Claysaba Excellent, Without a doubt!!

ShangLuda Admirable film.

Nessieldwi Very interesting film. Was caught on the premise when seeing the trailer but unsure as to what the outcome would be for the showing. As it turns out, it was a very good film.

ActuallyGlimmer The best films of this genre always show a path and provide a takeaway for being a better person.

dafrosts This is the second movie I've seen featuring Jackie Chan and Sammo Kam-Bo Hung, I thin these two work extremely well together. You truly feel for Tat Fung, a police officer who has put his dream aside to care for his developmentally disabled brother Danny aka Dodo Fung. Danny is very naive and tends to believe things he's told, especially when it involves his friends. Danny goes through a serious of misadventures from which Tat has to save/protect him. Racking up a restaurant bill of over $100 is only the beginning. He is mistreated by a tutor (who I would have beaten to a pulp, not simply tossed out of the apartment like Tat did). He is playing cops and robbers with his pals and an actual criminal thinks he's the police. The criminal "hides" his loot and takes off. Danny and his pals hide their "treasure" in a park. This leads to Danny being the target of a gang who want back the loot and Tat's CO who wants to arrest Danny. Danny and Tat have a brotherly melt down (more on Tat's part). Danny tries to find a job to help ease Tat's burden, but is only humiliated by a shop owner in the process. When Danny is kidnapped by the gang, Tat doesn't hesitate to come to his aid. Nor, does Tat's police pals, who put their own jobs on the line to help. The fight scenes in the climax are full of acrobatics and incredible moves. I would expect nothing less from this troupe. Tat has to go to jail for a while for kidnapping a witness and using him as bait to save Danny. It is never explained how long tat is in jail. However, while he's away, his buddies and girlfriend step up and watch over Danny. Proving how much Danny and Tat are loved by those around him. I give this movie a 9 because it touched my heart the way Tat struggled to care for Danny, who just wanted to be normal like his brother.

Leofwine_draca In a departure from Jackie Chan's formulaic action-thrillers of the 1980s, HEART OF THE DRAGON sees Chan and close friend Sammo Hung bonding together as brothers in a tear-jerking family drama filled with emotional conflict, strong acting, and characters that tend to grip you more than usual. In fact this is more of a Sammo Hung film, with Jackie playing a secondary character, and the crime aspects of the story - involving a gang of criminals chasing after their stash of stolen jewels - only appear later on. Sammo Hung is in his element with both direction and starring in the tale as a mentally retarded man of thirty, who has the mental powers of a young child and would rather play with his toys than get a real job. Much of the film follows Hung's various misadventures as he finds himself used, abused and misunderstood by a variety of restaurant owners, prospective employers, and criminal friends, and be warned that quite often tears are flowing freely in this film; there is little comedy but instead lots of sentimentality and drama, all put across pretty well.Chan is also forced to raise his ante to match Hung's acting, and puts in a nice turn as the protective brother who struggles to keep his sibling under control, whilst also juggling important police cases and a doting girlfriend. The action sequences, when they do appear, are as well choreographed as always and include a few martial arts fights and a good car chase. The big action set-piece occurs at the finale, in which Chan and his buddies infiltrate an abandoned warehouse to save his brother, who has been kidnapped by murderous criminals. The ensuing martial arts action (more violent than usual) is fast, frenetic and a real treat for the action fan, a nice payoff for all of the slow-burning scenes we sat through earlier. Things culminate with an explosive and imaginative stunt involving a dozen stuntmen, which I have never seen done on screen before. Although action fans may find this hard going due to the lack of kung fu fighting on display, the depth of characterisation and themes of brotherly love and loyalty make this a bit of a treat for serious Chan fans; definitely worth checking out in any case. Oh, and as is usually the case with a Sammo Hung film of the 1980s, the cast is absolutely studded with famous faces: Phillip Ko, Yuen Wah, Lam Ching-Ying, Hoi Meng, James Tien, Fat Chung, and dozens of others continually appear.

ballisticwesker-263-233757 If you think that Jackie Chan can't act then go watch this movie. Why? Because he actually acted quite well in this movie along with Sammo Hung who got out of his usual ways and acted a retard.If you're used to Rush Hour or Shanghai Noon then you might be surprised that Jackie can actually act a complex character (unlike the stereo-types he did in Hollywood). Not many actors can cry (or at least drop a tear) in front of a camera and Jackie actually did it.Sammo Hung plays quite well as Jackie's retarded brother and it must have been hard to act a retard (not to mention he dropped some tears too). We mostly get to see the two doing some action movies where the plot(s) have to get in line for the action, so it was good to see them do a movie where the plot comes in first row.Yes I said it, unlike most of the movies they did together this one relies more on acting and plot and all the action is just a plus. I got quite touched with the way they both acted and the plot and the story was quite good too, very touching. There were times where I cried watching this one and I never expected to cry in a Jackie and Sammo movie so yes it is a good movie with good acting.But although I gotta say it is not his best movie either. 8/10

Bloodwank Hong Kong action cinema has long been in the habit of strange mixtures of action, humour and sentiment, but Heart of the Dragon may be one of the loopiest of all. It works on admirable lines, a look at sibling love and sacrifice as well as the mistreatment of the mentally handicapped, but turns into an action film in the end for some quality action and fighting. It seems to have captured some hearts and tends to be well rated but sadly I wasn't won over, though I was never bored, instead spending most of my viewing in a state of mildly amused confusion until the kick ass final block. Jackie Chan plays a cop and devoted brother to the mentally handicapped Sammo Hung, whose play time with neighbouring kids leads him to japes of escalating seriousness until he finds himself in serious danger. The problem for me is that the whole thing seemed written with less rational thought and more manipulation. The audience is asked to buy that Chan's character is devoted, yet he works as a cop (not a job that is especially safe) and although there are clear means for him to put his brother in the care of others when it appears he is getting into trouble he neither does this, nor does he take action to stop his brother being able to hang out with the kids that get him into scrapes. Then there's the fact that no adults around seem to recognise Hung's character for mentally handicapped, nor question the fact that he hangs out with children much of the time. The general meanness on display is questionable as well, though I guess that goes towards making the films point. Its all supposed to be rather touching, but it never quite works emotionally, both leads are quality actors in later films but here the big emotional scenes don't pack much of a punch, coming across rather as sentimentally overblown. On the other hand the sheer wrong-headed sincerity makes for some entertainment in the sense of watching it deadpan, awaiting the whole spiral of melodrama. I wouldn't describe it as good, but its bizarrely compelling stuff and holds the fort reasonably until the actual plot gets into gear. Then there's fun car action and a sweet warehouse group attack scene, unexpectedly violent with some fine choreography and great showing from notable baddie Dick Wei. Things round out with more sentimental oddity and either not a dry eye in the house or a swell of bemused gapes (I know which one I was). All in all I can't recommend this to anyone other than Jackie Chan completists but for those who simply have to see it the ending at least rocks and unusual notability is rampant. 5/10