Film review: Revenge of the Green Dragons
In 1992, a detailed account was published in of the Green Dragons, a violent young Chinese-American gang in Queens, New York. Journalist Fredric Dannen's non-fictional "Revenge of the Green Dragons" chronicled events from the gang's inception in the mid-1980s to its subsequent decline, and painted a panoramic portrait of the unwitting perpetrators of organised crime.
Starring: Justin Chon, Kevin Wu, Harry Shum Jnr, Ray Liotta
Directors: Andrew Lau Wai-keung, Andrew Loo
Category: III (English,Cantonese, Putonghua)
In 1992, a detailed account was published in of the Green Dragons, a violent young Chinese-American gang in Queens, New York. Journalist Fredric Dannen's non-fictional "Revenge of the Green Dragons" chronicled events from the gang's inception in the mid-1980s to its subsequent decline, and painted a panoramic portrait of the unwitting perpetrators of organised crime.
It is the type of precious resource that a filmmaker more attuned to gritty realism could potentially adapt into a masterful gangster movie, as Matteo Garrone did with (2008). Unfortunately, neither Andrew Lau Wai-keung nor Andrew Loo are that type of filmmaker.
Instead, the crude application of slow-motion, corny music and some shockingly contrived lines of dialogue stand out. It is hard to imagine what Martin Scorsese — who previously remade the Lau-co-directed into — thinks about this film, for which he's credited as an executive producer.
As it opens to the horrendous fate of Chinese immigrants newly smuggled into the United States — an issue that was largely absent from Dannen's article — and a casual dismissal of the American Dream, the film offers a hint of historical relevance before sinking into constant sensationalism.
Revolving around characters that have been considerably modified or merged from their real-life counterparts, the story follows two childhood friends, Sonny (The 's Justin Chon) and Steven (YouTube sensation Kevin Wu), as they strive to rise through the ranks of the Green Dragons.
Headed by soft-spoken gang founder Paul Wong (former star Harry Shum Jnr) and his power-hungry underboss, Chen I. Chung (Leonard Wu), the trigger-happy gangsters must negotiate their ambitions under the watchful eyes of a FBI detective played by Ray Liotta, and Au-yeung Jin's persistent local cop.
In their streamlined narrative, Loo and co-scriptwriter Michael Di Jiacomo have seen fit to insert an awkward romantic subplot, a pointless last-minute reversal that suggests -lite, and an embarrassing array of gangster film clichés into the story.
As if the history of turf wars, drug trafficking, armed robberies and gangland betrayals was not immoral enough, the filmmakers have opted for excess: child abuse with a scatological edge, incest and mutilations that would feel at home in (2003).
was made with the same tactics Lau used with the movies he churned out between 1995 and 2000: a low-budget production that uses handheld camerawork to capture the frenetic existence of triads.
But while those earlier films thrived on the endearing traits of loyalty and brotherhood in their protagonists, and the charms of their leads, Lau and Loo's effort is distinguished by its glaring lack of either humanity or charismatic actors. The result simply proves senseless and numbing.
