Review of Legend of the Red Dragon (1994) by Jordan R — 18 Nov 2008

Boilerplate Jet Li fare. The "Red Dragon" part of the title is a pavilion, and one barely mentioned in the script. The great treasure of Shaolin that we go to all that trouble to protect/acquire (depending what side you're on) is never shown. The English dub shows marked attempts to keep the English dialogue the same length as the Cantonese, which results in some very...long pauses.

The good stuff: Jet Li's Magical-Rotating-Spear-of-Doom-Style. He's so hardcore he can drill a collapsible metal spear through a *flaming log* and then *swing them at people*. Chi Chuen-Hua's iron claws (yikes). Miu Tse - his solemn comportment and superior martial arts skill really make him seem like Jet Li's son. Those Chinese not-ninja black-clad assassin guys and their tactics (and those saw-blade shields!). Chi Chuen-Hua puts on the Freddy Krueger makeup and then gets deep-fried to death. Jet Li *can kick an opponent up a rope and in doing so ascend the rope himself.* Watch Damian Lau run across a bridge of hurled dao sabres.

It's worth a rental or a Netflix spot, especially if you're a Jet Li complete-nik. Otherwise...