Twin Dragons

Plot

In 1965, a couple (Sylvia Chang and James Wong) are doting on their newborn twin boys. Meanwhile, a dangerous gang leader named Crazy Kung (Kirk Wong) is being transported as a captive in the same hospital. Crazy Kung escapes and attempts to take one of the twins hostage. In the ensuing chaos, the twins are permanently separated. One of them, named Ma Yau, is raised by his parents and grows up to be a concert pianist and conductor. The other, named Wan Ma, is raised by a woman named Tsui (Mabel Cheung), and grows up to be a street racer and martial artist. Neither of them has ever thought that he has a twin brother.

26 years later, the twins' (Jackie Chan) lives intersect in Hong Kong. Wan Ma and his best friend Tyson (Teddy Robin) get mixed up with a dangerous gang. Meanwhile, Ma Yau prepares to conduct a major concert. The twins accidentally switch places, causing confusion for both of them until they discover each other. The twins also have romantic interests named Barbara (Maggie Cheung) and Tong Sum (Nina Li Chi).

Eventually, the twins defeat the gang that has been threatening them, and marry their romantic interests.

Cast

Production

According to co-director Tsui Hark, Ringo Lam handled most of the action scenes in the film. The action in the film has a larger focus on actual martial arts rather than Jackie Chan's usual comedic style.

Release

On the film's release in Hong Kong, Twin Dragons was the ninth highest grossing film of the year, earning HK$33,225,134 during its theatrical run. The film received an American release on 9 April 1999 in a dubbed version. The American release of the film cuts 16 minutes of scenes involving Wong Jing and Lau Kar-leung in a hospital and a fantasy scene involving Maggie Cheung singing. The film grossed a total of HK$8,332,431 in the United States.

Reception

At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the film has received an average score of 54, based on 15 reviews. The Austin Chronicle gave the film a positive review of three and a half stars out of five, noting that the film is "only for those who are fully on the bus with Jackie's approach...and who won't let a little bad (okay, execrable) English-language dubbing get in the way of their movie enjoyment." The A.V. Club gave a positive review, but noted that it "probably won't make anyone forget Dragons Forever, Wheels On Meals, Project A, or any number of other excellent Chan films" Some reviews critiqued the special effects, such as in Variety which noted "the camera trickery is glaringly cheesy in some shots, greatly undercutting the illusion of twin brothers in the same frame. When the two brothers first meet in a hotel lavatory, it's easy to see how two shots have been overlapped." TV Guide gave the film one star out of four, noting that it "suffers from some very dicey twinning effects when the brothers are in frame together. Only die-hard and undemanding Chan fans need apply." Jackie Chan was unhappy with how Twin Dragons came out to be primarily based on the special effects. Chan stated that he worked with Tsui Hark who he felt would provide the film with better special effects. Chan was so soured with the results of the special effects that he decided he would only attempt more special-effect based work in his American productions.