Haymaker 2025 Review: In DRAGONS FOREVER, Chan, Hung and Yuen, One Last Time

Dragons Forever will enjoy a special screening for the inaugural Haymaker Film Festival this weekend. The movie is also available on disc and digital wherever movies are sold or streamed.

One of my earliest memories of seeing Dragons Forever dates back as far as the early two thousandsies. The DVD was a rarity to own – at least to my knowledge as a repeat visitor to the HKFlix website when they were up and running. At the time, Hong Kong Legends rolled out their Special Edition 2-Disc version of the film and I never would have guessed that I would end up owning the film on Blu-Ray from 88 Films.

Guaranteed though, it’s not everyday that you get to see a Hong Kong classic action film on the big screen as nowadays these types of screenings are relegated to limited commercial runs or festival rollouts. Such is the case for the good folks over in Utah hosting the inaugural Haymaker Film Festival who happen to be hosting the 1988 romp starring Jackie Chan, Sammo Hung and Yuen Biao.

Hung directs alongside the late Corey Yuen, the story of a womanizing lawyer named Jackie Lung (Chan) who gets hired as the defense attorney for Boss Hua (Yuen Hua), a factory owner accused of poisoning a local fishery owned by Miss Yip (Deannie Yip). In an effort to discredit Miss Yip’s case, Jackie hires his two best friends, an arms dealer named Wong (Hung), and a wackadoo professional crook named Tung (Biao) to infiltrate both Miss Yip and her attorney, Wen (Pauline Yeung), who also happens to be Miss Yip’s cousin.

Almost immediately, what could go wrong does go wrong, from an idyllic twist of fate between Lung and Wen, and Wong and Miss Yip – despite how usually guarded both women are when it comes to male suitors, to a lack of communication that causes Wong and Tung to repeatedly throwdown with one another, ultimately blowing their cover. In the midst of fighting to hold onto their love and resetting their priorities, it’s not long before Lung’s case brings him and his friends face-to-face with Hua and his goons in an epic melee for the ages.

There isn’t much in the way of a story here, and Chan’s character is about as likeable as you allow him to be. His character gets a few moments of his own to chew it up with a judge, played by Roy Chiao who, in the second half, takes it upon himself to determine what’s normal and abnormal, in a scene that plays about as homophobic as it sounds. This aspect along with some of the film’s chauvanistic tendencies also tend to arise, resulting in some choice creative measures here that haven’t aged well in the thirty-seven years since.

Then again, that bodes pretty characteristic of a lot of movies of its time and if you can accept as much and you’re simply in it to watch the “three brothers” kick ass 80s Hong Kong style, then the rest of Dragons Forever should be an easy pill to swallow. Chan, Hung and Yuen are absolute headliners in a slew of action sequences around their roles that make the film a watchable feat. Even actress Yeung gets in a few moves of her own until at one point she’s left dangling off of a platform for dear life.

Some of the other centerpiece action scenes include a night fight in front of a home, bar fight, and a boat fight, all leading ip up to the big factory fight. The key highlights there partly include Tung getting some fancy footwork in opposite Billy Chow’s henchman role, followed by a rematch between Chan and Wheels On Meals cohort Benny “The Jet” Urquidez; I often end up debating which fight is the best between both films and I always pick Wheels On Meals but that’s another discussion.

Regardless, I definitely wanted a third round between Chan and Urquidez at some point in a film that brought the three stars back together somehow. I’m certain I’m not alone in that sentiment, and it’s become all the more clear over the time that another Chan/Hung/Yuen reunion just isn’t in the cards. It’s a fate that I’m willing to accept which makes Dragons Forever the ubiquitous niche gem it is for a new generation of action film fans.

Lee B. Golden III

fcsyndicate@outlook.com | Web

Native New Yorker. Been writing for a long time now, and I enjoy what I do. Be nice to me!