Interesting artifact for those who think that Jackie Chan's always been a "fall guy" for comedy. This one's about as straight-laced as they come, with some solid action and a storyline that keeps moving at a nice pace. Director Lo Wei oversaw at least TWO of the most important martial arts movies in history: THE BIG BOSS (FISTS OF FURY) and FIST OF FURY (THE Chinese CONNECTION); his reputation is therefore assured. DRAGON FIST boasts some nice cinematography to enhance the martial arts, but it's the choice of music I found most interesting: throughout the movie, we hear Jerry Goldsmith's score for the 1968 version of PLANET OF THE APES. It's sorta similar to hearing the unmistakable strains of the Isaac Hayes score for SHAFT throughout Wang Yu's classic fantasy, ONE-ARMED BOXER (or the theme from IRONSIDE in FIVE FINGERS OF DEATH, etc.)- and, like Wang Yu, Lo Wei's placement of the music is inspired. James Tien does a nice job as a turncoat, but this is definitely a Jackie Chan vehicle.
Review of Dragon Fist
