An evil prince wishes to kill the prime minister. He has a team of ?fire? trained guards. One of them, the Fire Dragon, has been sent to destroy evidence of the princes? plans. The man with the plans hands it off to an official. The official escapes with the evidence but is badly wounded by the Fire Dragon.
During his recovery in a small village, a local woman steals the evidence and emblem that is proof of who he is. The official must perform acts for the woman in order to earn his own possessions back. The Fire Dragon pretends to be an injured peasant and stays in the town with the official and crazy lady who stole the important documents. ?Such a pretty woman...? Yuen Wo Ping, director of Tai Chi Master, Iron Monkey, Fist of the Red Dragon, Drunken Tai Chi, Dreadnaught, Buddhist Fist, Magnificent Butcher, and Drunken Master, directs Fire Dragon. Fire Dragon is far from one of Ping?s better films, but I still enjoyed it. This film has very interesting and has an entertaining story. The fight scenes are marvelous, as you would expect, and I loved the infusion of fire into the action scenes. Bridgette Linn was also magnificent. I loved her in the Bride with White hair films, and she was solid in Swordsman 2 as well (which is an overrated film). Nevertheless, this film was cast well. ?You are the dog of his highness.? The arsenal of weapons possessed by the mistress of the prince, Snow, was amazing, especially the eagles claw. Her initial fight scene along with the assassination attempt were both solid. The opening fight sequence, which introduced the Fire Dragon, was marvelous. Watching Bridgette Linn, play a helpless/defenseless commoner was funny. The drum sequence was a beautiful display of their culture. I loved the final fight sequence except for the flaming vases. What were they fighting around?rocket fuel? ?You bastard, you are not allowed to betray our country. Everyone is responsible to terminate you.??What? I am the law. You have to go to hell now.? Overall, this film is just above average, about the same as Dragon Inn and better then Swordsman 2 and Butterfly and Sword. I can only think of those three films to compare. The film is watchable if you enjoy this genre. This is a film to enjoy the transition of Kung Fu cinema. In the seventies you could enjoy the 5 Deadly Venoms, then early eighties Gordon Liu, Jackie Chan, and Sammu Hung. Fire Dragon, Dragon Inn, Swordsman 2, Once Upon a Time in China, Iron Monkey, and Drunken Master 2 were in the 90?s, and now you have Hero and Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon. ?How dare you beat me? Stop!? Grade: B-
December 4, 2005
