A few days ago I watched the Korean 2008 Movie Dance of the Dragon. I usually enjoy dance movies no matter the genre. I can’t say I really liked this movie very much though. It wasn’t bad, I just felt it could have been better.
Quick Synopsis: Kwan (Jang Hyuk) has wanted to become a ballroom dancer ever since he was a child and saw a performance with his mother. Emi (Fann Wong) sees that he has potential even though he has never been professionally trained and has a lot to learn. Her partner Cheng (Jason Scott Lee) is immediately jealous Kwan.
My Thoughts:
So, it was a little strange for me when I started watching this, and saw Jang Hyuk in this role. He played it very well, but it was so different then anything else I had seen him in. It took me maybe 20 minutes to get used to him in this role, but as always, he played it well. He was so graceful as he moved. I thought this was also a very brave movie to take on seeing that most of the dialogue was in English. He did very well in this, and had to rely a lot more on his facial expressions since there didn’t seem to be a whole lot of dialogue.
I didn’t mind the lack of dialogue, except that it made the story pretty slow and drag a bit. I thought there were some very sweet moments between Kwan and Emi but it didn’t really progress much. The story made the attraction apparent, but she was with someone else so they were careful not to cross that line. They were very sweet together, and I thought there dancing together was lovely.
Cheng’s character was very frustrating. I found he was very jealous before he really even had a right to be. He seems to only drive Kwan and Emi closer together. Cheng was jealous, overbearing, aggressive and controlling (not the kind of man you would want if you ask me).
Final thoughts:
The acting was good but the story could have been a little more developed. I would have liked it more with a less open ended ending.
Overall 2.5/5
kdramadreamer 
Where can I watch Dance of the Dragon on line?
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I saw it quite a long time ago now. I can’t remember where I watched it.
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Reblogged this on Stuck on Hyuk and commented:
Kdramadreamer continues on her Jang Hyuk dramas and movies marathon and we at Stuck on Hyuk support her 100% hehe! But pace yourself girl! You’ll run out of Jang Hyuk too soon 🙂 Here is here review of Dance of the Dragon, with which I agree a lot.
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These are exactly my feelings regarding this movie. The acting was decent, Jang Hyuk’s acting, and most of the korean actors acting was good. I liked that Yeo Jin Goo,a great child actor at the time, played younger Kwan. The plot was simple, and slow, and a bit cliche. I wouldn’t have minded that, if the character of the jealous husband and the conflict hadn’t been so cheesy. I mean I did like the slow progression of Kwan and Emi’s relationship, but it was underdeveloped. And then the showdown between the guys was so whatever! what a waste of good martial artists really. However, as a Jang Hyuk fan I enjoyed seeing him try this role, which was challenging for him and allowed him to show another aspect of his acting.
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I agree, that whole martial art showdown was a little awkward.
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Great Review:D I am guilty of the 21st century syndrome and that is, watching only things that are in HD. I find it really hard to watch “old” dramas because they are not HD and therefore I lose my interest more easily. It is such a pity as there are always dramas that are considered “classics” that I want to see but couldn’t because of it not being in HD. It seems like you really like watching “older” dramas and I just want to say your post makes me want to see them because clearly you can see the charm in those dramas and I want to thank you for drawing my interest to the dramas/movies again^^
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There’s a couple reasons I tend to watch older dramas and movies. One is reviews. If it comes highly recommended I want to know what the buzz is about. Two, I’m a marathon watching. I prefer watching completed dramas so I can see what happens next. I don’t like waiting. My third reason is I get interested in a certain actor and actress and want to watch a variety of their work. Often that will mean watching older dramas 🙂
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Oh I see….I watch what my friend recommends and if I feel doubtful whether to start it or not, I usually check out reviews of other people to make sure I won’t regret starting a drama. You see, time to us drama-addict is extremely important. There are thousands of dramas out there and to pick one out and watch it is a pretty big decision (for me at least) .Since I am human too, I can be very bias sometimes and especially after watching an amazing drama so I can’t get over my bias.What do I do then?~ I watch all the other dramas that my bias is in even if there are ones that are just intolerably horrible. As for marathon watching, I love it too! But the problem is I don’t have time to marathon because I’m still a student and on top of that, I’m in the State Exam year which means I have to study a lot more. So now I watch the dramas that are airing because it’s easier for me since 1.It only takes up two days of my week and 2. it’s easier to gather my thoughts for episode reviews. I’m still quite satisfied since dramas are at least not completely gone out of my life~
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Ya. That makes sense. I should really cut down.
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