Those who enjoyed the outrageous martial arts action of "Once Upon a Time in China," which recently played at the Tower Theater, are in for another treat with "Dragon Inn."
Set during the Ming Dynasty, and taking a page from "Casablanca," the "Dragon Inn" of the title is a place in the middle of the desert where unsavory types gather during breaks between battles.The plot, if you can keep up with it, has to do with warring factions trying to establish government control. A power-hungry eunuch named Yin (Donnie Yen) is at odds with Chow (Tony Leung), chief of the palace guards. Yin kidnaps the young son of Chow's superior, a setup to trap Chow.
But Chow rescues the boy and heads across the desert, along with his girlfriend Mo (Brigitte Lin) and a band of followers. Soon they come upon the Dragon Inn, where they encounter the owner, Jade (Maggie Cheung). And it isn't long before Yin's top warriors arrive as well.
This sets the stage for a variety of encounters, including a rivalry between Mo and Jade over Chow. But this is no ordinary rivalry, since they are both schooled martial artists. The most fascinating one-on-one fight has Mo going after Jade as she's bathing. Mo is clothed but Jade is naked, until they start fighting and soon the roles are reversed. What's most amazing about this sequence is that the nudity is never shown, only implied - yet the action is full-tilt.
And so it is with everything else in this movie. No one leaps when he or she can fly - and they do. Robes flap, arrows splinter and heroes and villains (sometimes it's hard to tell which are which) fly through the air with the greatest of ease.
If that's not enough, there's also a scene where an arrow rounds a corner to find its victim. And at one point, Jade's cook uses his meat cleaver to fillet a villain's leg!
Though bloodier than "Once Upon a Time in China" (and with a cannibalism subplot that may bring to mind "Fried Green Tomatoes"), "Dragon Inn" is zany, crazy, funny and more outrageous than any action film made in this country. Even something like "Army of Darkness" seems tame comparison.
"Dragon Inn" is not rated but would easily get an R for violence, gore and profanity.