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Bridge of Dragons (1999) More at IMDbPro »

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43 comments in total

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11 out of 13 people found the following comment useful :-
Like bad action movies? You'll LOVE this., 17 December 2005

Author: beefeathers from United States

I caught this movie somewhere around 3 in the morning on late-night television. Bleary-eyed and unable to go back to sleep, I decided to give it a chance. And I fell in love.

Here's my summary: The plot is basically nonexistent. The action is good. The acting is... well, it's fairly standard B movie acting. Bruce Campbell would be proud.

Go in expecting a bad action movie, and you'll enjoy this to no end. Go in expecting a Hollywood blockbuster, and you may as well gouge out your eyes, 'cause you're going to get just as much pleasure from that.

God, I love this movie.

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5 out of 5 people found the following comment useful :-
Hilarious from start to finish., 13 May 2003

Author: tenten76 from London

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

Imagine if the entire production crew of the A-Team were told to use the same 30 minute budget for a 90 minute film - only without any of the main characters. Well, here it is.

Let's go into the film a little more - it's not really spoilers, since watching the film will spoil your afternoon anyway. Do not watch sober.

Opening scene - Dolph (Warchild, ho ho) and his elite unit of grubby stuntmen creep up on a rebel base. In bright sunshine. Over flat ground. In jeeps. Chaos ensues, if by chaos you mean 'gunfight on a budget'. By now I was already having to hold my sides - every man does the exact same shimmy (as if to simulate getting hit by automatic fire), but it appears they could only afford 1 squib per 2-3 people! Apparently, Dolph and his invincible crew are using bullets that cause people to backflip, trampoline and somersault like a Russian gymnast when hit. A few people die, then die again (nice editing!), and there's some explosions (or rather, damp smoke grenades - probably bought cheap on Ebay due to water damage).

With the base incapacitated, the bad guy (Cary Takawa (sp?)) arrives, and goes a bit hand-to-hand kung-fu on the rebel leader to show how deadly he is, before slitting the guy's throat with his trademark samurai-style sword. Or rather, he likes to gently wipe the paint off his sword onto the guy's throat before throwing him face down, off-camera. Cary is Dolph's boss. A-Ha we think, so Dolph is a baddie.

Then, for a little R&R, Dolph and his chief monkey go to the kind of bamboo-bar you only see in medieval Samurai films, where big-D takes on all-comers in a kind of Iron Monkey / American Gladiators pole-fighting rip-off (fighting with big cotton buds, standing on poles 2 feet above a floor covered in pig's muck. Not noticing the slight figure, breasts or eyeshadow of his opponent, he tricks and beats up the disguised princess (who's engaged to his baddie boss). Did I mention that the princess - although very pretty - has a Home Counties maid straight out of Blackadder (think Nursey)? And that bad-guy Cary has an army made up of - and I kid you not - WW2 era Nazis, complete with tin helmets, motorbikes & sidecars and jackboots?! Then again, as the intro reminds us, this whole film takes place in a 'land where the future meets the past' or some such nonsense.

As the film goes on, we see consistently appalling acting/costumes/sets. From about 1/2 an hour in, some truly spectacularly funny dubbing (which bears no relation whatsoever to what the actors are saying). And some of the funniest, most low-budget helicopter explosions I've ever seen (helicopter damage not in your budget - no problem - fly it below a hill, and set off a cheap petrol bomb on the grass in front. Edit to emphasise the fake-ness of it all. Keep future shots aimed well away from the supposedly ruined helicopter!). I'm wetting myself by now.

I know I've forgotten other good stuff, but that's yours to find out.

Problem is, I picked up this film hoping it would at least show Dolph kicking a lot of ass, but he doesn't do much if that either. It's not as though he's getting Steven Seagal fat, because he's not - we just don't get very much from him (not even in his occasional fight scenes). Nobody watches Dolph for his acting or emotions - so you'll be relieved that he doesn't try any of that here either. One bit you will belly-laugh at is when he recognises the Princess's eyes as the person who he beat in the bar. Never mind that he might wonder why she's staring straight at him all through her wedding! And his 'thoughtful' expression - head to one side, eyebrows working overtime - is much like when a big dog is puzzled. Utterly hilarious.

Even when compared with the canon of Dolph Lundgren films, this one is a pretty fat turkey - but it is at least side-splittingly funny, provided you're in the right frame of mind and didn't pay too much to see it. If you buy the DVD like I did (HEY - it was cheaper than renting it!), you also get four hysterical trailers - including the one for this film.

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5 out of 6 people found the following comment useful :-
Oh my, this does taste like cheese, 21 May 2005

Author: AwesomeWolf from Australia

In a place where the past and future meet, Dolph will make one of his strangest movies yet. 'Bridge of Dragons' is the closest thing to a fairy tale that Dolph Lundgren is ever going to do. A fairy tale that involves more wasted bullets than John Woo could ever dream of, but a fairy tale none the less.

In a land where time where the past and future are apparently one, the evil General Ruechang (Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa) rules with an iron fist. The King has been dead for some time, but Ruechang is plotting to consolidate his power by marrying Princess Halo (Rachel Shane), allowing him to sit on the throne. Enter Warchild (Dolph), Ruechang's best soldier. When Princess Halo ditches the wedding in a bid to join the rebels, Warchild is sent in pursuit. However, Warchild has a conscience attack, and it may not quite be what Ruechang was expecting.

'Bridge of Dragons' is great fun if you like Dolph and cheese. The movie cheese, not the food cheese. In case you were not instantly able to tell that Ruechang is evil, he conveniently has the number 666 stuck on his helicopters and jeeps, for no apparent reason. On the other hand, the name Princess Halo pretty much ensures her good-guy status, and this fairy tale world gets crazier. We have Asian rulers, Scottish bartenders, and Dolph. Princess Halo's martial arts abilities are matched only by Warchild's and Ruechang's, without explanation of course. Thanks to a crazy past / future time combination, we get to see evil guys trading horses for women, only to have Dolph shoot them and drive off in a four-wheel drive. Interesting. And a princess joining the rebel alliance? Inconceivable!

'Bridge of Dragons' is an action B-movie at its most b-ness. We have a world in which everyone dies an acrobatic death, sometimes getting more acrobatic as the deaths pile up. Dolph does beat up and shoot many people, but leaves a few for Tagawa, Chow, and Gary Hudson. The action scenes are exciting, even if you can plainly see stunt men waiting for their cue to jump from the impending explosion. Awesome.

Don't be fooled by the cover. "The directorial style of John Woo" actually refers to the style of this film's director, Isaac Florentine. You can be excused for never having heard of him, as he seems to direct only action b-movies and episodes of 'Power Rangers'. Nor is 'Bridge of Dragons' Dolph's finest hour, as the package claims. It's like a fairy-tale version of 'Men of War' (which nearly is Dolph's finest hour), just with less of a point.

'Bridge of Dragons' is a fun movie. May even appeal to people who aren't Dolph Lundgren fans (and that doesn't happen very often), and is recommended to anyone for looking for cheap laughs - 4/10

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2 out of 2 people found the following comment useful :-
Just about works, 14 May 2006

Author: hengir from London, England

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

Set in some bizarre time frame; a medieval hillbilly fascist kung fu post apocalyptic scenario type place, it is a plain story told with lots of visual flourish. The action is John Woo-ish but pretty good with lots of wasted bodies tumbling in picturesque slow motion and colourful explosions and Dolph Lundgren (apart from being burdened with the descriptive monicker 'Warchild'(!) instead of a real name) looks fit and fearless doing the macho bits. He is not a great actor but he does have presence. He can't do romance though.

Valerie Chow is bland but Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa is good value as always. The man does look mean. God has blessed him with a cinematically villainous face. It is odd though to see long standing familiar British actors like John Bennett and Jo Kendall turn up. It all adds to the bizarre charm of the film I suppose. It must also be part of the odd nature of the film in that there were no bridges and no dragons anywhere.

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2 out of 2 people found the following comment useful :-
Rubbish..., 6 October 2004
Author: euchrow from Arequipa, Peru

I saw this movie dubbed in Spanish on a peruvian bus, and that's exactly the place where you would expect to see this kind of Z-movie nonsense.

Bad acting, bad editing (same guy gets killed twice, they filmed the action scenes with multiple cameras, and used all the angles on different moments, great!), exceptionally bad script and I can go on and on. The only thing I liked a bit is the combination of old and new props and settings. People arrive at the wedding in a medieval carriage pulled by horses, while others arrive in cars or tanks. Original. And the actress of course...

bye

alain

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2 out of 2 people found the following comment useful :-
Dolph doing what he does best, 31 January 2003
Author: bd119-2 from wonderland

This is a moderately entertaining action film starring Dolph Lundgren as a mercenary in the post-apocalyptic future who goes against his mentor, an evil emperor, and teams up with the rebels. The film could have been better but it is saved by some spectacular fight scenes and stunts. Cary Hiroyuki-Tagawa (who was also the bad guy in Dolph's 1991 movie Showdown In Little Tokyo) is a great villain, he is very believable and very menacing as the emperor Reuchang. This film is Dolph back to what he does best, it is full of machine gun battles, and Dolph kicking ass the whole way through the movie. Rachel Shane is good as the princess, and in the movie she is a mean fighter too. Not a very believable movie, but then hardly any of these type of movies are, and it is a Dolph movie. I would recommend it to action fans and Dolph fans alike, who will definitely get a kick out of it. This movie was meant to have a proper release in the US but for some reason it never did and instead got a cinema release elsewhere before it came out in the States. Overall, a great action movie, and a fine return to form for Dolph.

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2 out of 2 people found the following comment useful :-
the future or alternate universe????, 3 November 2001
Author: tnman26 (tnman26@yahoo.com)

Bridge of Dragons is one of those films where half way thru you wonder where is this set..i believe it was filmed probably in eastern europe somewhere but the leaders and royalty are asian, but the rest of the cast are caucasion so, i have really figuered which is it. But overall its a decent action flick..Dolph is at his top..So give this one a chance if your a dolph lungren fan or just love action movies...and for those scifi fans out there, this might be a scifi film.

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2 out of 2 people found the following comment useful :-
Another ho-hum action movie, 24 June 2001

Author: Gideon40 from Singapore

I simply cannot believe the huge percentage of individuals that gave this movie a 10. Bridge of Dragons is an action movie so cheesy its quite hilarious. Simple and small movements result in hokey sound effects. For instance, the bad guy turns his head to the left, and a loud ZOOM accompanies the movement.

I cannot understand how Dolph Lungren can fire hundreds, if not thousands, of rounds from a makeshift and puny submachine gun, kills over a dozen bad guys armed with automatic rifles who can't shoot for s$!%t. The story is quite ridiculous. I never knew the story took place in a post-apocalypse future because nothing seemed very futuristic at all, and the fact that the guards carry WWII submachine guns that are now obselete today further complicates things. Also, check out the princess's nanny. Her acting is so bad that if everyone of her lines was accompanied by laughter from a studio audience it would seem very appropriate.

However, Bridge of Dragons certainly does better than American Ninja V and Interceptors because it has some(if not none)realistic and believable scenes, aside from the cliche bullet-proof hero.

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2 out of 2 people found the following comment useful :-
No Mercy! The movie shows none to the audience..., 22 September 1999

Author: hurlcode from USA

I registered with this service just so I could slam this movie. Ignore the minor details, such as Valerie Chow taking a rifle butt to the face without so much as a tiny bruise. This thing just did not hang together for me - I never really understood what they were supposed to be doing, and I was completely lost on the why. I guess I can understand in principle her not wanted to marry the guy who killed her father - I just was rather unconvinced she was all that upset. Strong action violence? Well, they do seem to shoot and blow up a bunch of things. I'm not sure I understand WHY they blow things up. I actually appreciate that when they blow some guys brains out, the director didn't find it necessary to show the details (the effect was, however, very cheezy). So I guess I did have one good thing to say about this movie. Dolf wants to be Ahnold - don't give up your day job on the basis of this one, buddy. All things considered... don't consider watching this one.

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2 out of 2 people found the following comment useful :-
a cliche, 21 September 1999

Author: jheaney from Rochester, NY

From the first couple minutes when you see the helecopter go by with a big "666" on the side, you pretty much know who the bad guys are. Aside from the shallow characters and thin plot, it's nice to see that Dolph Lundgren isn't unemployed :-)

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