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.

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Plot Keywords:

hong kong | based on true story | police officer | police officer killed | police officer shot in the chest | 

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Genres:

Action | Biography | Crime | History

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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.

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Goofs

In the English subtitles, Chubby disparagingly compares Lee's kid brother to Steve Martin. In the mid-to-late 1960s, when this takes place, Martin was not yet a popular performer. In fairness, this may have been a error by the subtitler, with the original Chinese version featuring a more timely comparison.

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Connections

Spin-off Chasing the Dragon II: Wild Wild Bunch (2019)

User Reviews

A remarkable gangster epic

Obviously, the movie "Chasing the Dragon" is not a remake of the 1991 movies "Lee Rock" and "To be Number One". Instead, it borrows their main protagonists and antagonists, and tells a completely different story. In some sense, "Chasing the Dragon" is a reboot of the gangster epics.

The production design, music score, action sequences and acting performances are most notably brilliant. The action sequences are unexpectedly brutal and bloody, and really stun me from time to time. Donnie Yen has long established himself as one of the best martial artists of all time, and here in "Chasing the Dragon" he gives an almost career-best emotional performance, even better than that in "Rogue One". The acting of Andy Lau, Kent Tong, Kent Cheng, and Ben Ng is fantastic as always.

On the other hand, the plot and the editing are not satisfying. Wong Jing is not a talented filmmaker. Some scenes simply lack consistency and credibility.

In a nutshell, the rating for this movie is 7/10.

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 Pictures, 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