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While enjoyable in a z movie kind of way “Dragon Heat”
may not be everyone’s cup of tea. This martial arts film
original released in 2005 uses a hyper kinetic style of
direction that will either may you dizzy with excitement
or to the point of nausea. The thin plot doesn’t break any
new ground and really this is a triumph of style over substance.
***
A trio of Interpol agents transporting a prisoner who
is going to testify against a major crime lord. When a group
of mercenaries led by Petros (Michael Biehn) attacks the
convoy taking it out, former police officer Kong Lung (Sammo
Hung) is lured back from retirement to lead a special ops
team to hunt down Petros. ***
Looking like a collision between a Jerry Bruckheimer
film, Uwe Boll and a Hong Kong martial arts marathon, “Dragon
Heat” has some nice action set pieces but the writers and
director role out every cliché from both genres which undermines
any chance of suspending your disbelief long enough to enjoy
the film. For those that can, “Dragon Heat” isn’t a bad
rental when everything else (and I do mean everything else)
is taken. It’s entertaining in a bad movie sort of way.
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Image & Sound:
A handsome transfer with nice flesh tones and minimal
digital artifacs, “Dragon Heat” looks better than it has
any right to. The black levels are consistent and quite
good. ***
Audio sounds very good with a nice, clean and clear
5.1 Dolby Digital Surround mix and a superior sounding DTS
transfer as well. We do get English subtitles.
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