Dragon and the Hawk

Rating

Director

Mark Steven Grove

Screenplay

Robert Gosnell

Length

1h 26m

Starring

Julian Lee, Barbara Gehring, Tyrgve Love

MPAA Rating

R

Review

PREFACE:
In the early 2000s, I was writing reviews for an outfit called Apollo Guide Reviews. That website has since been closed down.

Attempting to reconstruct those reviews has been an exercise in frustration. Having sent them to Apollo Guide via email on a server I no longer have access to (and which probably doesn’t have records going back that far), my only option was to dig through The Wayback Machine to see if I could find them there. Unfortunately, while I found a number of reviews, a handful of them have disappeared into the ether. At this point, almost two decades later, it is rather unlikely that I will find them again.

Luckily, I was able to locate my original review of this particular film. Please note that I was not doing my own editing at the time, Apollo Guide was. As such, there may be more than your standard number of grammatical and spelling errors in this review. In an attempt to preserve what my style had been like back then, I am not re-editing these reviews, which are presented as-is.

REVIEW:
Martial arts films grew in popularity with actors like Jackie Chan and Jet Li and directors like Ang Lee bringing increased style and – in the latter instance – substance to martial arts movies. Dragon and the Hawk is an attempt to capitalize on the money that these films – when done right – can generate.

Dragon (Julian Lee) is a Korean martial arts master who has come to America looking for his sister, who stopped writing to him a month ago. He believes something might have happened to her, as she was a faithful scribe. Lieutenant Hawkins (Barbara Gehring), nicknamed ‘Hawk,’ is a homicide detective on the trail of mysterious murders on the streets. Her investigations have followed a pattern that started with her sister, who was found dead with track marks on her arm – she was assumed to have died of an overdose. Driven by her faith in her deceased sister, Hawk tries to seek out those responsible for her death and bring them to justice.

It seems that this all might relate to a powerful narcotic that helps reprogram the victim’s mind and make them a devoted cohort. When Dragon gets into a parking lot altercation with a goon, Lt. Hawkins is nearby to assist. Dragon and Hawk’s encounter brings them close enough together that they soon discover that there might be a link between the death of one’s sister and the disappearance of the other’s.

Dragon and the Hawk plays out like a bad Godzilla clone without the campiness. The film takes too long to get into any of its plots and, while there are some mildly interesting moments, the film never manages to break the mediocre mould.

Screenwriter Robert Gosnell has created an interesting premise. But when the film just appears to be coming to a new, and possibly original moment, a horrid cliché pops into its place. The film has its ups, but mostly stays down. This is not necessarily the screenwriter’s fault, but a more solid script likely would have aided making this a solid film.

Director Mark Steven Grove shows no limit to his lack of creativity. His shot selections are reminiscent of many modern foreign directors, but without any of the fluidity or visual impact. His characters are paper-thin, with gaping holes in character. Neither Lee nor Gehring display significant acting ability.

The one truly interesting part of the film is its score. Guy Bianchini makes his film composition debut with great promise, as the score fits the genre without being typical.. While he’s relegated to writing music for a low-budget, less-than-interesting disaster, he still makes the most of the opportunity.

Dragon and the Hawk is a weak attempt at capturing the finesse and charm of Chan’s films – one that never succeeds.

Review Written

March 25, 2002