DRAGON (B-) is a nice little unheralded film in Donnie Yen's filmography. It plays out a bit like a Clint Eastwood film and the equivalent would be if Yen was an old gunslinger trying to settle into a new life but his old gang just wouldn't let him. We spend most of the movie in the village learning of Yen's old life, but the inciting incident of the story is when Yen takes out some robbers. The county investigator doesn't buy that Yen could be a nobody and take out the robbers so he begins to investigate Yen's background. Eventually we learn that Yen was the second in command of a notorious gang. The major theme here is the question of whether someone can change and the investigator seems written to be a Javert with Yen playing the martial arts version of Jean Valjean. This is one of Yen's best roles, giving him a subtle role that's mostly stoic, but really plays to his acting strengths. The direction also does a great job emphasizing Yen's attraction to this new life of innocence. The finale sequences featuring Yen going against his old gang and his father are well choreographed (there's a wonderful nod to Jimmy Wang Yu's One-Armed Swordsmen) and a highlight of the film.
Review of Dragon
