Bruceploitation, in the year of our lord 2001, it could only be a Joseph Lai production. Otherwise known as Zhan Long, Dragon: The Master is without a shadow of a doubt the most boring Bruceploitation film I've seen to date. God almighty, there is no psychotronic charm to this picture, at all. The story and dialogue are drab and have very little entertainment value and the fight choreography, while semi-competent, features nothing you haven't seen done more competently from several other Hong Kong action pics.
Gone are the days of Ninja fish, plagiarised music and other forms of cut and paste majesty for Joseph Lai. Dragon: The Master is a totally buttoned down affair that would be otherwise unrecognisable as a Bruceploitation film unless the protagonist wore a yellow jumpsuit once in a while.
The appeal of the Godfrey Ho pictures was first and foremost the bats insanity that filled the gaps in between the cut and paste fight scenes. The moments of insane dubbing and editing combined with the genuinely impressive action made for beautiful, beautiful cinema. However, Dragon: The Master, whilst having some impressive fight scenes, has very little charm and is consequently an utter slog for half of it's running time. It pains me to say, but there is simply no way I can recommend this one.
Gone are the days of Ninja fish, plagiarised music and other forms of cut and paste majesty for Joseph Lai. Dragon: The Master is a totally buttoned down affair that would be otherwise unrecognisable as a Bruceploitation film unless the protagonist wore a yellow jumpsuit once in a while.
The appeal of the Godfrey Ho pictures was first and foremost the bats insanity that filled the gaps in between the cut and paste fight scenes. The moments of insane dubbing and editing combined with the genuinely impressive action made for beautiful, beautiful cinema. However, Dragon: The Master, whilst having some impressive fight scenes, has very little charm and is consequently an utter slog for half of it's running time. It pains me to say, but there is simply no way I can recommend this one.
