First Mission

This is one of Jackie Chan's most serious movies and one of his best. Jackie Chan plays a Hong Kong cop who gives up his dream of sailing around the world to take care of his mentally retarted brother (played by Samo Hung who won an award for this role.) Samo is kidnapped after accidentally getting mixed up in a gang war and of course Jackie has to save him. Less action then the usual Jackie Chan movie but the action that is there is quite good. Be warned there are some real tear-jerker scenes in this movie. Jackie Chan fans this is a must see. The only disappointment is you never get to see Samo Hung display his martial arts talent.

Well i must say this was one film i will never forget.just saw it the other day again and i must say "Brilliant".How it shows you how to love a family member and always stick up for them.Of course the film is funny but also sad the way they always pick on Sammo. I would still say this is one of the best movies of all times. Well i can say that.I have got nearly all of Jackie's films and can say this is in the top 5 So that was my comment hope other people think the same as me so farewell.

UK

If you think that Jackie Chan can't act then go watch this movie. Why? Because he actually acted quite well in this movie along with Sammo Hung who got out of his usual ways and acted a retard.

If you're used to Rush Hour or Shanghai Noon then you might be surprised that Jackie can actually act a complex character (unlike the stereo-types he did in Hollywood). Not many actors can cry (or at least drop a tear) in front of a camera and Jackie actually did it.

Sammo Hung plays quite well as Jackie's retarded brother and it must have been hard to act a retard (not to mention he dropped some tears too). We mostly get to see the two doing some action movies where the plot(s) have to get in line for the action, so it was good to see them do a movie where the plot comes in first row.

Yes I said it, unlike most of the movies they did together this one relies more on acting and plot and all the action is just a plus. I got quite touched with the way they both acted and the plot and the story was quite good too, very touching. There were times where I cried watching this one and I never expected to cry in a Jackie and Sammo movie so yes it is a good movie with good acting.

But although I gotta say it is not his best movie either. 8/10

After several "Lucky Stars" films, Sammo Hung wanted to direct Jackie Chan in a serious movie. Jackie believed (rightly so) that the Hong Kong audience would have trouble accepting him in a non-action role. Sammo was insistent and Jackie acquiesced. With a screenplay coauthored by Barry Wong and Sammo Hung they ventured forth to create Heart of Dragon (aka First Mission). This film would be a box office disappointment though he soon would create one of his best films – Police Story.

Jackie stars as a CID officer (formally from SWAT) who takes care of his mentally-challenged 29 year old brother Danny. Danny is an affable and naive grown-up who is known as Do Do by his child friends. He is so credulous that even his kid companions use him for nefarious reasons such as getting into a restaurant or passing off as a parent. He is a constant drain on his brother Jackie who always has to take care of him. Jackie is also split between wanting to make his girlfriend Jenny (Emily Chu who was also in the first two A Better Tomorrow films) happy and his dream of becoming a merchant marine. Danny is wonderfully played by Hung who is not afraid to sacrifice his dignity and his body for this role such as the scene when Danny is looking for a job to be more self supporting is taken advantage of by a restaurant owner (Wu Ma who also helped produce this film) who persuades him to act like a bull, a dog and a snake. Chan's acting is good with occasional forays into the melodramatic.

Heart of Dragon is an enjoyable but fragmented and uneven film. It attempts to be a drama, but after half the picture is over it wants to be action movie. I feel that they did not believe they could create a full serious picture. The switch in tone of the film is distracting and hurts the overall feel of the picture. Yet the ending choreographed by Yuen Biao, though somewhat stereotypical of action film endings, has one of the most exciting sequences Jackie and Sammo has ever done. So my feelings are mixed by this change. Golden Harvest also felt that the audience would not believe a Sammo and Jackie film could sustain a dramatic pace and ordered two additional fighting scenes for the Japanese market. These scenes can be found as deleted scenes on the Fortune Star release.

You could review this film as two separate films. The drama was good except for periodical bouts of overacting and melodramatic scenes (though Sammo's character seems quite believable.) The action part of the film was also good (not counting the opening scene which was totally unbelievable with Mr. Eyebrows – one of my favorite actors Lam Ching Ying) but catered to stereotypical scripting. For example Do Do plays cops and robbers with his kid friends and accidentally scares a gangster into giving up a bag of jewelry that belongs to local Triad member the cigar chomping Mr Kin (James Tien.) Mr Kin then, eventually, kidnaps Do Do to get the eventual climax between CID and Mr Kin and his men.

As a complete concept, the film does not work as well as the sum of the parts. The film also has the problem of transitioning from action to drama to action then back to drama again. Then there is the problem with the horrible "electronic" music playing in the background. But many of the parts are quite excellent. People who are expecting a "Jackie Chan" film will be disappointed with the exception of the deleted scenes and the excellent ending. I was disappointed because I saw that they could have made a more compelling drama or at least a more fluid piece. However, there is much to enjoy with the film, as if I had not said it enough, especially the ending.. Notes: other character actors in the film are Fung Hark On (portraying another slimy character), Yuen Wah and Corey Yuen (both who grew up with Jackie Chan, Sammo and Yuen Biao as part of the Seven Little Fortunes.)

Heart Of The Dragon can be described as Rain Man with martial arts, which is not a bad description, although this was actually made several years before. Made around the time Jackie Chan was churning out loads of great films, such as Police Story, Project A, Wheels On Meals and Dragons Forever, as well as poorer but hugely successful efforts like the 'Lucky Stars' films, this movie has somewhat been ignored, which is a shame, as it's a brave attempt at something a little different.

For the first 50 mins or so, this is mostly a drama, but both Jackie Chan, playing a character who is initially none too sympathetic, and Samo Hung, as his mentally challenged brother, give amazingly strong performances. There are laughs [such as when Chan is walking around holding his brother's hand saying to people "he's my brother" in case they might think they are gay],but there is also a great deal of sensitivity and honesty, climaxing in a powerful scene where Jackie almost breaks down in sheer fustration in front of Samo.

After this the film suddenly becomes an action movie, but the transition is not badly done, and, as if to reward patient action fans, the film climaxes with what is quite simply one of the best staged fight sequences EVER, a small masterpiece of choreography, editing and lighting. Jackie is as vicious as Bruce Lee ever was here, he's never been meaner.

There are two extra fight scenes which exist, but in most places they were removed from the film to emphasise the drama. Indeed the other elements of the film are so good that it can exist perfectly well without them. Of course there are a few silly touches, including TWO montages with the sentimental theme song, and Dick Wie's eyebrows! Generally a fine film, though.