Supercop Fallon Zhu (Donnie Yen) just can’t stay out of trouble. Everywhere he goes there is a new crime, robbery, or attempted shootout. This starting to drive his girlfriend Chloe (Niki Chow) crazy. She is a successful actress, who keeps getting insults from journalists and fans for her being labeled “The worst actress” and getting by on her looks alone. The couple finally break up when a car chase leads to Fallon getting reassigned to the storage room. Depressed and bored he starts to eat more until he finally becomes overweight.
He gets a chance to prove himself again when he is assigned to bring back a criminal to Japan. Of course, the criminal gets away and all the clues point to the yakuza who just happen to be megafans of Chloe’s tv show.
Enter the Fat Dragon (2020) is a loose remake of the 1978 Sammo Hung movie of the same name. There is a couple of nods to the original, but most are sight gags around Bruce Lee and his films. One Japanese cop even starts yelling about Way of the Dragon. Interestingly enough, Sammo Hung was originally asked to co-star in the 2020 film but the character was instead played by producer Wong Jing.
Since this is a Wong Jing produced movie, you can see his zany touch in the whole film. The tone of the movie is completely bonkers with many in-jokes and melodramatic silliness. Some of the jokes are pretty tasteless, but the tone of the movie is so entertaining that I could overlook them. Like most of Wong Jing’s most enjoyable films, this movie has some great production values and fun spirit. You have seen it before, but its an enjoyable 90 minutes.
Director Kenji Tanigaki keeps the pace fast with hardly any dull moments. The cast is likewise a joy. Donnie Yen (Ip Man series, Kill Zone) is having a ball here. Most of the “fat” jokes don’t work, but his action scenes and silly asides are a lot of fun. Niki Chow (Chasing the Dragon) steals the movie with her comic timing. Her random English scenes are some of the film’s best. While Sammo Hung would’ve made a great addition to the cast, Wong Jing does a fine job with scenes including the scene where he eats a large fish that is full of drugs. Also, Tetsu Watanabe (Shin Godzilla) has a fun bit of the Yakuza grandfather.
Well Go USA Give Enter The Fat Dragon it’s American Blu-ray debut. The 1080p HD Transfer is colorful and bold. The black levels are smooth. The 5.1 Cantonese is well mixed with no pops or hiss. English and Chinese subtitles are included. Sadly the only extras are other Well Go USA trailers.
If you’re in the mood for a silly action-comedy, Enter the Fat Dragon fits the bill nicely. Recommended.
Director- Kenji Tanigaki
Cast- Donnie Yen, Niki Chow
Country of Origin- China/Japan
Discs- 1
Distributor- Well Go USA
Reviewer- Tyler Miller