Dragons Forever - Extended cut on blu raySo here's another movie with Chan, Sammo, and Yuen. It's always interesting seeing the different types of roles Jackie has in these various movies. The last one I watched gave me Tony Hawk Jackie Chan. This one gives me Matt Murdock with Jackie doing double duty as a fighter and lawyer. Some of the courtroom scenes are kind of ridiculous with courtroom logic that really made no sense, but you're not supposed to take stuff like this too seriously in these movies.
I saw some familiar actors from Righting Wrongs/Above the Law in this movie playing very similar roles so I got a sense of continuity from the last movie I watched to this one. There is also an actor in a similar role to one he had in Meels on Wheals with one fight feeling like a repeat encounter from that movie. Yuen Biao is interesting in this one, playing kind of a crazy character with mental issues, definitely the most interesting character of the Chan/Sammo/Yuen trio in this one. Sammo again comes across as something of a bumbling idiot in this movie but with redemptive moments and that sweet, sincerity that he seems to play so well in these movies. Honestly, as I watch more of these movies with him in them I think he comes across as even more lovable onscreen than even Jackie. I also want to say that I enjoyed Pauline Yeung. She has some nice scenes in this including this one:
Spoiler
This isn't as stunt heavy as some movies I've seen with Jackie Chan, but the fight scenes are still on point and impressive, especially with Chan, Sammo, and Yuen all getting in on the action, much like Meals on Wheels. The final battles of the movie are pretty badass. I'm starting to become especially impressed with Yuen Biao. He legitimately fights like a fucking badass in his movies and he's so damn fast and agile.
This movie has some romantic comedy elements to it, actually a LOT of romcom stuff. Initially, I was rolling my eyes a bit as they come off as sappy and kind of cliche. Plus, movies like this don't generally depict romantic courtships in a way that even remotely reflects real life. As the story went on though, the movie did eventually manage to make me feel invested in its romantic elements right near the end of the film, so kudos to it for that. Also, and this is something of a small spoiler for both this movie and some previous ones with Jackie Chan that I covered in this thread:
Spoilers
There's not much more for me to say. It's a pretty straight forward movie with a good cast (some now being familiar to me), good performances, more great chemistry between the martial arts trio of Jackie and his pals, great action, and a properly detestable villain (though he actually has some cool moments). If there is anything that might turn people off it's that there's not a ton of crazy stunts from Jackie in this one (at least not when compared to some of his other movies) and your mileage may vary with all of the romantic comedy elements. The courtroom scenes are a bit silly too but ultimately I enjoyed this. The romantic story lines eventually did win me over, there were some genuinely funny moments (nowhere near the hilarity of Armour of God 2 though), and the fights were great. This one's pretty solid in my book. On a final note, this part right here is one of the funniest bits in the whole movie
Spoiler