Enter the Fat Dragon - Blu-ray Review

[Michael Scott]

Enter the Fat Dragon



Movie:
Video:
Audio:
Extras:
Final Score:


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Movie
If it wasn’t made in 2020 I would have assumed that Enter The Fat Dragon was made in the late 90s. I mean, what is more quintessential to the end of 20th century humor than using the fat suit for comedy? Well, that or maybe the use of split screen so as to use the same actor playing multiple characters, but the fat suit is still one of those big 90s (and very VERY early 2000s) things that just brings me back to my childhood. Enter the Fat Dragon is pure comedy cheese and proof that Yen is kind of following in the footsteps of Jackie Chan by making mediocre movies in the latter days of his career. The film isn’t anything special, but luckily doesn’t take itself too serious either, ending up being a fairly bland comedy that gets in it’s punches, but can be rather cringey as well.

Donnie Yen is super cop Fallon Zhu, a cop who always gets his man, even though he is so driven and focuses that he drives everyone around him nuts. His chief hates him, his co-workers like (but still hate to be around) him, and his razzie level actress fiancee dumps him after he misses their wedding photography session. Demoted for tearing up a city block to grab a couple of gangsters, Zhu is stuck down in the evidence room where he can’t be working out every day, and instead stuffs his face with junk food out of boredom. Doubling his weight in the better part of a year, Zhu finally gets the chance to MAYBE get his old job back when he babysits one of the Japanese criminals back to Japan.

Strangely enough, Zhu’s ex fiancee is also on the same flight, as she is going to Japan because a Yakuza crime boss is love with her acting and wants to see her on stage in his home nation. Like expected, the entire thing goes to pot when Zhu’s ward escapes from custody and he is forced to track down the perpetrators while trying to reconcile himself with his old girlfriend (Niki Chow).

Donnie Yen proselytizes about “It doesn’t matter if you’re fat or thin, what is important is that you stay true to yourself” part way through the film, but that’s really not the focus of the film, nor is it a copy of the 1978 Sammo Hung film of the same title as this (which was more of a deconstruction of the Bruce Lee exploitation films that followed after the iconic martial artist’s death). Instead it’s pure slapstick fat suit comedy, with Yen beating up actors half his weight and using wire-fu to get it down. The film doesn’t take itself too seriously, which is it’s one redeeming factor. The characters and actors just ham it up for the screen, winking and nodding the entire time. Fight scenes can be well done and excellently choreographed, but CGI can be a bit dodgy at times.

I do have to admire Yen for being able to laugh at himself in previous roles, and even incorporating a hilarious flash back sequences that mimics the infamous alleyway fight in Killzone (aka Sha Po Lang), and winks and nods at a few of his other roles over his career. The use of the snack machine and his leg injury sets up the film for lots of fat gags, but interestingly enough (or sadly enough depending on your point of view) the “fat man” gags die off really quickly. Instead it’s more of a “fish out of water” story with Zhu trying to make his way through the politics of Tokyo and get his man at the same time. It’s goofy, silly, kind of fun, but also completely forgettable at the end of the day.




Rating:

Not Rated by the MPAA




Video:

The digitally shot 2.39:1 framed film is quite the stunner on Blu-ray. It’s generally really glossy and shiny with minimal color grading, but once Zhu gets to Japan some of the more garish aspects of the place show themselves in the grading. There’s some mild green added to the fight scene with Thor coked out of his mind, and the daylight shots sometimes show elements of light blue. The end battle on the tower is quite gold tinged, but none of the various color gradings detract from the stunning detail levels. I noticed some CGI softness around Yen’s face, but that was mostly likely used to make the fat suit that he’s wearing look seamless. Black levels maintain good shadow detail and are deceptively deep and inky, with only the mildest of banding to show up every now and again.









Audio:

There’s no Atmos or DTS:X here, but the 5.1 DTS-HD MA track that we do get for the film (along with a Dolby Digital 2.0 mix for night listening) is quite the stunner. Surrounds are robust and active all the time with all of the action scenes, and the dialog or score are never out of balance. Dynamic range is pretty impressive, with deep bass sequences interrupted by more quiet dialog heavy bits. The mix is a wildly active and exciting mix, and easily one of the beast parts of the entire package.







Extras:

• Trailers
- International Trailer
- U.S. Trailer
• Well Go USA Trailers

Final Score: ​

If you’re looking for a modern retelling of the 1978 film Enter the Fat Dragon, then you’re going to be disappointed. If you’re looking for a moderately entertaining Donnie Yen film with him in a fat suit, then this will probably scratch the itch well enough. The action is fun, Donnie Yen is always entertaining, but the film is cotton candy fluff at the end of the day. Well Go USA’s Blu-ray release is generally stunning, with great audio and video, but the typical lack of extras that weaken the package just a bit. Rental is probably what I would recommend the film as.


Technical Specifications:

Starring: Donnie Yen, Niki Chow, Teresa Mo, Jing Wong, Jessica Jann, Quinan Lin, Louis Cheung
Directed by: Kenji Tanigaki
Written by: Kin-Hung Chan, Koon-Nam Lui, Jing Wong
Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1 AVC
Audio: Cantonese: DTS-HD MA 5.1, Cantonese DD 2.0
Subtitles: English, Cantonese
Studio: Well Go USA
Rated: NR
Runtime: 97 Minutes
Blu-Ray Release Date: July 14th, 2020

Recommendation: Silly Rental

 

[Todd Anderson]

Is it me, or does the first movie screen capture look like "Pat" from SNL?

I think this flick is a hard pass for me... :-/