Dragon Tiger Gate
Dragon Tiger Gate(2006) 3/10
Dragon Tiger Gate is agonizingly bad, and its amazing how they managed to make an action film so boring.
Plot- Fail
Direction- Fail
Acting-Fail
Action- So-So
Dialogue- Cheesy
Cliche- Overloaded
Entertainment value- very little
Have you ever wondered why Superman has Kryptonite? Because it would be a really, really boring comic if Superman was indeed 100% invincible. Its like playing Diablo on cheat mode: there is no fun when you can’t be killed. That is essentially a major problem with Dragon Tiger Gate’s action scenes. Yes, the characters kick ass while looking cool and all, but in truth, its real boring because its totally exxagerated and none of the leads actually seem to be in danger of being beaten by a generic henchman. This can be seen in the opening, where there are 2 back to back action sequences taking place in restaurants. Despite all the fancy footwork, the action sequence is sterile and unimpressive, because none of the leads actually seem in danger and easily dispatch dozens of evil henchmen without breaking a sweat. Nice to look at, but absolutely zilch tension. Sha Po Lang has much better sequences than this, and SPL isn’t even that actionpacked. There are many 90s martial arts flicks with action sequence far better than Dragon Tiger Gate, which puts in one of the most boring action sequences in recent history. You know you are in major trouble when the final ‘big boss’ battle between Donnie Yen and the final villian who looks very dumb in a stupid costume generates no suspense and plenty of yawns.
And then, there’s the special effects, which range from passable, to corny. Lets just say that i’ve seen better special effects used in games than in the movie, and the ’special powers’ of the characters in the film look even more retro than KOF. Plus, many of the plot points are just numbingly dumb, and you wonder if the characters have ever heard of something called guns?
And as for cheesy, where do i begin? An early scene has an absolutely corny sequence between Nic Tse and some girl whose name i dunno on some bridge that screams cheesiness. Plus, early in the film, everyone is fighting for some stupid plaque called Luosha plaque. Yes, its dumb and some parts are actually funny when people fight over such lame stuff. And don’t even get me started on the flashback sequences which can only be described as lazy filmmaking. As for plot, it is paper thin and utterly pointless. I could have written a better plot. It feels mostly like the director is trying to condense alot of material into a short running time and the whole story feels rushed.
Characterwise, one-diemensional and boring. Everyone feels like a cardboard cutout, and the worse is the main villian, who simply looks ridiculous. The main villian has a fugly looking mask, and looks like a corny version of Jason Voorhees. And in one of the most mind-numbingly stupid sequences, after Donnie Yen gets injured, the main villian gives him an elixir of some sort so that he can be healed. With such acts of abject stupidity, is there any wonder why the main villian gets his ass kicked?
Other annoyances include the totally unsubtle Nokia product placement which is really annoying. Plus, most of the cast like Nic Tse and Shawn Yue pose more than act. And this seems to be some sort of vanity project for Donnie Yen who trys to look cool in like every other scene while trying to play a character in his 20s (wtf!).
There are some decent things in Dragon Tiger Gate, but these are few and far between. Yuen Wah has a small but welcome role as the master of Dragon Tiger Gate, and there is one point in the Jap restaurant fighting scene where the camera pans overhead and depicts several fights simultaneously. And, there are the occasionally amusing fight scenes. And that’s about all the positive things i can say.
In between mediocre but at least watchable fight scenes is boring filler sequences that just prep you for the next fight scene. When there is noone fighting, Dragon Tiger Gate gets boring very fast, although sometimes it is unintentionally funny because of all the corny dialogue, cheesy situations and faux heroism on display.
In short, skip this and go watch Donnie Yen in Iron Monkey (1992) instead. Dragon Tiger Gate is boring, kitschy and painfully amateurish.
