Three successful Hong Kong lawyers are hired by a chemical company of questionable ethics and must eventually make a difficult decision when their employer's motives become clear. Jackie Chan stars as a hot-shot lawyer hired by a Hong Kong chemical plant to dispose of opposition to their polluting ways. But when he falls for a beautiful woman out to stop the plant, Jackie is torn in a conflict of interest and asks his trusty friends Samo and Biao to help out at least until they discover the true purpose of the plant. In Dragons Forever, Jackie Chan plays a rather scuzzy lawyer who teams up with two friends to help mobsters destroy some lady's pond. No, he doesn't know they are mobsters, but he also doesn't care, and overall I found Jackie's character less likable than usual.<br/><br/>The story is mildly amusing at first, but it gets progressively more tedious. By the halfway point, at which the romance elements came to the fore, I found it pretty intolerable and starting skipping forward to get to the action.<br/><br/>Of course, the action is always the main reason to watch Jackie, and there's some good stuff here, most notably when he and his friends all fight one another simultaneously. <br/><br/>But while there are some of Jackie's usual slapstick stunts and prop comedy, there is less than in my favorite Chan films. The final scene is a long, pretty straightforward martial arts fight that is fine for that but isn't the sort of Keaton-esque action I watch Jackie for. <br/><br/>Very dumb, not very funny, some decent action but even there disappointing for a Chan film. Dragons Forever may be one of Jackie Chan's best and certainly one of his most satisfying films. It contains some of the best fight action of his career,and an equal amount of humour,but also has a reasonable plot,some character development and a welcome dose of romance,something which is usually sidelined in Chan films. In fact,this is one Chan movie which might be enjoyed just as much by the gals as well as the guys.<br/><br/>This was the last film featuring the great trio of Chan,Samo Hung and Yuen Biao,and it sees them experimenting a bit by playing against type. Chan is really good as a shady,skirt chasing lawyer,and Biao is very funny as a mentally unstable thief {some versions of the film remove two of his scenes,so beware},but Hung,who was easily the best actor of the three,gives the stand out performance as Chan's devious gun running buddy. A great deal of time is given to Hung's and Chan's romances,and there is one really touching if over the top scene involving Hung with a megaphone trying to get his potential girl to trust him in front of loads of people.<br/><br/>Some of the film's slapstick perhaps goes on a bit,but there are some terrific scenes where the three heroes keep comedic-ally fighting each other,sometimes all at one time. Don't worry action fans,amidst all this romance and slapstick is some superb fighting. The fights are not that many in number and some are quite brief,but Chan looks near his best and Hung and Baio also shine. Chan's running battle with a gang of heavies on a ship and his duel with Benny Urquidez {a thrilling battle and not at all like the Chan/Urquidez match in Wheels On Meals} are amongst his best fights ever. Just try and keep a a note of all the stunt men who do extremely dangerous falls during the climax! As often with a Hung-directed film,the violence is a bit stronger than the usual Chan film.<br/><br/>As usual there is the odd scene which doesn't work,such as when Hung apologizes to his girlfriend and she……smashes him in the face with an iron bar!-after which they make up! The film was rushed and sometimes looks a little rough around the edges. Nevertheless,this is a truly enjoyable all round movie which should satisfy even if you're not really into martial arts movies!
Shasam replied
344 weeks ago