Dragon Inn: Mei Ah Laserdisc Co. Ltd.
Rating: USA: Unrated (Probably R for violence)

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again—Tsui Hark is probably the most influential film person working in Hong Kong. Tsui, who’s something akin to a Hong Kong version of Roger Corman (which doesn’t mean that he churns out B movies, but refers to the fact that, like Corman, he’s willing to produce pictures by young, maverick filmmakers) has been responsible for launching a number of the recent trends in Hong Kong cinema. One need look no further than the A Better Tomorrow (which Tsui produced)—a modern day masterpiece that ushered in the entire heroic bloodshed subgenre of Hong Kong action films. If you’re still not convinced, check out Chinese Ghost Story (which Tsui also produced)—one of Hong Kong’s most beloved supernatural period films, and a movie that spawned a veritable sea of supernatural period film imitations. Or you could just check out Dragon Inn—a Tsui-produced film that, along with his Once Upon a Time in China and Swordsman 2 is largely responsible for the resurgence in the period kung-fu epic film’s popularity of a few years back.

The film, which is a remake of the 1966 King Hu movie Dragon’s Gate Inn, tells a simple, yet interesting story. An evil eunuch named Tsao (the always entertaining Donny Yen) wields great power in China. As the film opens, we learn that he’s holding two small children hostage, hoping to use them to lure an enemy out of hiding. However, the children are saved from the villainous Tsao by Chow Wai-on (Tony Leung Kar-fai: The Lover) and Yau Mo-yan (Brigitte Lin: The Bride with White Hair 1 & 2). After a fierce battle, our heroes then take off into the hostile desert with Tsao’s men in hot pursuit.

All eventually wind up at the Dragon Inn, a desert hotel run by Jade (Maggie Cheung: Green Snake, Supercop), a woman with her own agenda (which includes getting Chow Wai-on into bed, robbing various guests at her establishment, and turning some of them into the main ingredient of the hotel’s ‘meat buns’) who plays both sides for her own profit. Making things even more complicated is the fact that Tsao’s men haven’t actually seen Chow and Mo-yan…so what ensues is a tense game of cat and mouse as Tsao’s men try and figure out who their targets are, and Chow and Mo-yan try and goad Jade into showing them the secret escape passage. Meanwhile, Tsao himself is en route—and once he arrives, you just know that all hell is gonna break loose.

Truthfully, the story here is not all that important. If you’ve seen one period Kung Fu film, then you’re more than equipped to guess how this one ends (well, almost…they did sort of surprise me with one plot twist at the end). What you’re really watching for here are the fights—which is one of the film’s strong points. Ching Siu-tung handles the fight choreography in this film, and it’s a lot of fun. There’s a ton of wire-fu in this movie, but it never detracted from my enjoyment of the film.

There are several stand-out action sequences in the film, including one funny one wherein Brigitte Lin fights Maggie Cheung—while naked. By the end of the fight, Brigitte has all of Maggie’s clothes, and Maggie is the one who’s busy trying to cover up. While it’s hardly a serious martial arts scene, it is fun to watch. Another good sequence is the one where Mo-yan and Chow rescue the children. In that one, we’re treated to some fabulous martial arts and some amazingly fast sword duelling as our outnumbered heroes take on what amounts to a small army. Needless to say, if you find the idea of people jumping fifty-feet into the air and killing thirty or forty guys apiece hard to swallow, then you should probably skip this film.

Still, the most impressive sequence in the whole film is the climax. After Tsao arrives, his men attack the inn. Chow, Jade, Mo-yan, and the children escape through the secret tunnel, into the desert. However, Tsao’s onto them, and immediately gives chase, leading to an incredible three on one sword battle waged during a sandstorm that nearly buries all the combatants. Oddly enough, this sequence reminded me a lot of the battle between Ogami Itto and the Gods of Death found at the end of Shogun Assassin—it’s fast, frenetic, exhilarating, and loads of fun—esepcially the way Tsao meet his end.

Ok, so we know the film delivers where it matters most—the action. How does it stack up in the other categories? Fairly well, actually. Raymond Lee (Swordsman 3) directs the film, and while he’s not as flashy as some of the other more famous Hong Kong directors, he does a decent job here. The most noteworthy thing about the direction in Dragon Inn is how Lee manages to really capture the desert landscape. The film has a very washed out look to it—full of a lot of browns and other dingy colors, which serve as a continual reminder to the audience that we’re all stuck in a barren wasteland. Honestly, the film reminded me of a Sergio Leone spaghetti western—in more ways than one.

Brigitte Lin and Maggie Cheung are always fun to watch, and their work in this film is no exception. Cheung gets the meatier role, getting most of the good lines and scenes as the double dealing Jade. Cheung seems to take a special delight in the role, really making it apparent that she’s having fun camping it up here, while almost winking at the audience in the process. Lin doesn’t get as much material to work with as Cheung, but she makes the most of what she’s given. It’s an interesting turn for her, mainly because she spends much of the film pretending to be a man—thereby hiding her attractive features behind a boyish facade.

Tony Leung Kar-fai (or, as I like to refer to him, ‘the other Tony Leung’) does a nice job as Chow. Clearly, he’s not as interesting as either of the female characters, but I suppose he manages to come across as both heroic and noble enough. Still, the best performance in the film belongs to the inimitable Donny Yen. Yen doesn’t have much to do until the climax, but he really camps it up big time in the few scenes he does have—and he’s still got the skills to help forge some incredible fight sequences as well.

In the end, Dragon Inn is a good film that falls just a bit short of classic status. The fine performances from Maggie Cheung, Brigitte Lin, Tony Leung Kar-fai, and Donny Yen, coupled with some good fight choreography, and some solid workmanlike direction make this a fun film to watch. However, it does seem to falter just a bit during the middle of the film—mainly while everyone’s stuck at the inn during a rainstorm. There, the story seems to shift gears slightly, becoming a bit of a comedy as opposed to a martial arts film. It’s not a bad thing in and of itself, but it left this viewer feeling a little restless and yearning to see the next elaborate example of martial arts mayhem—which the climax more than delivered. However, none of that is to detract from the overall quality of the film—Dragon Inn is a very entertaining period kung fu flick—and one that’s well worth tracking down if you’re a fan of Asian cinema.



Recommended: Yes