Kill a Dragon

I reviewed Kill a Dragon over a decade ago during this site’s first incarnation. My logs tell me folks are looking for that review, so I revisited it. I had no recollection of the film, nor any sense of déjà vu re-watching it. This may serve as review enough.

For those still reading, Jack Palance plays Rick Masters, marine salvager and adventurer. Early in the film, a gang of thugs chases a group of Chinese villagers through Hong Kong’s docks. The villagers stumble into Palance’s boat, where he’s preparing to bed his hooker girlfriend. The thugs follow. Shirtless Palance orders everyone off his boat, so he can resume his hooker bedding, and when the thugs won’t leave, Palance beats the crap out of them.

Later, at the bar Palance calls his office, the villagers explain their plight. They’ve salvaged a treasure trove of high-explosives, but need to transport it from their island to mainland Hong-Kong where they can sell it for a fortune. Standing in their way is a smuggler king-pin, played with relish by Fernando Lamas. Palance agrees to help for a cut of the profits and sets about recruiting his A-Team of adventurers.

Everything moves along like gangbusters until it becomes clear the budget can’t cover a sea chase. Instead, the script meanders, keeping Palance on the villager’s island with little to do aside from concocting elaborate schemes before the inevitable showdown with Lamas. Disappointing, given the great Hong Kong locales and how entertaining Palance and Lamas prove in their parts.