Opening (bizarrely) on a night flight with cop, Ray Lui, looking over his retirement plan before blowing smoke into the sleeping American beside him, one can only wonder what to expect from this 90's Hong Kong actioneer set in NYC. After he lands, we are instantly introduced to its strong cast with HK stars such as John Sham, Mark Cheng, Alex Fong, Jackson Lou, Patrick Lung and Yvonne Hung Yung, as well as many other recognisable faces.
Director Tony Leung Siu Hung - the same guy who brought us the fun US based Gary Daniels project, Bloodmoon (along with Superfights and much more) provides some nice moments in this gangster flick, with pretty sweet action and very nice stunt work. I do like the mix of the raw Hong Kong style energy in the Stateside setting. The majority of the Hong Kong stars speak incredibly good English which makes me wonder why this kind of cross-over didn't happen more often with the team involved...
John Sham (Winners and Sinners) is brought in for some comedy relief, but doesn't shy away from the action either. I've always been a big fan of the handsome Ray Lui. He is great as a leading man with the looks and the acting chops, and even holds his own in the action department. The American co-stars are actually quite decent, and not as annoying or as bad at acting like most other Westerners would be in HK films of the 90's.
While it offers little in originality to other Hong Kong triad action flicks of that period, Guns Of The Dragon is certainly not boring. Within about 10 minutes, we are thrown right into the thick of it when triad trio Mark Cheng, Jackson Lou and Alex Fong happen to see ex-cop Lui, in Manhattan. From there, the rest of the film is full on action as he (along with his family), try to survive. Cue lots of violent gun fights, painful looking stunts, car chases, and martial arts fights that don't disappoint!
I really like American Dragon. Fans of the A Better Tomorrow trilogy and Hong Kong's heroic bloodshed genre will lap it up, and its definitely one of director Leung's more mature and polished productions...
Overall: Underrated and action packed, it would be nice to see American Dragon (aka Guns Of The Dragon) cleaned up and getting the audience it deserves!
