Bridge of Dragons (1999)

User Rating:

4.1/10   

Director:

Isaac Florentine

Writer:

Carlton Holder (written by)

Release Date:

1999 (Croatia)

Genre:

Action | Romance | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Tagline:

He will bring her back alive whatever the cost.

Plot:

The tough and cold mercenary Warchild, is working for the man who took care of his war training and upbringing...

Plot Keywords:

Princess | Assassin | Helicopter | Shot To Death | Refusal

Cast

Dolph Lundgren	...	Warchild
Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa	...	Ruechang
Valerie Chow	...	Halo (as Rachel Shane)
Gary Hudson	...	Emmerich
John Bennett	...	The Registrar
Scott L. Schwartz	...	Belmont (as Scott Schwartz)
Jo Kendall	...	Lily (The Maid)
Dave Nichols	...	York (as Dave Nicholls)
Bashar Rahal	...	Robert
Velizar Binev	...	The Tailor
Ivan Istatkov	...	Arena Ring Master
Nikolai Binev	...	The Doctor (as Nikolay Binev)
Boyan Milushev	...	Jake
Sevdelin Ivanov	...	Scott
Brian Fitkin	...	Renegade Leader

Also Known As:

A Bridge of Dragons (USA) (trailer title)

MPAA:

Rated R for strong action violence.

Runtime:

92 min | Argentina:95 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Iceland:16 | South Korea:15 | New Zealand:R16 | Germany:16 (video premiere) | UK:18 (video premiere) | USA:R | Argentina:13 | Canada:14 (Nova Scotia) | Canada:AA (Ontario) | UK:18 | Singapore:PG | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Australia:MA

Filming Locations:

Bulgaria

Company:

Martien Holdings A.V.V.

Trivia:

This was the first Nu Image production to be filmed in Bulgaria before the company bought the Boyana Film Studios based in Sofia a few years later.

Goofs:

Continuity: In the scene where general Roechang attacks the rebel's base camp, he shoots at Warchylde with a rocket launcher. Warchylde falls on the ground and his left hand is covered with blood. But when Roechang sets him free, Warchylde mounts a horse and there's no blood on his left hand. Later, his hand is bloody again.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Emmerich: Rebels... So how you wanna take 'em?
Warchild: Fast.

Oh my, this does taste like cheese

In a place where the past and future meet, Dolph will make one of his strangest movies yet. 'Bridge of Dragons' is the closest thing to a fairy tale that Dolph Lundgren is ever going to do. A fairy tale that involves more wasted bullets than John Woo could ever dream of, but a fairy tale none the less.

In a land where time where the past and future are apparently one, the evil General Ruechang (Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa) rules with an iron fist. The King has been dead for some time, but Ruechang is plotting to consolidate his power by marrying Princess Halo (Rachel Shane), allowing him to sit on the throne. Enter Warchild (Dolph), Ruechang's best soldier. When Princess Halo ditches the wedding in a bid to join the rebels, Warchild is sent in pursuit. However, Warchild has a conscience attack, and it may not quite be what Ruechang was expecting.

'Bridge of Dragons' is great fun if you like Dolph and cheese. The movie cheese, not the food cheese. In case you were not instantly able to tell that Ruechang is evil, he conveniently has the number 666 stuck on his helicopters and jeeps, for no apparent reason. On the other hand, the name Princess Halo pretty much ensures her good-guy status, and this fairy tale world gets crazier. We have Asian rulers, Scottish bartenders, and Dolph. Princess Halo's martial arts abilities are matched only by Warchild's and Ruechang's, without explanation of course. Thanks to a crazy past / future time combination, we get to see evil guys trading horses for women, only to have Dolph shoot them and drive off in a four-wheel drive. Interesting. And a princess joining the rebel alliance? Inconceivable!

'Bridge of Dragons' is an action B-movie at its most b-ness. We have a world in which everyone dies an acrobatic death, sometimes getting more acrobatic as the deaths pile up. Dolph does beat up and shoot many people, but leaves a few for Tagawa, Chow, and Gary Hudson. The action scenes are exciting, even if you can plainly see stunt men waiting for their cue to jump from the impending explosion. Awesome.

Don't be fooled by the cover. "The directorial style of John Woo" actually refers to the style of this film's director, Isaac Florentine. You can be excused for never having heard of him, as he seems to direct only action b-movies and episodes of 'Power Rangers'. Nor is 'Bridge of Dragons' Dolph's finest hour, as the package claims. It's like a fairy-tale version of 'Men of War' (which nearly is Dolph's finest hour), just with less of a point.

'Bridge of Dragons' is a fun movie. May even appeal to people who aren't Dolph Lundgren fans (and that doesn't happen very often), and is recommended to anyone for looking for cheap laughs - 4/10