Dragon (Jackie) and Mars, long time friend and stuntman, are buddies who like the same girl. However they both push love aside to save some of China's precious treasures the bad guys are sending out of the country. Dragon is innocently trying to retrieve a kite he sent with a love note attached. As he is on the roof getting his kite he overhears the villains making their plans to ship the valuable items out of country for sale. Dragon and Mars can't allow their country's valuables be sold! That leads them in the end having to deal with the gang leader, none other than Whang In-sik, the Korean Hapkido master. Whang In-sik, who also had an end fight with Jackie in Young Master, battles with Dragon and some with Mars in this movie. The production values are nearly nonexistent, but though the fights on the surface are not as intense as Young Master they are still very good. Not many props just hard hitting from Whang In - sik and Jackie's manic determination to beat the gang leader and save the royal treasures.

There are two unique things about Dragon Lord. One particular scene is listed in the Guinness Book Of World Records for the most takes - allegedly nearly 3000!! Also this is the first movie Jackie had real outtakes. Jackie proves once again that movies don't have to cost millions of dollars to be entertaining. You have to let go of the "Hollywood" expectations and enjoy it for the movie it is.

(I always thought this movie was what inspired Drunken Master 2!)

A few of my favorites: Intro/Race to the Top: Four teams are climbing a flimsy wooden tower to retreive a rugby ball they call the "bun". When Jackie is almost to the top someone pulls on his jersey and he loses his grip. If you look closely you'll see that he tumbles all the way to the ground! Rooftop Kite Sequence: Jackie is on top of the bad guys hideout trying to get his kite back (unlikely, but hey it's a movie) when they start shoving REAL spears through the roof to try and stab him. You know that they coreographed this sequence, but many of those spears are less than half-a-second away from stabbing him when they go through the roof. This is the kind of buster keatonesque madness that makes Jackie great.

Shuttlecock kick: In the hacky sack match Jackie shoots halfway across the court to make the winning kick. This may not seem like much, but it's harder than it looks. It took 1000 takes to get this one right, but it has paid off. In many of his later movies you can see him kick something at someone with pinpoint accuracy. This is a direct result of practicing this kick. Fight in the temple: Jackie fights two thugs in a temple. His character in this film is not the greatest fighter, and he does take a few hits. But check out the scene where he does a standing jump over a candle rack. He clears it by so little that he actually puts the candles out! Try that one Van Damme! Fight in the barn: I love it when Jackie clobbers that guy in the end. "Do you think he is dead?" "If he's not we are in real trouble!" There's a point though when Jackie goes over the railing, flips on a cross bar, and lands on- Cowboy. That's right, Mars is there to break Jackie's fall, and both hurt their backs. Ow!

If I were going to introduce someone to JC films and I could show them any three of his movies I would probably show this one, along with Police Force and First Strike. These are all good overall films which showcase his abilities in a different way.

The actual plot, such as it is, seems to be exactly the same as that of Drunken Master II. Bad people are trying to steal Chinas treasures, and Jackie somehow gets mixed up in it and then kicks everyone's ass, while working on his relationship with his father, friends, and chick. The ax scene in DM2 is replaced with a spears poking through the roof scene, the ginseng replacement with a memory recitation -- the only missing factor is Anita Mui's character, who really doesn't have a parallel here. This is not to say that this film isn't worth watching, for all the scenes are quite different, and nearly as brilliant, but realizing this will allow you to follow the plot through the missing or cutoff subtitles. Indeed, I hope Tai Seng remasters this one soon, because at least one stunt took place off the side of the screen, and we watch an empty rooftop. Those two games are what really made the movie for me, though. One, a sort of brawl over a football, with elaborate flips to pass and tackle, and the other, badminton played with soccer rules, but the birdie can't touch the ground, are as spectacular as anything Chan's ever done.

As for the plot, it's best left unmentioned. All in all, it's infinitely better than anything by Lo Wei, but nowhere near the league of what he would accomplish in just a year, with Project A. After reading his book, I know where his head was, so all I can say is I'm glad that he realized he was out of control and got centered again, with the help of his Opera School brothers.

Mars: Hey guys, have come up with a game plan yet?
Jackie: We will make up the plan on the way!

This is ironic because it seems that Jackie followed his own advice in putting together this very enjoyable kung fu comedy. More comedy than kung fu, the story is like Starbucks; it's all over the place. You get the impression that he invited a hundred pals together AND THEN decided what to do. Even without much logical flow, Jackie's natural charisma and athleticism, as usual, persuades the audience to follow him anywhere.

This is also a rare Jackie role where the kung fu isn't central to the story. While he is a martial arts student, he spends most of the time trying to avoid his studies and fool his father to the contrary with the help of his servants and teacher. The film's outcome does not depend on Jackie's ability to master a fighting style beat a foe. I personally think it is more about growing out of boyish selfishness and caring for something bigger than himself like the Chinese antiques (read: national honor) imperiled by the end of the film.

But Jackie fans don't care about explication. They want action. Here is where Dragon Lord runs a little thin. Besides the excellent and complicated brawl of the finale and a humorous scuffle with two soldiers, there really isn't much in terms of kung fu. There are, however, some quite wonderful and dangerous scenarios involving Jackie stranded on a rooftop with bad guys jamming spears through the shingles at Jackie's slightest movement and a Look-what-I-can-do stunt with Jackie jumping over a huge lit candelabra of which he has absolutely no business clearing with such ease.

Note: For some reason, two sequences where included that chronicle the events of a funky sport that is best described as a cross between badminton and soccer and the aforementioned bamboo pyramid thing. Both are so poorly edited that you cannot follow the action, but also requiring such skillful timing and athletic ability. I enjoyed the audacity of it, but ultimately found it to be filler in a film with plenty of it already.