Dragon Squad (2005)
Reviewed by: danton on 2005-12-04
I know, one or two swallows don't necessarily make it spring, but after seeing SPL and Dragon Squad back to back, I am tempted to proclaim that true HK-style action films are at long last making a comeback in the HK film industry.

HK action has always rested on the twin pillars of martial-arts and gunplay. While SPL covers the former in glorious fashion, Dragon Squad is a shining example of the virtues of the latter: Dragon Squad proudly fetishizes guns and their handling, serving up this unapologetic foreplay as a buildup to several climactic, prolonged orgies of gunfire with a hail of bullets, the likes of which have not been seen on a HK movie screen since John Woo's Hardboiled.

The plot itself is quite forgettable: 5 youngish cops under the guidance of Simon Yam and Sammo Hung battle 5 international villains. Whenever they meet, it's guns blazing, slo-mo shots of destructive carnage, set to pulsing rhythms and an ever-increasing bodycount. The guns are supported by the odd hand-grenade and some more inventive weapons such as an umbrella (used similar to the palmtree fronds in Eastern Condors) and a motorized fan.

The standout performance is delivered by Maggie Q as a Cambodian sniper - she wasn't too convincing in Naked Weapon, but does a great job here.

Much of the dialogue is a mishmash of Cantonese, Putonghua and English, but unlike the unfortunate attempts of making "international" action films that were such a disaster 5 or 6 years ago, this film plays like a straight HK action film. Definitely the best gunplay choreography since Tsui Hark's Time And Tide.

Recommended.