Two brothers, Dragon and Tiger Wong, are separated when young: after his mother dies in a fire, Dragon is adopted by crime-lord Ma Kun (Kuan Tai Chen), whilst Tiger leads a more virtuous life learning martial arts at the Gate school. The brothers' paths cross years later when Tiger (Nicholas Tse) is involved in a fight at the restaurant where Dragon (Donnie Yen) is attending an important meeting between his adoptive father and the rival Lousha Gate gang. During the fracas, Ma Kun loses the valuable plaque that grants him control within the gang world, which triggers a chain of events that results in the Wong brothers joining forces with nunchaku wielding wanderer Turbo (Shawn Yue) to battle Shibumi, the nasty boss of the Lousha Gate gang.
After Dragon From Russia, Stormriders, A Man Called Hero, and now Dragon Tiger Gate, I've finally come to the conclusion that manga-based martial arts movies just aren't my cup of Lap Sang Su Shong: I struggle with the wire-work and CGI required to effectively breathe life into the comic book action, particularly when it involves stars such as Donnie Yen and Yuen Wah, who are capable of breath-taking moves without resorting to such extreme movie trickery. However, even putting my prejudices against modern effects in martial arts films to one side, I found Dragon Tiger Gate to be a rather frustrating and ultimately disappointing affair, thanks to a predictable story, unnecessarily flashy direction designed to make its stars look impossibly cool, and a series of action set pieces that get weaker as the film progresses.
Although the movie's first major battle, an explosive fight in a Japanese restaurant against hordes of sword-wielding henchmen is very entertaining and allows our heroes to perform an array of dazzling moves, subsequent moments of mayhem are less impressive, with the final mêlée drowning in a glut of OTT digital effects: when every punch or kick results in someone crashing through a wall or smashing into paving stones (accompanied by clouds of computer generated dust), I'm afraid that I start to lose interest.
Dragon Tiger Gate also struggles during its quieter moments, with director Wilson Yip serving up way too many clichéd and unconvincing emotional scenes that only serve to lessen the film's overall impact: flashbacks show us the Wong brothers' harsh childhoods; there's plenty of brooding and soul searching courtesy of our photogenic heroes; and we get a doomed romance between Dragon and a tasty female member of Lousha Gate.
5.5 out of 10, rounded up to 6 for IMDb.
After Dragon From Russia, Stormriders, A Man Called Hero, and now Dragon Tiger Gate, I've finally come to the conclusion that manga-based martial arts movies just aren't my cup of Lap Sang Su Shong: I struggle with the wire-work and CGI required to effectively breathe life into the comic book action, particularly when it involves stars such as Donnie Yen and Yuen Wah, who are capable of breath-taking moves without resorting to such extreme movie trickery. However, even putting my prejudices against modern effects in martial arts films to one side, I found Dragon Tiger Gate to be a rather frustrating and ultimately disappointing affair, thanks to a predictable story, unnecessarily flashy direction designed to make its stars look impossibly cool, and a series of action set pieces that get weaker as the film progresses.
Although the movie's first major battle, an explosive fight in a Japanese restaurant against hordes of sword-wielding henchmen is very entertaining and allows our heroes to perform an array of dazzling moves, subsequent moments of mayhem are less impressive, with the final mêlée drowning in a glut of OTT digital effects: when every punch or kick results in someone crashing through a wall or smashing into paving stones (accompanied by clouds of computer generated dust), I'm afraid that I start to lose interest.
Dragon Tiger Gate also struggles during its quieter moments, with director Wilson Yip serving up way too many clichéd and unconvincing emotional scenes that only serve to lessen the film's overall impact: flashbacks show us the Wong brothers' harsh childhoods; there's plenty of brooding and soul searching courtesy of our photogenic heroes; and we get a doomed romance between Dragon and a tasty female member of Lousha Gate.
5.5 out of 10, rounded up to 6 for IMDb.