Review of Heart of Dragon

This abysmal Chan/Hung vehicle is a poorly thought-out attempt at drama which will not sit well with most fans of Chan's usually high-octane mix of action and comedy. The plot concerns a mentally challenged "gentle giant"(Hung) and his able-minded/bodied brother(Chan)who must sacrifice his freedom to care for his reliant sibling. What attempts to be a drama is marred by Hung's ridiculous portrayal of a mentally challenged adult as being nothing more than a gigantic baby, complete with overalls and a giant swirly lollipop. The movie attempts to generate sympathy for Hung's character while simultaneously deriving all of its humor from his various misadventures, a mix that left this viewer cold. The DVD version is dubbed so poorly that all attempts at drama seem to come from training at the Shatner school of acting. The movie limps along for over an hour before there is a significant plot developed involving gangsters, stolen jewels, and the eventual kidnapping of Hung. Then begins the movie Chan fans have come to expect, with fantastic stunts, fights and chase sequences. In this movie it is a case of too MUCH, to late. The over the top action Chan is famous for seems here to be ridiculously out-of-place in contrast to the slow moving, "tear-jerker" attitude of the preceding two-thirds of the film. Add to this mish-mash an annoyingly repetitive musical score and not one, but TWO separate scenes of Hung's naked buttocks, and you have the makings of the "must NOT see" film of the year.