COME FLY THE DRAGON (1992)

Starring: Andy Lau, Tony Leung Chiu Wai, Tsui Siu Keung, Miu Kiu Wai, Fanny Yuen

A sort of military drama comedy sees Chow Chun Kit (Andy Lau) and Lau Kar Lun (Tony Leung) try to graduate from the Taiwan military school. They are then sent to infiltrate the gang of Li Yan Chak, and stop his drug dealings. Along the way, Chow falls in love with Kuen, the sister of Li, but things become a little messy when Chiu, the right-hand man of Li, decides to become boss himself.

Due to the popular pairings of Andy Lau and Tony Leung in numerous television drama series in the 80s, filmmakers have often sought them out to appear together in films, hoping the proven on-screen chemistry would boost box-office tickets. Come fly the Dragon is a very average film, mostly utilising the comical antics of Lau and Leung to set the pace. There is hardly any real action in the first half of the film, which focuses on their military training - or the lack of it. Every situation is hell-bent on milking the comic effects for all its worth, and unfortunately, a lot of the humour is very damp and stale.

The second half of the film changes direction and is more action orientated, with our two heroes infiltrating the gang of Li. Because of the radical change, it seemed like two films were joined into one, making the whole product very shaky indeed. Also, are we led to believe that military soldiers are used as undercover agents? Wouldn't that be in the hands of the police?

Overall, Come fly the Dragon fails in a lot of areas because it tries so hard to put so many ideas into the film, and none of them really works. It just seems improbable for two very juvenile characters to grow up so quickly, and the performances of Lau and Leung are truly abysmal. Watching this, you'd be hard put to see how both actors would go on to win Best Actor awards in future features.

RATING

5 / 10