Dragon (Wu xia)

(2011)
Im no expert on Chinese/Hong Kong cinema; I like to think Ive seen more than the average American, and I recognize a handful of actors. Primarily I was drawn to this because Takeshi Kaneshiro was in it, and Ive never seen him be anything but great. Didnt hurt that Donnie Yen also starred. Dragon is like getting two films in one, and those two films are Sherlock Holmes (the Guy Ritchie version) and A History of Violence. The first half of the film largely follows Xu Bai-Jiu (Kaneshiro), a detective who is called in to investigate a death in a remote village in China in the early 20th century. Accused of murder is Liu Jin-Xi (Yen), who pleads self-defense. Rather than having Liu tell the detective his side of the story, we see what happened up front; but when Xu investigates, we see the same scenes shot very differently, with different causes for the outcome. Its an interesting and engaging trick, and Xus relentless pursuit of the truth almost calls to mind Inspector Javert, but when he does uncover a secret, it changes the entire direction of the film. The second half of the movie covers Lius real identity, and those who wish him to reclaim it. While the first half of the film is a procedural, and a battle of wits, the second is predominantly just a big ol battle, with Liu taking on increasing numbers of those who would do him harm. As Yen was the action director for the film, the fight scenes are really superb, just top notch, and a joy to watch. But the mixed approaches to the film brain first half, brawn second half dont quite gel, and Xu vanishes for long stretches of the narrative in the second and third act, only to pop up and become incredibly vital to the ending. Both Yen and Kaneshiro are a pleasure to watch, although neither really strays much from his comfort zone. Weve seen Kaneshiro be the clever investigator before (House of Flying Daggers, Red Cliff) and Yen pretty much always plays a fairly noble hero. That being said, theyre both excellent here, and play well off one another. Even though theyre at loggerheads with one another through most of the film, you find yourself rooting for both of them. Unfortunately, if you have seen A History of Violence, youll know where this is going, although taking in all the cool fight scenes is still worth it. Dragon has a great deal of potential, and occasionally realizes it, but its swiping from other films, no matter how cleverly, keep it from being a really great film. Its still a good one, though, and worth watching for two of the best actors working in Hong Kong/Chinese cinema today. June 16, 2013