Solemplex To me, this movie is perfection.

Afouotos Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

TrueHello Fun premise, good actors, bad writing. This film seemed to have potential at the beginning but it quickly devolves into a trite action film. Ultimately it's very boring.

Dana An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

Leofwine_draca There is little in this low-budget Chinese kung fu drama that we haven't seen before, aside from a few nifty weapons. It's a predictable story of one man versus an empire, the bad guys this time around being the big, greasy bearded Mongols whose dominance spells trouble for good-guy fighter White Dragon. Eventually Dragon ends up taking on an entire Mongol army alone, but not before he has mildly romanced an attractive barmaid, made friends with a not-too-annoying young Chinese kid, and chopped off a guy's finger! The film is pretty bloody for a kung fu movie. I'm not talking Chang Cheh kinda bloody, as in a bloodbath or slaughterhouse film (see CRIPPLED AVENGERS or SUPER NINJAS) but the blood does flow fairly steadily.Bolstering the film is one-time action legend Jimmy Wang Yu (THE ONE-ARMED BOXER), a film star whose career was already on the wane in the late '70s after his box-office gold of a decade previously. Wang Yu would slug on in a plethora of low-budget, sometimes interesting movies in the '80s and '90s (FANTASY MISSION FORCE being a good sample of his later work) but he would never reach the early heights of his career, which saw him equal popularity with Bruce Lee. Here, he doesn't have a lot to do as the noble, heroic White Dragon, other than swing his spear around and jump into the air a lot. Still, Wang Yu is cool in my book, his acting a little better than most of his contemporaries, so kudos to him for his appearance here.Unfortunately, the American distributor saw fit to tinker with this movie for its US release. Thus we get dubbed in American voices (rather than the usual English dubbing); a hilarious US cast list showing up at the end (the names are either made up or those of the dubbers) and worst of all, cheesy rock music inserted over the soundtrack. Speaking of sounds, the sound effects in this movie are hilariously over the top, whether it be a spear swinging, a ball-and-chain spinning or a horse clip-clopping down a road (they do that a lot in this film). It's pretty funny to watch and listen to. Although far from a classic, BLOOD OF THE DRAGON has plenty of goofy flying, clichéd dialogue, and silly action to recommend it, cheesy effects and a high body count. Kung fu fans might enjoy it, providing they find a good copy (Brentwood DVD's is typically poor).

poe426 Certainly vastly superior to the over-hyped MASTER OF THE FLYING GUILLOTINE (which has its moments, to be sure, but which also boasts as many negatives as positives), BLOOD OF THE DRAGON is Wang Yu at his heroic best. He was never nobler than he is here, and the storyline is reasonably coherent (not always the case with Old School kung fu movies). The only real problem I have with this one: I've seen it three times, now (once during its initial theatrical run and twice on DVD), and there's an abrupt jump-cut during the final showdown that's still jarring, after all these years. One would think that some enterprising distributor could find a decent print of this one after all these years... (And, no sooner do I lodge the complaint than I come across a print that features the missing action: it shows Wang Yu's opponent, impaled on the tip of the steel spear that he carries, being waved about like a banner before being discarded. It was worth the wait.)

InjunNose I've seen many of Wang Yu's films, and I think that "Blood of the Dragon" (aka "The Desperate Chase") just might be his finest moment. It's certainly one of the only independent films he made that can hold its own against Chang Cheh-directed epics like "The Magnificent Trio" and "The Assassin" in terms of excitement and tragic scope. The fights (very little empty-hand action, but plenty of spears, swords and more exotic weapons) are well-choreographed, the tone of the movie is appropriately grim, and Wang's character Lung Tai is a hero you actually care about and root for. The dubbing is slightly better than what I've heard in most Hong Kong and Taiwanese martial arts flicks, and the hard-rocking American soundtrack--recorded by Flood--enhances the action. "One man, one weapon, one hell of a movie"...that's what "Blood of the Dragon" promises, and it delivers! (Especially in the no-holds-barred climax.)

Son_of_Mansfield Ah-ha, foreshadowing! A strong lead, elaborate fight scenes, semi-bad dubbing, silly facial hair, and a weak musical score add up to Blood of the Dragon. I had never heard of Jimmy Wang Yu until I saw Screaming Ninja and this. He definitely deserves his status as a name in the martial arts genre. He is quite impressive both physically and in his acting. White Dragon(Yu) faces Red Wolf, Golden something, wussy prime minister, and Kang Fu(Fei Lung - Evil Betty). Of course, they are no match for the defender of the rebellion. Fun as only a seventies martial arts movie can be. The twenty minute final battle could have inspired a scene in Kill Bill. A different soundtrack and some less silly supporting vocal talent would elevate this a lot.