I'm not really a big fan of the new wave of period kung fu films that filled Hong Kong cinemas throughout the 1990s. Of the ones I've watched, I like maybe a few, including the first couple of ONCE UPON A TIME IN CHINAs and MOON WARRIORS; the rest I can take or leave. NEW DRAGON GATE INN belongs to the latter category. It's not that it's a particularly bad film, because it isn't; it's just that the overly-complex storyline is so routine and sketchy that long periods of the film go by that are pretty boring. I can't help feeling that the rating I've given it is a bit harsh, but then I rate for enjoyment over accomplishment. Sure, there is talent involved; Tsui Hark makes his presence felt as producer, and all of the actors were or are famous at one time or another in their native country.
It's simply that there's not really anything going on here that I liked. The story of different groups of people holed up in a single location trying to discover each other's identity and kill each other has been done to death so there was no interest there. The action scenes are wire work heavy, something I'm not particularly fond of, and watching people simply spinning or flying through the air is not something that I call martial arts; it's not about skill, but show. On the plus side, some of them are nicely imaginative, with gory flourishes and a clever fight-cum-strip-show between Lin and Yeung. The ending in particular is bloody marvellous as skin is flayed off and blood spurts all over, but it's too little, too late.
The direction seems a bit faceless and confused and the quality of the print is poor – in the sand fight climax, the scene often faded to white for long stretches which surely can't have been intentional? More like we couldn't see what was happening...another negative is that I didn't like many of the performances. Leung always seems to be uninteresting, even bored, to me, and Yeung gives what is surely one of her most irritating turns as an impish young woman. Lin is good, old-school quality and Yen is typically fantastic in what amounts to little more than an extended cameo, but for the most part NEW DRAGON GATE INN is a frenzied and dull mess.
It's simply that there's not really anything going on here that I liked. The story of different groups of people holed up in a single location trying to discover each other's identity and kill each other has been done to death so there was no interest there. The action scenes are wire work heavy, something I'm not particularly fond of, and watching people simply spinning or flying through the air is not something that I call martial arts; it's not about skill, but show. On the plus side, some of them are nicely imaginative, with gory flourishes and a clever fight-cum-strip-show between Lin and Yeung. The ending in particular is bloody marvellous as skin is flayed off and blood spurts all over, but it's too little, too late.
The direction seems a bit faceless and confused and the quality of the print is poor – in the sand fight climax, the scene often faded to white for long stretches which surely can't have been intentional? More like we couldn't see what was happening...another negative is that I didn't like many of the performances. Leung always seems to be uninteresting, even bored, to me, and Yeung gives what is surely one of her most irritating turns as an impish young woman. Lin is good, old-school quality and Yen is typically fantastic in what amounts to little more than an extended cameo, but for the most part NEW DRAGON GATE INN is a frenzied and dull mess.