening suggested.

As the movie progresses however, complete with crazed flashbacks and madcap comedy scenes, we learn that not all is what it seems! We also learn that this is actually a Tino Wong, John Liu and Philip Ko movie, as Dragon Lee pretty much has a guest starring role if not an extended cameo...

All madness aside, there is some very worthy scenes of action and kung fu to be had here. It would be even nicer to see it all in the wide screen it was shot in as sometimes, I feel we are missing some great shots as well as moves. The last 30 minutes is one huge fight scene that doesn't fail to please, complete with milk vomit on attack, and typical abrupt ending!

The Dragon, The Hero is pretty damn good...