A group of young hot shot Interpol agents uncover the true meaning of teamwork and who is behind the capture of their prime witness. Written and directed by Daniel Lee and produced by American action screen legend Steven Seagal [cough], Dragon Squad is an absolute no-brainer of an action film that does little with the plot but merely uses it as jumping points between cascades of bullet casings. Action movie clichés come in droves as the viewer is dragged from one laughable sequence to the next. This isn’t Shakespeare. This is the movie that was written by 100 monkeys writing Shakespeare.
Starring as the young, hot and nimble Interpol team is Vanness Wu, a former S.W.A.T. member, Shawn Yue, a Hong Kong cop, Xia Yu, a mainland China sniper, Huang Shengyi, former undercover policewoman, and Lawrance Chou, a former S.A.S. member. Sammo Hung and Simon Yam are both on the force. Sammo plays a demoted sergeant, at odds with Yam over a past botched assignment, who takes over the team after things go pear-shaped a few times. Michael Biehn heads up the international mercenary team, comprising of Heo Jun-ho, who besides Yam also has a beef with Sammo, Maggie Q, Phillip Ng and another whose name escapes me. And look for Gordon Liu in a cameo role.
Dragon Squad is too ridiculous to be taken seriously. With so many clichés slapping you in the face you have no choice to but laugh it off and await the next one to come so you may loudly proclaim to your friends that you saw it coming. Even the brief moments of minor character development [For starters, Huang’s character struggles with feelings for a former assignment, played by Andy On who gives a heart wrenching performance in all 60 seconds that he is on screen, Biehn’s character falls for his, Sammo’s character wants to make amends with his daughter] are sure to elicit chuckles. They are well intended and Lee may have thought that pausing the frame and switching to sepia tone added gravity to the moment but you cannot help but laugh. I feel most sorry for Sammo Hung, Simon Yam and Heo Jun-ho who I have enjoyed watching over the years. They all deserve better than this.
Dragon Squad is a mindless, flashy, balls-out action film that rekindles your love of everything cheesy there is about Hong Kong action films, right down to the Canton Pop serenades to fallen comrades in the 2nd and 3rd acts. Give it a go if just for a laugh and a reason to get drunk with your friends. Perhaps your alcohol content level may make the experience that much more enjoyable.
After enduring Dragon Squad I came up with a list of things that every up and coming action director must have in their film if they want to be successful. In no particular order, though numbered for clarity, I present the following to you…
I. When you are presenting evidence to court, from the agency you once belong to, the anagram of the agency must be clearly labeled in large white letters on the side of your steel briefcase. The way even idiots know you’re carrying evidence from the L.A.P.D. and the S.A.S. How much you wanna bet I know where that guy is from?
II. When at all possible, whenever you focus for a moment on one of your characters do everyone watching a favor and remind them how cool these characters are by having a segue with them loading and cocking guns and performing majestic spin moves in flowing trench coats. It shows they mean business.
III. No matter how many gunshots you hear if you are in a dragon dancing troupe you MUST continuing dancing to help innocent bystanders take their minds off the people being shot. This is, after all, a movie with the word ‘Dragon’ in it. There must be more than just a fleeting glance at a dragon dancing troupe.
IV. If you are going to abandon any building you must staple strips of clear plastic everywhere! Just in case someone decides to have a climactic battle in it and they need something to get tangling up in. Plus it looks really pretty at night.
V. It’s key that when you are filming action sequences that you edit it as much as humanly possible, and when you think you have edited it enough, edit it some more. It’ll make you believe that the action is good.
VI. Biehn could very well rival Michael Wong as the most uncomfortable English speaking actor in Hong Kong.
VII. Steven Seagal must be stopped at all costs. Hong Kong must learn from America’s mistakes. He must not be allowed to work on any more projects anywhere in the world.
You can find an all-region coded DVD here.