Si da tian wang

DRAGON SQUAD is one of many period kung fu flicks featuring Jimmy Wang Yu that were shot in Taiwan during the 1970s. This one was directed by Wang Yu as well, and features an all-star cast of kung fu actors including Chen Sing (KUNG FU BLACKLIST) and Chang Yi (THE MING PATRIOTS). Sadly, it's not very good, providing merely fitfully adequate kung fu action for the genre fan.

The plot is some piece of fluff about a shipment of gold that gets stolen and the efforts of various parties to recover it. The one thing DRAGON SQUAD has going for it is that there's a greater attempt at characterisation than usual for this genre of film; for example, Chen Sing plays an alcoholic and Wang Yu a con man. Sadly, it doesn't translate to very much aside from stock fight scenes in a variety of locations. The one time DRAGON SQUAD does get interesting is at the climax, merely because the chicken farm backdrop is unique, but that's about all you're getting here.

It starts with a fight and Kam Kong is wounded but manages to escape with his life not once but twice. Chang Yi helps him heal up. Jimmy wins some of the stolen loot playing dice and the crooks want it back. Chan Sing is the martial arts master with emotional problems.

So there we have the four real friends who really just met circumstantially. They team up to get the bad guys first. I don't know who wrote the script but Jimmy got the best lines and the best gags especially the "eat dirt" gag. He is listed as the director. The talents of the four leads did not go to waste. There were plenty of fighting sequences. Many weapons and hundreds of chickens were also added to the big final fight.

I've been struggling with every Chinese translator on the internet to find out the word written on Luk Chuen's fan. He dramatically tears the fan in half before he fights. If I ever find out what that Chinese character is I'll get back here. (Maybe the other reviewer, Joe Dog, will check back in here and help out as he has done in the past.) Overall this is good stuff and I'm rating it 7 out of 10.