User Reviews

An American effort to cash in on the then-nascent kung fu craze, Kill a Dragon (which I swear used to play on the Late Late Show as TO Kill a Dragon) features Jack Palance as Rick, an American adventurer hired by Hong Kong villagers to protect a salvaged junk full of deadly nitro-glycerin. Seems the junk originally belonged to villainous Patrai (Fernando Lamas wearing a Snidely Whiplash moustache), who is now threatening to destroy the village if his property isn't returned to him intact and unexploded. Tempted by gold and attractive local girl Tisa (stunningly gorgeous Alizia Gur), Rick takes up the cause with some assistance from tourist guide Vigo (Aldo Ray). A ridiculous but enjoyable action flick, Kill a Dragon does at least benefit from Hong Kong location footage.

Viewers into hyper-active, rapidly-edited action movies with comic book fighting such as the Bourne or Mission Impossible movies will find Kill A Dragon is not for them. Middle-aged, boozing super-macho salvagers (Jack Palance, Aldo Ray, Don Knight ) square off against a middle-aged super-macho mobster (Fernando Lamas) vying for sunken nitra2 claimed by Kam Tong (Paladin's confidante in Have Gun Will Travel). The gorgeous Miss Israel 1960 Alizia Gur is the sex interest and the movie is greatly enhanced by her presence. Too bad the boys didn't take her along to the island. It would have helped this picture. Since the action is very old-school and routine, the verbal dueling between pros Lamas and Palance provides the interest (Lamas is more interesting and has better lines than Palance in their scenes.) Surprisingly, Lamas isn't killed off. Ray wearing a dress is more ridiculous than funny. The location shooting helps a great deal but this is second-feature content for rainy day viewing.

Let me say right off there's really no karate or kung fu here. If you think there's a martial arts theme you're sadly mistaken. Fernando Lamas (very much in the Billy Crystal "You look mahvelous!" mode) somehow loses a huge (seems like over a hundred big crates) shipment of nitroglycerin (!?)and a small island village keeps it from him looking to gain some vague reward for it. While being chased the village leaders bust into Palance's boat (while he's getting birthday nookie) and after Jack shows off his physical ability the trio get Jack to agree to help them move the nitro to Hong Kong. Jack gets together his motley crew of Aldo (big boozy guy who gets in drag) Hans (oddly named Asian guy) Ian (token British guy)and Aliza (nookie)who all go in on this for a third. Yes a third. A third of what is never said. No money is even mentioned. There's a sightseeing tour of Hong Kong. Some terrible fist fights (there are better fist fights in the old serials where the fighters hats never come off). A little gun play. Mostly it seems to take forever to move all these large crates of nitro into a boat and it all comes down to Ferdy letting it all go in the end and Jack grinning. Where was the action? It took two guys to write this but since there's no plot I guess we're watching it for the dialog. I think this is just another very low budget attempt to cash in on the James Bond movies and most likely You only Live Twice but there's really nothing here at all. I just don't know what they were thinking. Even some crates of opium might have worked. I'm hoping some other reviewers will comment on this.