_Twin_Dragons_ (PG-13) ** 1/2 (out of ****)
After Jackie Chan finally scored a U.S. blockbuster with last fall's American-produced _Rush_Hour_, it comes as no surprise to see another of Chan's relics from his large vault of Hong Kong productions unearthed for a stateside release. What is somewhat surprising, however, is the film Dimension Films has chosen to release to capitalize on his stronger-than-ever popularity. While 1992's _Twin_Dragons_ delivers the blend of high-flying martial arts and broad slapstick that has become Chan's trademark, the film, while diverting, remains one of his more minor efforts.
My guess is that Dimension chose _Twin_Dragons_ because of its precious gimmick: as the title suggests, Chan plays twins. Separated at birth, the identical brothers have had different upbringings and thus live very different lives. Boomer was kidnapped by a crook in the hospital and was found by an alcoholic but loving woman; he grows up into a street-smart auto mechanic with exceptional fighting skills. On the other hand, John Ma remained with their parents, travelling with them to the States, where he studied music. Now a world-renowned conductor and classical pianist, he has returned to Hong Kong for the first time for a concert.
Of course, it is only a matter of time before each brother learns of the other's existence, and hijinks ensue. Predictably, these hijinks revolve around mistaken identity. Boomer and John's respective female friends--Barbara (Chan's favorite co-star, the amazing Maggie Cheung, largely wasted) and Tammy (Nina Li Chi)--can't tell them apart, and neither can Boomer's goofy (and very annoying) sidekick Tyson (Teddy Robin), nor a group of baddies with a score to settle with Boomer.
As with all domestic releases of Chan's Hong Kong films, alterations have been made to _Twin_Dragons_. In addition to a new soundtrack, featuring English language dubbing (Chan and, it seems, Cheung redid their own dialogue) and a more polished score, certain edits have been made. However, most of the pruning is actually for the better. One idiotic, overly cartoonish (yes, even for a Chan film) sight gag involving a doctor is thankfully gone; and a heavyhanded fantasy scene with John and Barbara has understandably been excised. However, it must be said that with that cut and a brief moment between those two in a car, whatever substance there was to Barbara's already-thin character has been erased. In the original version, Barbara is a lifelong music afficionado with singing aspirations; in the new cut, she's basically just a woman who happened to be seen at a karaoke bar.
What did survive the editing process, of course, were the many fight scenes. From a wild karaoke bar scene (where Boomer uses everything from light fixtures to speakers to dispatch bad guys) to the terrific auto shop climax, the action scenes in _Twin_Dragons_ all display a creative abandon absent in the entirety of _Rush_Hour_. Those seeing _Twin_Dragons_ for an action fix won't be disappointed; however, those looking for a bit more inspired comedy like myself knows that Chan can do--and has done--better.
Dimension Films also holds American distribution rights to Chan's _Drunken_Master_II_, and I'm a bit surprised that the studio didn't release that one now instead of _Twin_Dragons_. Funny and full of fantastic fighting (which would definitely play well in the wake of _The_Matrix_'s HK-inspired derring-do), it is my favorite Chan film, and would likely maintain Chan's new stateside heat, if not increase it. With the release of the middling _Twin_Dragons_, it appears that Chan's U.S. fortunes will once again take a downslide--much like they did after the successful 1996 release of his _Rumble_in_the_Bronx_.
Michael Dequina
mrbrown@iname.com | michael_jordan@geocities.com
Mr. Brown's Movie Site: http://welcome.to/mrbrown
CompuServe Hollywood Hotline: http://www.HollywoodHotline.com
The review above was posted to the
rec.arts.movies.reviews newsgroup (de.rec.film.kritiken for German reviews).
The Internet Movie Database accepts no responsibility for the contents of the
review and has no editorial control. Unless stated otherwise, the copyright
belongs to the author.
Please direct comments/criticisms of the review to relevant newsgroups.
Broken URLs inthe reviews are the responsibility of the author.
The formatting of the review is likely to differ from the original due
to ASCII to HTML conversion.
Related links: index of all rec.arts.movies.reviews reviews