Dragons Forever (1988)
Dragons Forever (Chinese: 飛龍猛將) is a 1988 Hong Kong martial arts action-comedy film directed by Sammo Hung, who also starred in the film and co-directed by Corey Yuen. The film co-stars Jackie Chan, Yuen Biao, Deannie Yip, Pauline Yeung, and Crystal Kwok. It is the last film in which Hung, Chan and Biao all appeared in together, as later Chan subsequently focused on his solo film career.
Plot.
A fishery is seeking court action against a local chemical factory for polluting the water. The mysterious chemical company hires lawyer Jackie Lung to find information that will discredit the fishery. He employs his arms dealer friend, Wong to woo the fishery owner, Miss Yip, to try to convince her to settle out of court. Lung also brings in goofy inventor and professional criminal, Tung, to bug her apartment. Unfortunately, Wong and Tung are unaware of each other’s roles and soon come into confrontation, while Lung tries to maintain the peace. Wong falls for Miss Yip, whilst Lung woos her cousin, Miss Wen, an environmental scientist who is going to testify on Miss Yip’s behalf. The three men inadvertently discover that the chemical company is just a facade for a narcotics empire, ran by Hua Hsien-Wu (Yuen Wah). They soon come up against Hua’s thugs, and ultimately infiltrate the factory for a showdown with Hua himself and his henchman – martial arts master.
Reception.
On the Hong Kong Legends DVD release of Dragons Forever, Hong Kong cinema expert Bey Logan offers his opinion on why the film underperformed both in the domestic and Japanese markets. The primary reason cited is that the actors played roles against type. Jackie Chan plays a slick lawyer who chases women, in contrast to the happy-go-lucky everyman characters he usually plays. Similarly, Yuen Biao plays an eccentric and possibly mentally disturbed character, rather than the underdog character fans were used to. For Sammo Hung, rather than the timid character that has been described in earlier films, he instead plays like a rascal. Logan explains that in general, the cinema going public in Hong Kong are not as open to such departures of role as, perhaps, Western audiences would be. Additional reasons cited include the occasional use of coarse language in the film, and the scenes of narcotics production, particularly Hung’s character being injected with drugs against his will. The fact that Chan’s character has a relationship with a woman may also have had an effect, particularly in the Japanese market, as many female viewers could not accept that their idol was not single.