Director: Ralph Hemecker Starring: Michael Biehn, Park Joong-Hoon, Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa, Don Stark Certificate: 15 (UK), R (USA)
"East meets West with a vengeance!"
Plot
An NYPD cop is forced to team up with a police captain from Korea in order to solve a series of murders in the US and South Korea apparently linked to the Yakuza and Mafia.
SPOILERS AHEAD...
During the 2000s, I worked for a UK cinema chain. Having the job perk of free cinema enabled me to watch a ton of movies I'd have never otherwise bothered with. Since then, I've continued to try and go outside my movie comfort zone once in a while and potentially discover an unexpected gem.
Now that I've started this current mission of watching Michael Biehn's back catalogue, I've once again found myself in the position of checking out a movie that, during its initial release, I'd have left on the video store shelf. Whilst American Dragons isn't about to become my new favourite film, it's a pleasantly decent B-movie experience and one I'm glad I didn't miss out on.
I must mention that yet again, this is a movie with multiple identities. You may know it instead as Double Edge or even Black Rain 2 - seriously, what is with Michael's films having so many names? Either way, they are all the same movie and I'll refer to it as American Dragons in this review.
At first glance, this may seem like a standard chalk and cheese buddy cop action movie, but it's actually got a lot of heart and some funny moments in-between the incessant fighting. It also gives the actors a chance to stretch further than your typical straight to video action film might typically allow.
Michael plays Tony Luca, a New York Detective with a penchant for questionable late nineties fashion, the worst offender being a leather flat cap that made me disproportionately mad every time I saw it! At the start of the movie, Tony is pulled from working undercover on a case after his actions lead to the death of an innocent woman and he is instead reassigned to investigate a savage and vicious homicide. Tony seeks help using the "police Internet" (aw the 90s) and up steps Inspector Kim (Park Joong-Hoon), who travels from Asia and is subsequently partnered with Tony to work on the case.
Of course, Tony and Kim culture clash immediately, finding each other's actions and behaviours bizarre. So what do they do to solve this? Punch the shit out of one another in a back alley of course! This movie does seem to be aiming towards a male market. There's a lot of testosterone and aaargh angry, angry, punchy, punch moments as well as a slightly bizarre, almost homoerotic montage involving Tony and Kim letting off steam in slow motion in a gym whilst a manly guitar soundtrack plays. There's also a hell of a lot of violence including a particularly epic bowling alley shoot-out. In all honestly, the action scenes interested me the least; luckily, American Dragons is fast-paced, so I was quickly pulled back in when I started to lose a little interest or found my mind drifting.
Since watching American Dragons, I've learned that Park Joong-Hoon is pretty well known in Asia. I must admit I was not aware of his work before this. He's really impressive and I love his expressive face. He clearly also has natural comic timing. His English is rarely awkward and he delivers his exposition with conviction rather than as someone just reading words off a page.
Michael Biehn is also great, though let's be honest, I wasn't about to say he was shit, was I? I enjoy it when he plays a character with a sense of humour instead of full-on Kyle Reese intensity. It feels like everything he does in this movie is with a sly, knowing smile. Both Kim and Tony are likeable and compassionate and it's fun watching their volatile relationship turn into one of respect and friendship.
Visually American Dragons looks good though it has a typical blue-tinged filter that seemed popular with thrillers of that era. Unfortunately, like many of these low budget movies, it is set predominantly at night and lighting can often be an issue. As a result, the final fight sequence is annoyingly challenging to follow. It cuts quickly between Tony and Kim and the lighting just isn't up to scratch. It's a shame as it's pretty long and obviously involved a lot of choreography.
American Dragons was clearly set up for a sequel that never happened which is disappointing. There was plenty more to explore with Tony and Kim's relationship; a sequel with Tony travelling to Asia would have worked nicely. Unfortunately, I just don't think enough people watched this movie. It seems to be one of Michael's lesser-known features, albeit unfairly, in my opinion.
Conclusion
American Dragons deserves to be seen by a wider audience who will enjoy the nicely choreographed action sequences and that long final battle. There are also many explosions and plenty of violence for those who don't have the patience or desire to listen to the dialogue-heavy stuff. That said, there's enough of a story to keep everyone else engaged.
It might be a little cheesy and the script could be more robust, but it's not a bad movie.
American Dragons is available to buy on DVD and can be rented or purchased digitally via Amazon Prime Video or iTunes. In the US, American Dragons is also free to stream on Tubi (If you're in the UK, grab yourself a VPN).
IMDB: 4.9/10 Rotten Tomatoes: Critics = Not enough ratings, Audience = 32% (As of October 2021)
Dies? / Villain?
ALIVE! He gets punched a hell of a lot but survives and even waves his new friend off at the airport in the final scene. Maybe it was the hat that saved him... / Not a villain on this occasion, bit of a cocky git though.
What Did This Movie Teach Me?
1997/8 Biehn was ripped as fuck.
Death by bowling ball is a messy experience.
Anything else?
The movie was actually shot in Vancouver while being set in New York. Admittedly I'm an ignorant Brit but it looked pretty convincing to me.
Comments