Filmed in 1985 – a very productive year for Jackie Chan – Sammo Hung’s Heart of the Dragon certainly is an oddity. Originally intended as a drama piece, it was decided that cinema-goers wouldn’t stand for a Jackie Chan film with no action. What we are left with, then, is mostly a straight drama with flashes of fast paced (and particularly brilliant for the most part) action set-pieces. Whether it all gels together though has been a matter of speculation ever since.

Jackie plays a cop longing to be a sailor and see the world. Sammo is his mentally handicapped brother. The film focuses on their relationship, as well as Jackie’s quest for independence from his beloved but infuriating brother.

There are some problems with the film on every level, most noticeably some clunky plot devices. The opening scene has Jackie taking on a bunch of standard military types, where at one stage he audibly breaks the neck of one of his foes. A couple of minutes later and lo and behold, we find that it was all just a training mission all along. Tell that to the poor dead guy’s family!

However, there are some touches that lift this film higher than your standard HK no-brainer. Repeated viewings reveal things you may have missed originally – like Jackie’s bedroom decked out in naval fashion (complete with porthole window and ship’s wheel on the wall). One of the neatest touches, though, is the scene where Sammo attempts to become “grown up” and searches for a job. While out, dressed not in his usual dungarees but a smart shirt and trousers, he tries his very best to blend in. Sammo does a fine job of playing a child trying to be a man – all the time with his He-Man action figure still in his shirt pocket!

As mentioned, the film is an uneasy mix of action and drama. But with the action choreographed by Yuen Biao, you can be assured that when the action DOES occur, it’s a wonder to behold.

Given the current trend in HK cinema, and the thirst for a film with both Jackie AND Sammo, it has to be said that if this film were to be made now, it would probably rake in the profits. As it is, this film was seen as an anomaly in 1985, a rare mis-step in the career on those that performed. Which is a shame. See it and judge for yourself…