twin dragons Movie Review

If Dimension Films wants to turn a quick profit cashing in on re-dubs of Jackie Chan's extensive Hong Kong filmography, I don't have a problem with that. But they can do a lot better than "Twin Dragons," a 1993 assembly line flick in which Chan plays twins separated at birth.

Short on Chan's trademark comedy-fu and his dazzling, risky stunts, and long -- very long -- on gimmick, the sloppy and unnecessarily complex story casts our hero as both a world-famous concert pianist and as a street-raised mechanic who meet for the first time just as one of them has run into trouble with the mob (guess which one).

Stock confusion ensues with mistaken identities, mixed up girlfriends and a scene in which Chan the street tough wildly conducts the Hong Kong symphony before an audience of aristocrats in evening wear.

Except for an early boat chase pilfered from so many James Bond movies and a disappointingly uncreative final fight sequence in a car factory, most of the movie depends on extremely shopworn camp for it's entertainment value.

The best I can say about this re-engineered import is that it might be a passable bargain matinee if nothing better is showing at the multiplex. But ultimately you'd be better entertained by renting one of the truly great Chan movies that hasn't been punched up with and excessive American adventure soundtrack and new voice-overs.

Scour the video store instead for "Drunken Master" or "Police Story" -- two of Chan's best that have yet to see wide U.S. release.