Revenge of the Green Dragons

2014 "The American Dream Isn't Free"
5.3| 1h35m| R| en
Details

A true immigrant story set against the vibrant backdrop of Flushing, N.Y. in the 1980s and 1990s.

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Reviews

UnowPriceless hyped garbage
Fairaher The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.
Hadrina The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful
Isbel A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.
davyu-73849 I had had a hopeful expectation about this movie since its cast are all Asian-Americans, I had really wanted this movie to succeed so that Asian-Americans actors and actresses could get more spotlight in the mainstream American media. Unfortunately, I was utterly disappointed, to the point that I had thought about turning it off. Clearly, it was like a B-rated movie or a budget movie. I don't want to spoil the plot for you and I just wish that directors and casts had done more and put in more investments and efforts into this movie.
Seth_Rogue_One A very brutal gangster gangster epic about an Asian gang in New York in the 80's and early 90's.Although the gangs are supposed to be immigrants they all speak perfect English which I guess was mostly to do with it being more easily to comprehend and more easily accessible for an English speaking audience who otherwise wouldn't watch Asian cinema.So it's a non-issue really that one can look aside.The acting is fine, as is the cinematography and editing etc. As I was watching it I found myself wondering why the rating was so low because I felt like it was a well-made movie on all levels.But then of course in the end they had to throw one final twist into the mix that didn't make any sense with the movie we just witnessed.Really irks me when they do this in films, if you're gonna add a twist you need to make sure that everything we witnessed checks out and that character personalities aren't completely bypassed just for the sake of throwing in that twist.Which is the exact thing they did not do here, won't get into details but when you see it you will know what I mean.Would have gotten a 7 but because of that I have to pull it down a notch to a 6.
davideo-2 STAR RATING: ***** Saturday Night **** Friday Night *** Friday morning ** Sunday Night * Monday Morning In the early 80s, a swathe of Chinese immigrants arrived on Ellis Island, eager for a new life. Seeing no other way to pursue their slice of 'the American dream', and gain the status and respect they crave, brothers Sonny (Justin Chan) and Steven (Kevin Wu) become part of the titular 'Green Dragons' street gang, who are locked in a turf war with other similarly named Oriental gang members in their area. Detective Michael Bloom (Ray Liotta) follows a lead, tying them to narcotics activities and becomes determined to bring them down. But when one of their members behaviour crosses a line, it plunges the whole group into a deadly spiral of destruction.Adapting a true story, and seeing it's potential for an electrifying action flick, after exhuming some brief history that serves as the backdrop, this biopic of the Green Dragons quickly shifts gear into a high energy, full on action flick, with an Oriental flavour and some brutal, unflinching violence and set pieces. The big draw, though, is Martin Scorsese as executive producer, and after a while it seems he's trying to forge a Goodfellas lite kind of thing, charting how the two central characters became involved in the gang and how their rivalries with each other formed. It's even more down this ark with Ray Liotta as the main star, but even in the lead, this seems like another of his recent 'barely there' parts, with minimal screen time compared to the central protagonists.It's relentlessly flashy, and brutally head on, but it's all completely lacking in coherence, and as a result all seems like a bit of something over nothing, a little too sure of itself without much in the way of genuine substance to keep it going. It makes the mistake of being impetuous when it should have been considered. **
pelican_man This has to be hands down one of the most awful movies which I have seen - sitting down in anticipation of a movie in the mould of a Scorcese or Infernal Affairs has left me bitter bitterly disappointed, the storyline is embellished with fabrications and half-lies of events occurring throughout that age as to taint the history of the time. many of the plot lines and screenplay is either blatantly false or laughably implausible as to push the envelope of truth as far as possible - do not watch this as it will also leave you feeling as hollow as the acting. do NOT bother with this movie

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