TWIN DRAGONS
Dir : Ringo Lam & Tsui Hark
Starring : Jackie Chan, Maggie Cheung, Teddy Robin

Jackie Chan plays twins in this Hong Kong version of Jean Claude Van Damme's Double Impact. Clearly this was the inspiration for the movie, as well as the classic story of the Prince and the Pauper.

The story follows Boomer, a car mechanic and John Ma, a music conductor. They're twins seperated at birth. They come together again as adults in Hong Kong where they get mixed up by their respective girlfriends. Hilarity ensues. The movie has a fair amount of action sequences scattered throughout, but the final fight in a car factory is classic Chan action.

Originally made in 1992 as a charity effort for the Hong Kong Director's Guild (HKDG), Jackie has said that this is one of his worst movies, even quoted as saying "Twin Dragons is crap!" Why? Mostly because of the failed attempt to mimic Hollywood's special effects. Hong Kong's effects just aren't up to par with Hollywood's, and it shows clearly on the big screen (I hadn't noticed it so much in the bad quality import versions that were released a couple years ago). Jackie isn't even looking at his "twin" half the time, and in one sequence, he passes right through himself. This is why Jackie swore he'd never use special effects in any of his movies again.

Because it was a for the HKDG, two of the more prolific directors helmed the movie, Ringo Lam (City on Fire, Maximum Risk) and Tsui Hark (Once Upon a Time in China, Double Team, Knock Off), both of which have made their US debuts. The sad thing is that most of the US audience won't get a lot of the humor or "in" jokes. Many of Hong Kong's directors make cameo appearances throughout the movie. John Woo (Face/Off, The Killer) plays a priest, Kirk Wong (The Big Hit, Crime Story) plays the main bad guy, Tsui Hark and Ringo Lam are playing cards with Ng See-Yuen in the car factory, Lau Kar-Leung (Drunken Master II) plays a doctor, Wong Jing (City Hunter, High Risk) plays a supernatural healer (his scene however was cut completely out of the US theatrical release which also involved the "in" joke of Lau Kar-Leung performing his "kung fu"), Teddy Robin plays Jackie's partner, Tyson, and Eric Tsang (long time friend of Jackie Chan and Sammo Hung) is seen using a phone that Jackie needs. There are numerous other cameos and special appearances. Among them, Maggie Cheung, fan-favorite leading lady in Jackie's movies plays one of his two "girls." Unfortunately too, because it isn't a completely "Jackie Chan" movie, there are no outtakes.

When I first saw this movie, I wasn't familiar with many of these faces. It was only the third or fourth Chan movie and may sixth or seventh Hong Kong movie I'd seen. So I didn't enjoy it as much. I loved the final fight though, which was choreographed with the help of Yuen Woo Ping (The Matrix, Tai Chi Master, Drunken Master). After I was exposed to more Hong Kong films and became familiar with these people, I appreciated Twin Dragons more, and got a lot more of the humor. So for those with no background in HK cinema, it probably won't be as enjoyable.

As for the US theatrical release (I say theatrical release because it was already release in the US under Front Row Entertainment in 1994), I was very disappointed. Like Chan's other releases, they cut it to pieces and redubbed it. A lot of humor is cut out (like a scene in the beginning where they poke fun at Chan's nose), and by redubbing not only Chan's voice, but Maggie Cheung's as well, they changed much of the story. I think it would've been okay if they had released the dubbed version as it was...even without Chan's own voice (which actually makes it harder to understand). Some of the cuts also make it harder to understand what's going on. And the worst part...they redid the music. Remember, one of Chan's personalities is a musician...so when he plays the piano, the visual doesn't match the sound. Thankfully though, they didn't cut the final fight sequence in the car factory.

Now that they're beginning to release more of his older films, as well as Jet Li's (Black Mask coming soon), and possible those of Chow Yun Fat, Michelle Yeoh, and Sammo Hung, I hope they stop cutting and redubbing them.

-JoE-
©1999 JMR