Friday, December 21, 2018

THE IRON DRAGON STRIKES BACK (1979) **


Bruce Li goes scuba diving with some friends and finds a cache of gold.  He suggests they leave it right where it is and not get involved.  One of his friends doesn’t heed his warning and takes it for himself.  He gets caught trying to fence the loot and a gang of Vietnamese villains soon follow in hot pursuit.  It’s then up to Bruce to settle the matter with his fists and feet.

The Iron Dragon Strikes Back was directed by Kuei Chih-Hung, who’s best known for his comedies (like Coward Bastard) and horror movies (like The Boxer’s Omen).  Usually, whenever he makes a more “typical” Kung Fu picture, the results are often uneven.  This is no exception.

The plot takes a while to gather momentum, but once it starts, the action is virtually non-stop.  Ordinarily that would be good news.  However, the fight scenes themselves leave something to be desired.  Most of them are lively.  Others border on chaotic.  I’ll admit, there are a handful of good moments here (like when Bruce does some fancy gymnastic work or when an actor uses a real weapon during filming).  It’s just that the repetitive nature of the fights soon become numbing.

There’s a nasty streak to the film that’s dark and weird enough to make it memorable.  I mean the scene where the bad guys grab Bruce’s buddy and literally hook his ass up to a car battery is a pure slice of Chih-Hung insanity.  However, that’s not quite enough to push this one into the win column.

AKA:  The Gold Connection.  

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