Chasing the Dragon (2017)

An illegal immigrant from Mainland China sneaks into corrupt British-colonized Hong Kong in 1963, transforming himself into a ruthless and emerging drug lord.

Directors:

Jason Kwan, Jing Wong

Writers:

Jing Wong, Koon-Nam Lui (screenplay) (co-writer)

Stars:

Donnie Yen, Andy Lau, Philip Keung

3 wins & 5 nominations.

Cast

Credited cast:
Donnie Yen	...	Crippled Ho
Andy Lau	...	Lee Rock
Philip Keung	...	Will
Wilfred Lau	...	Wayne
Kang Yu	...	Chad
Kent Cheng	...	Piggy
Bryan Larkin	...	Ernest Hunt
Ben Ng	...	Chubby
Ken Tong	...	Tong (as Chun-Yip Tong)
Dongdong Xu	...	Rose (as Raquel Xu)
Michelle Hu	...	Jane
Niki Chow	...	May
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Sahajak Boonthanakit	...	General Piyamas
Chloe Chan	...	Alva
Michael Wai-Man Chan	...	Master Dane (as Wai-Man Chan)

Storyline

The year is 1963, an illegal immigrant named Ho (Donnie Yen) sneaks into British-ruled Hong Kong. Equipped with guts and combat skills, he plunges into the underground world getting into constant conflict with rivals. After many adversaries, the once good-natured man is physically crippled and turns into a monster more atrocious than all the most corrupted cops and ruthless drug dealers. Ho eventually emerges as the most powerful drug lord under the control of Chief Detective Sergeant, Lee Rock (Andy Lau). However, with the establishment of Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) by the law enforcement in 1974, Rock is forced into premature retirement. But Ho still insists he would not be stopped as he determines to become the sole dictator of the drug empire.

---

Plot Keywords:

police officer | police officer killed | police officer shot in the chest | police officer shot | police officer shot through the heart | 

---

Genres:

Action | Biography | Crime | History

---

Did You Know?

Trivia

Originally conceived in 2014 by Jing Wong, with the intention of Nick Cheung and Andrew Lau as lead actor and director respectively. But due to scheduling conflicts, the project was put aside.

---

Goofs

The movie shows a Boeing 747 flying in, but 747s were not flown commercially until 1970.

---

Connections

Version of To Be Number One (1991)

User Reviews

Something doesn't quite jive

With a script this complex, spanning the rise and life of the main character from poor street fighter to druglord, it almost felt like they were going for a Scarface-level epic. but instead of developing realistic characters they used caricatures - the British villain felt particularly bogus - and unrealistic scenarios, such as large groups of people brawling in the streets with sticks and saucepans, who all happen to be amazing at martial arts. Perhaps having a main character who is too good at martial arts distracts from the biographical, historical tale. Tries to walk a balance between a heartfelt historical drama and an action movie. Didn't really work for me

Details

Official Sites:

Official site [Japan]

Country:

Hong Kong China

Language:

Cantonese Mandarin English Thai Teochew

Release Date:

28 September 2017 (Hong Kong)

Also Known As:

Chasing the Dragon

Filming Locations:

Chaozhou, Guangdong, China

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$138,346, 1 October 2017

Gross USA:

$456,854

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$87,965,942

Company Credits

Production Co:

Mega-Vision Project Production, Super Bullet, Bona Film Group

Technical Specs

Runtime:

128 min

Sound Mix:

D-Cinema 48kHz 5.1 (Dolby 5.1) (downmixed) DTS:X (downmixed) Dolby Digital Dolby Surround 7.1

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1