Fire Dragon - The Falcon Takes off Its Hood

Apr

11

Fire Dragon - The Falcon Takes off Its Hood

≡ Category: Hong Kong, Martial Arts, Movie Reviews By Country, Recommended |
≅ Written by: Michael Kydonieus

Country: Hong Kong
Genre: Martial Arts
Director: Yuen Wo-Ping
Year: 1994

Rating:

TRASH CINEMA RECOMMENDED MOVIE

If the only reason you watch martial arts movies is for the fight scenes, you might want to skip Fire Dragon. The beginning and end fights are the only extended martial arts sequences, although there are minor skirmishes throughout the movie.

No, Fire Dragon is actually the story of Ha/Fire Dragon (Brigitte Lin), who is instructed by her master, Prince Six (a slimy Tan Lap-Man) to steal a document which incriminates Prince Six in a plot to overthrow the emperor. After an initial battle with Yuen Ming (Max Mok), in which she fails to secure the document, she decides that using stealth instead of a direct confrontation might be more effective.

In the meantime, Yuen Ming happens upon a troupe of entertainers. The boss, Sister Tang (Sandra Ng), takes a romantic interest in Yuen. Seeing that Yuen has no interest in her and is eager to leave so he can deliver the incriminating document to the emperor, Sister Tang steals the document, knowing Yuen will be back for it. The foolish Sister Tang hopes she will be able impress him with her womanly charms upon his return.

Sure enough, Yuen returns, along with Sister Tang’s brother (Mo Gong), who happens to be a government official. Ha/Fire Dragon also shows up under false pretenses and hangs around, hoping to find the incriminating document and steal it.

As she interacts with the members of the troupe of entertainers and witnesses their relationships, Ha’s feelings about herself and her place in the world start to change. It turns out that Ha is an orphan, trained by Prince 6 like he trains his blinkered falcons, for one purpose only, to hunt and kill his enemies. Gradually, as her heart thaws, she begins to question her devotion to Prince 6.

The interrelationships of the characters and Ha’s personal transformation are the heart of the movie and take up most of the running time. The character work and humor are broad, as they usually are in wuxia (heroic martial arts) movies, but not excessively so. We are not in Wong Jing territory, where fart jokes and toilet humor reign supreme.

As you would expect from director Yuen Wo-Ping (the action choreographer for such classics as The Matrix and Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon), the martial arts battles, when they come, are exhilarating, a tasty mix of kung fu and wire work.

The final battle in particular is worth waiting for. It takes place in a field where hundreds of huge clay pots of wine are placed to age. It turns out the wine is combustible. Uh oh.

By the way, if you have any interest in this movie, you might want to pick it up right away. As of this writing, it’s out of print and there are only two used copies available on Amazon. But you can always put it on your Netflix queue.