In a seemingly lawless world, the Dragon Tiger Gate martial arts academy, run by Master Wong (Wah Yuen), trains its students to uphold justice and resist the triads, and provides a home for orphans. One of its students, Tiger Wong (Nicholas Tse) runs foul of the triads when he and his friends get hold of the Luocha Plaque, which signifies that the holder is second only to Loucha Gate's boss, Shibumi (Yu Kang). Tiger meets his half-brother, Dragon (Donnie Yen), when the triads try to regain the plaque. Meanwhile, a new student, Turbo (Shawn Yue), who tries to join the Dragon Tiger Gate, becomes embroiled in the fight.
Adapted by Edmond Wong from the manhua comic series by Yuk Long Wong, 'Dragon Tiger Gate' is somewhat confusing at the start and you may have to be familiar with the comic books to understand the setting and the main characters. It doesn't help that the CGI establishing shots of a grim lawless environment are at odds with the brighter live-action shots. A fair bit of explanation in the opening credits is repeated in a flashback, which distracted me because I tried to match them up. The film's pacing is choppy, with many dead patches, especially those featuring camera arcs, that don't progress the story or develop any of the characters.
Action, though, is the name of the game, and director Wilson Yip puts a lot of effort into the fight sequences. The fight in a Chinese restaurant is energetic and the fight in a Japanese restaurant is a nod to film's manhua origins. However, it's as if all the ammunition was expended at the start, because succeeding fight scenes feel a bit tired and the climactic fight between the heroes and Shibumi is a tedious CGI-filled affair.
Cantonese with English subtitles.
2 out of 5 stars.
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