Chasing the Dragon (2017) poster
7.6
Your Rating: 0/10
Ratings: 7.6/10 from 165 users
# of Watchers: 355
Reviews: 1 user
Ranked #19677
Popularity #13741
Watchers 165

An illegal immigrant from Mainland China sneaks into corrupt British-colonized Hong Kong in 1963, transforming himself into a ruthless and emerging drug lord. Edit Translation

  • English
  • magyar / magyar nyelv
  • dansk
  • Norsk
  • Country: Hong Kong
  • Type: Movie
  • Release Date: Sep 30, 2017
  • Duration: 2 hr. 8 min.
  • Score: 7.6 (scored by 165 users)
  • Ranked: #19677
  • Popularity: #13741
  • Content Rating: 15+ - Teens 15 or older

Cast & Credits

Photos

Chasing the Dragon (2017) photo
Chasing the Dragon (2017) photo
Chasing the Dragon (2017) photo
Chasing the Dragon (2017) photo
Chasing the Dragon (2017) photo
Chasing the Dragon (2017) photo

Reviews

Completed
The Butterfly
4 people found this review helpful
Jun 12, 2022
Completed 0
Overall 6.5
Story 6.5
Acting/Cast 8.0
Music 7.0
Rewatch Value 3.0
This review may contain spoilers
Chasing the Dragon depended on the star power of Andy Lau and Donnie Yen as the demonic duo of corrupt cop Lee Rock and triad leader Crippled Ho to carry it. While following the lives of the real-life criminal partners this film faltered by trying to portray them in a more noble light.

The two characters meet when Ng Sik Ho and his crew are busted, and Lee Rock sees a use for them. During a particularly brutal gang fight filmed from above and on the ground, Ng is crippled saving Lee Rock's life, thus the nickname. The film shows the rise of the two in their fields and the deep comradery they developed. Eventually, suspicions and differing goals begin to chip away at their trust and friendship.

Ho and Rock are shown almost heroically at times. They are family men with deep loyalties to their people. Rock's system for organizing the gangs and doling out the money is praised for reducing gang wars. Crippled Ho shines with his loyalty to family and friends. The British were portrayed as OTP evil, with no redeeming qualities and the only reason corrupt cops and drug dealing triads existed. If there were no British there would be no need for corruption, triads, drugs and prostitution. What? Yes, the British rule was highly problematic, and I have no argument with them underlining those issues, but these two men were feeding on their own people dealing in heroin for Pete's sake. Ho and Rock were bad guys, not heroes. Lee Rock was known as the 500-million-dollar man for what he made off of the crime trade. Show their hatred for the British but also show the toll of their actions on their own people. Instead, director Wong Jing seemed to want us to empathize for them which I found incredulous.

Aside from portraying the leads as honorable without acknowledging their dark sides, the film lacked in character development for the side characters. When crew members are killed off, the camera lingers, the music swells, yet without a proper bonding with the characters those scenes left me unaffected. There are numerous deaths. While the movie isn't gory, the body count is high. Again, these are murderous drug dealers and very corrupt cops. Not going to feel sorry for any consequences they encounter.

Andy Lau plays the role he has done before, this time smooth and suave. Donnie Yen in a host of really bad wigs struggles more with a performance that should have been menacing yet didn't always come across that way. It didn't help for the first part of the movie he was playing a character much younger than himself. Kent Cheng showed up as Lau's sidekick without much to do. The women were briefly shown for window dressing.

The fights were well choreographed by Yuen Bun, Yan Hua, and Yu Kang. Though Yen is getting older he showed how to fend off several baddies with a coat! Many of the fights were gang against gang with constant action. The brawls tended to be more entertaining than the movie around them.

The draw of Yen and Lau is inexorable for their fans, of which I am one. The fights filled in the gaps between scenes, but much was missing from this tale of two charismatic criminals. Despite the fact these guys were corrupt, dealing in death and drugs nothing felt very ominous. Rendering them as almost folk heroes against the Brits felt disingenuous at best. Instead of Chasing the Dragon (looking for a heroine high) it felt more like Look at the Cute Lizards (can someone pass me a Tylenol?).

Read More

Was this review helpful to you?

Recommendations

The Outsider

Recent Discussions

Be the first to create a discussion for Chasing the Dragon

Details

  • Movie: Chasing the Dragon
  • Country: Hong Kong
  • Release Date: Sep 30, 2017
  • Duration: 2 hr. 8 min.
  • Content Rating: 15+ - Teens 15 or older

Statistics

  • Score: 7.6 (scored by 165 users)
  • Ranked: #19677
  • Popularity: #13741
  • Watchers: 355

Top Contributors

25 edits
19 edits
7 edits
5 edits

News & Articles

Popular Lists

Related lists from users
Completed Movies: Ranked 2017
477 titles 28 loves
Everybody's Kung Fu Fighting!
262 titles 13 loves
Chinese Movie
331 titles 3 loves

Recently Watched By