Twin Dragons (1992)

Twin Dragons (also known as Shuang long hui and Brother vs. Brother) is a 1992 Hong Kong action comedy film directed by Ringo Lam and Tsui Hark, and starring Jackie Chan in a double role as identical twin brothers separated at birth.

Plot.

In 1965, a Hong Kong couple (Sylvia Chang and James Wong) are doting on their newborn identical twin boys. Meanwhile, a dangerous gang leader named Crazy Kung (Kirk Wong) is being transported as a captive in the same hospital. Crazy Kung escapes and attempts to take one of the twins hostage, and in the ensuing chaos the twins are permanently separated. One of the twins, named Ma Yau, is taken to America by his parents and grows up to be a concert pianist and conductor. The other twin, Ma Wan, is found and raised by an alcoholic woman named Tsui (Mabel Cheung), and becomes a street racer and martial artist named Bok Min. For years, neither of them is aware that he has an identical twin brother. 26 years later, the twins’ (Jackie Chan) lives intersect again:

Bok Min and his best friend Tarzan (Teddy Robin) get mixed up with a dangerous gang, while Ma Yau prepares to conduct a major concert in Hong Kong. In addition, the twins gain romantic interests: Bok Min meets Barbara (Maggie Cheung), a club singer Tarzan is interested in, and Yau becomes acquainted with Tong Sum (Nina Li Chi), a young woman from a respectable family who has a secret passion for fighter types. Eventually, the twins meet and discover that they share a strange connection with each other. As a result, a string of hilarious mix-ups ensues when Ma Yau is accidentally enlisted by the gangsters to participate as an escape driver in the liberation of none other than Crazy Kung; Bok Min in turn is forced to conduct Yau’s concert (which becomes a smash hit despite him having absolutely no musical talent);

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and the two of them end up with the other’s girl as their respective love interest. Eventually, things come to a head when the gangsters kidnap Tarzan to make Ma Yau surrender a briefcase meant for Crazy Kung, which Ma Yau had accidentally nabbed. The twins join up to defeat the gang that has turned their lives upside down, and in a showdown in a vehicle testing center Crazy Kung dies in a runaway crash test car. The film ends with the impending double wedding of the twins to their girls and Bok Min’s introduction to his real parents; but when Bok Min gets cold feet and Ma Yau goes looking for him, a final gag falls into place when the wedding guests catch the two twins together and are unable to tell them apart.

Production, Release.

According to co-director Tsui Hark, Ringo Lam handled most of the action scenes in the film. The action in the film has a larger focus on actual martial arts than on Jackie Chan’s usual comedic style. The film received an American release on 9 April 1999 in a dubbed version. The American release of the film cuts 16 minutes of scenes involving Wong Jing and Lau Kar-leung in a hospital and a fantasy scene involving Maggie Cheung singing.

Box office.

On the film’s release in Hong Kong, Twin Dragons was the ninth highest-grossing film of the year, earning HK$33,225,134 during its theatrical run. In Taiwan, it was the twelfth top-grossing film of 1992, earning NT$27,972,400. In Japan, the film grossed ¥545 million. In South Korea, it was the third top-grossing film of 1992, selling 768,951 tickets and grossing US$3.46 million. Upon release in North America, the film grossed US$8,332,431 in the United States, ending its North American run with a total of US$8,359,717 in the United States and Canada. In total, the film grossed US$46,861,333 worldwide, equivalent to US$86,265,362 adjusted for inflation.