Bullet Points: The Dragon, The Hero

I went into The Dragon, The Hero with the expectation that it was another Dragon Lee film. The name DRAGON is right there in the title. Every poster I saw for the movie featured Dragon Lee. So assuming The Dragon, The Hero was another Dragon Lee movie felt like a safe assumption.

But instead of just another Dragon Lee movie (Dragon is in the film, but in a supporting role), I got my first look at Taiwanese martial artist John Liu…

• The Premise: John Liu plays Tu Wu Shen, a double agent who infiltrates a gang of antique smugglers led by Tien Hao (Chan Lau). When he is not smuggling antiques, Tien Hao hosts open challenges where anyone can show up and potentially win a whopping $20 if they can defeat a fighter of Tien Hao’s choice. Tu Wu Shen shows up one day posing as a fugitive drifter looking for a fight… but he doesn’t just want to take on one of Tien Hao’s fighters… he wants to take on three of them! Tu Wu Shen ends up defeating all three of them thanks to his amazingly educated feet (seriously if you have never seen John Liu do his thing he has some of the most impressive kicks you will ever see from any martial artists. His legs are lethal weapons) but instead of a cash prize, Tu Wu Shen wants a job. Tien Hao recognizing the superior fighting skills of Tu Wu Shen, gladly welcomes him into the fold.

• Nothing But the Dog in Him: I have seen Chan Lau before in movies like Way of the Black Dragon and Blind Fist of Bruce, but his turn as the sickly Tien Hao with the white make up on his face and sitting in a wheelchair will be the role I forever associate with him. At one point there is a flashback to Tien Hao’s younger days as he attempts to rape a woman… fortunately for the woman her dog came to her rescue chasing Tien Hao and even biting off his testicles! Tien Hao was never the same after the incident, as you could probably imagine. Tien Hao had what could be best described as an almost werewolf like reaction to the whole thing. Towards the end of the film we see Tien Hao start acting like a mad dog with a taste for man nuts. Tien Hao was easily the most bizarre character I have come across in my chopsocky experiences.

• Mind Boggling: Tien Hao’s secret weapon in the movie is Ma Ti (Phillip Ko Fei, The Hot, the Cool and the Vicious). Ma Ti has the uncanny ability to match his opponent’s fighting style as he has mastered almost all of them… including one that seems to control the elements and can really kick up some wind. Ma Ti also carries around a mini-hourglass… when I first saw the mini-hourglass I thought Ma Ti was really into Boggle… but in actuality Ma Ti uses the hourglass to play mind games, he flips it over before a fight to show his opponent how much time they have left to live! That’s a pretty awesome gimmick.

• The Hatfields and the McCoys: Tu Wu Shen has more to worry about than the bad guys he is trying to bust for smuggling antiques… he also has to contend with Tang (Tino Wong Cheung) and Tang’s buddy Ah Tien (Dragon Lee). Tu Wu Shen and Tang have a beef based on a family rivalry that started a generation ago. Tu Wu Shen reluctantly tangles with Tang… but realizes he is going to need to convince Tang to leave the past in the past and the two are going to have to join forces if they hope to defeat the highly skilled Ma Ti and the maniacal Tien Hao!

The Dragon, The Hero was my first John Liu movie, but it won’t be my last and I say that because I want to watch the man kick more people.

Dragon Lee’s involvement felt like a bonus… like the producers sort of shoehorned Dragon Lee and his character Ah Tien into The Dragon, The Hero to give their film a little more name recognition with the chopsocky crowd. Honestly as pointless as it was that Dragon Lee was in the movie, I wish more movies threw in some bonus Dragon Lee fights… the world would be a better place.

Speaking of bonuses, I won’t deprive you from these Bonus Bullet Points…

• Familiar Face: Bolo Yeung shows up for an early scene in the movie playing one of Tien Hao’s fighters. Bolo’s character has some unusual chest hair, that to me looked more like a chest mustache. Bolo had a gorilla like fighting style in the scene, which is probably why some sites credit his character’s name as King Kong.
• Favorite Quote: “With a windmill, you’ll be as pregnant as an old cow.”
• If You Ever: …wanted to see a chain smoking Kung Fu master, then this is the movie for you.
• Name That Tune: Keep your ears open and you will no doubt hear a portion of John Williams’ Star Wars score re-purposed in this film.
• If You Ever: …wanted to hear a bird call a man wearing a vest an asshole, then The Dragon, The Hero is the movie for you.
• Confident Quote: “My kung fu improves every hour.”
• Bastard Count: There were at least four “bastards” in The Dragon, The Hero.
• The Clones Cast: The Dragon, The Hero was featured in one of the early episodes of The Clones Cast hosted by Bruceploitation expert Michael Worth and the impresario of Cinema Bushido, Matthew Whittaker. I think I will go re-listen to that episode right now…