Dragon Boys

After reading about it in newspapers and online magazines, you would think we were awaiting the arrival of the next "Sopranos" or "The Wire". I know its a Canadian production and we can't expect the same quality as American shows but come on.

The production was brutal. The acting wasn't great at all (i'll give exception to Tzi Ma and Bryon Mann for their mediocre efforts) but I'll let the acting slide because the script was terrible. From a person who has experienced and seen some of these activities, this plot just had too many holes in it. It was filled with clichés, stereotypes and unbelievable and over the top scenarios.

Can you really take a drama seriously when one of the traid's members name is "Movie Star"? One of the golden rules for making a movie: Establish the characters! For such a long movie, they had so many opportunities to establish the characters and make this film watchable and believable. Honestly, at certain parts of the movie, i laughed unintentionally.

The direction was BAD and could have been vastly improved. Lack of research was evident throughout the movie. I really liked the premise. I really did. They had a good idea but just couldn't fall through with it. It definitely lacked some realism and grittiness this miniseries needed. By the way, was it necessary to have it in a 2 part mini series. Honestly, with better editing they could have cut the majority of the film and piece it in a 4 hour movie which would have been better.

Overall, I couldn't believe I sat through this thing.

Thanks CBC for wasting my time. If you want a movie like this to be a success, why not spend more money on production (ie. the soundtrack). You might not have the money but in order to get some recognition, you really gotta fork some dough up to make this film respectable.

I stumbled upon "Dragon Boys" when I was flipping through channels. And I'm glad I did.

What caught my eye immediately was the all-Asian cast. At first, I thought what I was seeing was some Chinese film but a few minutes into it, I realized it was a look into Canada's Chinese gang problem in the West coast.

The main character, Tommy (Byron Mann), surprisingly wasn't a stereotypical Chinese. In fact, he was what people would call "white-washed" and what was so great about his character was that he had this ongoing conflict with his cultural identity that ends up playing a huge role on his determination to solve the case he's working on.

Lawrence Chou was cast to play the perfect villain. Movie Star is a criminal who at first, appears to be completely evil and heartless but occasionally, they show parts of him which actually seem human without making the viewer become completely sympathetic to the character.

I liked the separate stories that were going on. I became equally invested in all of them. They were all somehow connected. The character writing was intelligent and the acting was great (most notable to me were aside from Byron Mann and Lawrence Chou were Steph Song, Simon Wong, Jean Yoon, Tzi Mah, and Christina Mah). Just when I felt their characters were established as being something, they, along with the writing, surprised me.

I won't spoil the rest of the film for those who haven't seen it yet but if it ever returns to the CBC or makes it out on DVD, I highly recommend you see it. To sum it up, it's like the Chinese version of "The Godfather" but in a contemporary Canadian setting. While these people are being portrayed as criminals, they are not one-note. They have their own lives, their own fears and inner conflicts, and we get clues as to how some of them got to be who they are.

The Chinese gang problem is complex, as are the people involved in it, I'm sure. "Dragon Boys" does a brilliant job of keeping that complexity.

I watched this four hour show when it was telecast on CBC TV earlier this week. It far exceeded my expectations. The acting was good, the action tight and fast moving. I didn't recognize the actors, so I believe that many of them were imported for this production. Steph Song was a treat for the eyes and the actress playing William Lok's wife was very convincing as the conniving and cruel massage parlor manager.

I worry a bit that the series will give Richmond, BC a bad reputation. It is in no way indicative of life in that community, located just south of Vancouver.

If it returns to TV, record it on your PVR as I did. The commercial breaks are brutal, even with a forward skip button.