36
Metascore
12 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 58The A.V. ClubMike D'AngeloThe A.V. ClubMike D'AngeloMost of the pleasure in Green Dragons comes simply from the opportunity to watch some underused actors dig into meatier parts than they’re usually offered.
- 50Los Angeles TimesMartin TsaiLos Angeles TimesMartin TsaiFredric Dannen's reportage, which appeared in a 1992 issue of the New Yorker and serves as the film's basis, contains lurid details that leap off the page in a cinematic way. The "Dragons" script by Michael Di Jiacomo and co-director Andrew Loo preserves many, but few register on-screen.
- 50The New York TimesNicolas RapoldThe New York TimesNicolas RapoldWhat initially feels like brash energy peters out until what’s left mainly evokes pretty ordinary gangster movies.
- 40The Hollywood ReporterDeborah YoungThe Hollywood ReporterDeborah YoungIn the end the taste of H.K. filmmaking dominates in the film's deliberately chaotic visual style, a circular narrative that heads nowhere, and lyrical song interludes that abruptly interrupt the non-stop action and camera movement.
- 40Village VoiceMichael NordineVillage VoiceMichael NordineGreen Dragons wants to be spaghetti with marinara, but it's closer to egg noodles and ketchup.
- 40The DissolveScott TobiasThe DissolveScott TobiasIn Lau and Loo’s telling, the off-the-boat indoctrination of young, undocumented Chinese families into vicious gangsterism is overstated and cartoonish, like The Warriors trying to pass itself off as a docudrama.
- 38Slant MagazineChuck BowenSlant MagazineChuck BowenLike Better Luck Tomorrow, it tries to cut cool-movie poses under the pretense of providing an alternative racial viewpoint to typical genre tropes.
- 30VarietyJustin ChangVarietyJustin ChangThis crudely made thriller plays like a stilted Cantonese riff on organized-crime cliches, substituting blood and brutality for novelty or insight.
- The local angle offers a degree of flavor, but this is a dull tale, reminiscent of a hundred others. The dialogue is ludicrous, the video stock looks cheap.
- 16The PlaylistNikola GrozdanovicThe PlaylistNikola GrozdanovicLoo and Lau’s Dragons is too busy reveling in tilted angles, music video editing, mind-numbingly clichéd dialogue, wooden acting and a one-dimensional story about brotherhood.