Andy Lau and Donnie Yen teaming up for the first time in a crime thriller is something to get excited about. Co-directors Jason Kwan and Wong Jing make that dream a reality in CHASING THE DRAGON, which has just released a new trailer.
Set in the 1960s in British-ruled Hong Kong, it sees Crippled Ho (Yen) illegally immigrate from Mainland China to use his combat skills to raise through the underworld ranks and become king of crime. Working under the control of the corrupt Chief Detective Sergeant Lee Rock (Andy Lau), until an ICAC investigation forces him into early retirement, Ho wants to keep going until he is the last drug lord standing.
The film has some deep roots in Hong Kong culture. Yen’s transformative performance is said to be a version of the real life gang lord Ng Shek-ho, having previously been portrayed in the 1991 film To Be Number One.
Of course, the wicked cool retro aesthetic and the presence of veteran director Wong Jing (God of Gamblers, Mission Milano) and cinematographer Jason Kwan (Love in the Buff, 29+1) makes this one of the must-see action films of the year.
It hits Australian cinemas on 28 September 2017 from Magnum Films, marking a simultaneous release with Hong Kong. It is then released in China on 30 September and Malaysia and Singapore on 5 October. In the US, it appears to be known as KING OF THE DRUG LORDS.
