Revenge of the Green Dragons

Martin Scorsese's Gangs of New York is updated to the 1980s and given an Asian spin in this crime saga from Hong Kong directors Andrew Lau and Andrew Loo. The fact that Scorsese takes an executive producer credit (payback, perhaps, for him reworking Lau's Infernal Affairs into Oscar winner The Departed) certainly adds to the anticipation, but the film exhibits none of the master's skill as it charts the doomed path taken by two Chinese kids who are recruited into the Green Dragons gang after arriving in the US. There's an interesting plot strand dealing with the trafficking of illegal immigrants, but this is only given cursory attention, with Ray Liotta underused as the FBI agent trying to smash the operation. And while the film doesn't shy away from brutal violence, the key confrontations generate little in the way of dramatic tension. As an East-tears-up-West tale, this clearly had plenty of potential but must go down as a missed opportunity given the talents involved.