Director: Daniel Lee

Starring: Shawn Yue, Eva Huang, Xia Yu, Lawrence Chou, Michael Biehn, Sammo Hung,

Featuring: Maggie Q, Simon Yam, Vanness Wu

You could be forgiven for thinking that this review of DRAGON SQUAD (aka: DRAGON HEAT - don’t be fooled by the name change) could be wrong. After all, a film that boasts Sammo Hung, Simon Yam, Shawn Yue, Michael Biehn and Maggie Q couldn’t be entirely bad, could it? Yes, it could…

DRAGON SQUAD takes a half decent cast, a pretty poor story, the lazy shaky camera style which is really popular right now in Hollywood (in films such as the BOURNE series), some fast editing and some bad jokes, then shakes them all up in the hope that something half decent will emerge. It doesn’t. With a plot that the filmmakers seem to think is way too simple to dwell on at any point in the film to the point of actually being confusing, even though it’s basic stuff DRAGON HEAT instead fills much of its running time with action scenes. Except you can’t see them very well. And when you can they’re lousy with the exception of an almost half decent gunfight midway through the film. Almost unbelievably the choreographer for DRAGON HEAT is none other than the fantastic Chin Kar-lok it’s safe to say that he must’ve been having a few ‘off’ days. If super-fast editing and basic fight choreography gets you excited, then DRAGON SQUAD will be your cup of tea. For the rest of us it’s a severe test of our patience.

For one of those films that sets itself up as a tale of unconventional teamwork, DRAGON HEAT’s young ‘Squad’ struggle to define themselves very well either as individuals or as a team. When an early scene involves the team seriously ‘bonding’ at a kids shooting stall you know you’re in trouble. This isn’t even really played for laughs by director Daniel Lee as instead he seems to opt for and is successful at reaching a level of embarrassing cringe-worthyness. When criticisms directed at many of Hong Kongs new, young action stars are concerned with the lack of physical ability they have for action scenes, it’s a shame that DRAGON HEAT serves to confirm these worries. It’s all a bit unconvincing. DRAGON SQUAD aims for some flash and style in the editing room but the young actors don’t show much flash and style themselves on screen. Shawn Yue, Eva Huang, Xia Yu and Lawrence Chou all fail to create any impression at all. Actually, Lawrence Chou DOES have some facial hair throughout that’s as good as it gets.

Sammo Hung is, quite simply, a legend of Hong Kong cinema. Why he has to involve himself in films like DRAGON SQUAD therefore is anyone’s guess. He’s the only actor capable of creating something half decent out of this lightweight material (Simon Yam doesn’t get enough screen time and looks like he’s sleepwalking through his part anyway) and the rest of the cast suffer through simply not being able to do much with their material. Michael Biehn can give a steely, cold-eyed look as good as anyone - and he’s solid enough to be convincing during some action - but even he struggles to convince as the bad-guy with a heart and looks uncomfortable during his unlikely ‘relationship’ moments. Maggie Q makes a brief appearances as a mute sniper (complete with flashback as Joyce Godenzi-style pig-tailed Cambodian Guerilla) although she doesn’t really have much else to do except look good and run around a bit with her rifle. Pointless.

To make a couple of points in its favour, DRAGON SQUAD does manage to look very slick (before that camera starts shaking and the editor goes a little too crazy) and the casting is a fair attempt to make an internationally appealing product. Sadly that’s about the long and short of it those picking up the film because of its recognisable cast will almost certainly be disappointed in what it has to offer.

Brainless and quite often entirely nonsensical, DRAGON SQUAD has little to offer even with its big name cast and numerous action scenes. Many Hong Kong films have proved that with a bit of skill even the most tired plots and scripts can be livened up in the most surprising of ways, either through their cast, direction or action. DRAGON SQUAD’s only surprise is that it fails to use the talent involved to create anything worthwhile. If you must watch it then set your expectations low, don’t expect anything and then you might even enjoy the odd moment. Otherwise, do something more enjoyable like watch almost any other film that the members of DRAGON SQUAD’s cast have made.

Film Review By: William Suthers

You can buy this DVD at: www.hongkong-store.com