In the world of martial arts cinema, there's a wide spectrum of acceptable tones. Some of the best early entries in the genre are hilarious, while other classics are racked with heartrending drama. Striking a balance can be tough, but elevating the action to the heights of anime while treating the story with respect is an interestingly rare blend. Wilson Yip's Dragon Tiger Gate sets a strange goal and nails it.
Live-action adaptations of manga have a very different reputation from live-action adaptations of anime. When a filmmaker is pulling straight from the page, they tend to either respect the source material or deviate widely enough to create their own story. Dragon Tiger Gate pulls from a Chinese manhua which gives the film a strong presence.
What is Dragon Tiger Gate About?
Dragon Tiger Gate follows two half-brothers, each of which is the son of a legendary martial arts master. That master is one of two gifted warriors who established the fabulously named Dragon Tiger Gate martial arts academy. Dragon Tiger Gate exists primarily to serve children who have been orphaned by the Triad. On top of protecting those abandoned youths, the academy trains its foundlings in the martial arts so that they can defend the innocent and avenge themselves upon the criminals. Unfortunately, Dragon, the eldest son of the academy's founder, lost his mother to a terrible fire and wound up in the care of a Triad boss. When he meets his half-brother, Tiger, he's forced to face him in combat.
Dragon and Tiger spend most of the film apart. They're only brought together by the force of the evil cult leader Shibumi. When Dragon's adoptive father retires from the Triad, Dragon is happy to return to the academy that raised him. However, Shibumi seeks to tie up the loose end, so he orders the death of Dragon's latest dad. When Dragon slays the assassins in vengeance, Shibumi issues a grand challenge to the students of Dragon Tiger Gate. It's up to Dragon, Tiger, and a new student named Turbo to defeat the Triad and establish their school's legacy. The story is strange, but it's mostly an excuse for the wall-to-wall action scenes. Every set piece is a massive blowout with anime-level feats of strength and skill. The story comes from the 1970 manhua series Oriental Heroes, which revolutionized the medium and continues to be published to this day.
How Does it Fit Into Donnie Yen's Career?
Donnie Yen has been steeped in martial arts culture since the day he was born. His mother Bow-sim Mark is a grandmaster in both Tai Chi and Wudang quan. His first starring role came in 1984 after he met action choreographer and director Yuen Woo-ping. Yen worked as a stuntman in a few projects, but his breakthrough roles arguably came through his collaborations with Jet Li. Yen appeared as Long Sky in the Zhang Yimou classic Hero. The American success of that film led him to work as an action choreographer in a few projects, including Guillermo del Toro's Blade II. In 2005, Yen joined a film that would change his career. He starred in a crime drama called SPL: Sha Po Lang. That film was his first collaboration with Wilson Yip, who would direct him again in Dragon Tiger Gate. Their working relationship became key to Donnie Yen's stardom.
Most who know Wilson Yip's name don't know him for Dragon Tiger Gate, though they certainly should. Yip directed the four mainline films in the Ip Man series, which has been the biggest starring role for Donnie Yen. Yen has appeared in a ton of great roles, but most fans associate him with the legendary Wing Chun grandmaster above anything else. Though the Ip Man films are well-received and generally solid, they're very serious affairs. There's very little levity in this sincere biographical franchise. Dragon Tiger Gate manages to tell a compelling story while also elevating its heroes beyond any traditional human being. It's serious, but it's also having a great time. Martial arts films could stand to be a bit more comical in their delivery. Borrowing from the world of manhua or manga could be a perfect way to keep the martial arts genre interesting.
Donnie Yen recently appeared in the hit film John Wick: Chapter 4, which brings a bit of levity to an otherwise extraordinarily sad and violent revenge story. He appears in a fair amount of genre material and occasionally pops up in big franchises like Star Wars. His upcoming wuxia film Sakra seems prepped to insert a bit more surreality into his filmography once again. He may never return to the era of Dragon Tiger Gate, but the world of martial arts cinema has a lot to learn from the simple story of brothers using their martial arts skills to fight the Triad.