Century of the Dragon is a solid Triad movie that should please fans of the genre. Even though I was a bit disappointed that it didn't fully deliver all the ultra-violence I would expect from a Clarence Fok/Wong Jing production, Century of the Dragon still delivered the goods. The film isn't anything really great, but it's always nice to see a solid crime flick once in a while, and Century of the Dragon accomplishes that.

The story has Andy Lau as a semi-retired Triad boss who has his right-hand man (Anthony Wong) take care of the dirty work. Along with his wife (Suki Kwan), Andy is quickly making himself into a legitimate buisnessman. However, the old life won't let him go. After Anthony is taken out in a gang battle, his son (Patrick Tam) goes out for revenge and plots to bankrupt Andy.

This is pretty standard HK crime stuff, but things are helped along by a tight script helmed by Wong Jing. The performances from the actors are also good. Of particular note are Andy Lau, who actually manages to convey some emotion, instead of coming off as a smary smart-ass as with so many of his roles, and Anthony Wong. Wong's work of late has been very uneven, but he always seems to try more in smaller roles like this, and he does fine here. Suki (aka "Shooky") Kwan also does a nice job; she is really believeable as Andy's tough (but not too tough) wife.

One part where Century of the Dragon does fall short in is the action. Some of the best parts of these kinds of movies is seeing grisly wounds inflicted by oversized choppers, and Century of the Dragon just doesn't have all the impact you would normally expect. Sure, there are a couple of spurts of blood, but come on, this is a Wong Jing movie! We want that stuff squirting out!

Anyway, if you're a fan of Triad movies or Andy Lau, you should check out Century of the Dragon. It's not the most original film and it does have its' share of problems. But for die-hard HK crime movie junkies, Century of the Dragon is a film well worth watching.

Note: Century of the Dragon has nothing to do with the Mickey Rourke film Year of the Dragon, which is a bit of a shock, given Wong Jing's past track record of using older movies as "inspiration".