Synopsis:  Jackie plays a Hong Kong policeman named Fung who dreams of becoming a merchant marine. Standing in his path is his mentally challenged older brother, Dodo (Sammo Hung), an overgrown child who needs constant looking after. When Dodo stumbles into the middle of a robbery gone wrong, he ends up being sought by the police, and is then kidnapped by the real crooks and held as a hostage, in order to persuade Fung to hand over the kidnappers’ colleague who is now in police custody. 

Debbie’s review: Heart of Dragon represents a radical departure for both Jackie and Sammo. It is a very emotional portrait of a man who is torn between his dreams and his duty. Although it often steps over into melodrama, it’s a good showcase for both Jackie and Sammo’s acting talents, and I think they both do a fine job. The story is a bit depressing, and the character Jackie plays is really sort of a charming cad…at one point he proposes to his long-suffering girl friend for the sole purpose of leaving her to care for his brother while he joins the merchant navy. When that fails, he devises a plan to have neighbors look after Dodo while he is gone…simply abandoning him, in effect. It’s hard to watch at times, if you’re one of those who’s only accustomed to seeing Jackie as the easy-going good guy (and that’s all of us!). 

Sammo’s portrayal of the retarded brother, even though it  becomes maudlin at times, is still a respectable acting job, and is even charming at times. I particularly liked the scene when Fung has just rescued Dodo from a meat locker that he shut himself in: as they walk home holding hands, passers-by start to stare and mutter "gay" at them. So Jackie starts announcing: “He’s my brother,” “That’s my brother,” to every one they pass.  The scene has a kind of bittersweet feeling to it, showing how he is at once dedicated to his brother and embarrassed by him.

Besides Fung's grim battle between selfishness and sacrifice, there is a thrilling climax when he persuades four of his fellow officers to go outside the law and grab one of the kidnappers from police custody to exchange him for Dodo's safe return. The ensuing fight is exciting and fast paced, and quite a bit more violent than usual for a Chan film. Overall, this is kind of a love it or hate it film. It’s much heavier on the drama than on the action. Maybe it depends on what mood you’re in when you see it. 

Score: 7/10

Reader Reviews

HERVEY  TAYLOR's Review:  I cannot help the feeling I got from this movie. Even though it was different, I was touched by it. In a way I almost forgot that I was watching a Jackie Chan movie, and that's how good of an actor he is.
Sammo Hung is great too as Chan's retarded brother. Chan's character in this film had an ambitious dream. He also had to look after a retarded brother and keep up his relationship with his girlfriend. Though there is not much action, Chan and Hung deliver in the drama and acting department. And then just when you think the drama has gotten to its limit, Chan delivers a nice finale that let's you know that he is in fact "the man"
I have not seen the version without the cut action scenes. But when I first viewed this movie, I didn't know those existed. It's still a great movie.
Others may be disapointed by the lack of action. But trust me, the fight at the end makes up for it.
The drama is good, and even though it's old, it delivers.
I recommend it to any Chan fan.
Definitely worth the time.

Score: 9/10

Sari's Review:  I think it was a very very good movie, I have never cried in a Jackie Chan movie, but in this one I did. Jack is a very good actor, and so are Hung. I never knew that. The story of the film and the action and everything is terrific. I can't think of anything negative of the film.

Score: 10/10

THENEXTJACKIECHAN's Review: I think this movie was really good and i dont know why people dont care about Jackie's acting skills.the movie is like a real life story and is really sad but it has really good fight and some good stunts by sammo in it.its cool when jackie spin kicks sammo when they are crying when its supposed to be sad.go and watch the movie its really good just like the police story and stuff but bit of comedy in it.

Score: where is the BIG FAT 10 for this movie?

Amy's Review: I first caught this movie on the Action channel under the title of First Mission. The dubbing job was horrible! That crying scene that was susposed to be touching makes me laugh every time that I see it because of the poor job with dubbing. It took me a while to get used to the non-Jackie voice actor.

I don't know how many times I ended up laughing during that movie (most of which was due to the dub job), but, after I finished watching it, I realized that I really liked it. Since then, I recorded it and watched it a few times, turning off the volume on some scenes. I really want to get the subtitled version, and that will knock the score up by a few points.

Score: 7/10 (Ignoring the dubbing, of course)

????'s Review: I think personally that this movie is so cool. Jackie Chan and Sammo Hung are the best characters in the movie. Make sure not to miss the last part of the movie. If you wanna know what happens at the last part go look at the other reviews.

Score: 10/10

Joe's Review: Some good acting, an O-k ending, and some comedy make this an o-k movie. I don't know...

Score: 4/10

Adam JC fan's Review: This movie was a drama movie. It is not that good. Some good fight scenes. 

Score: 5/10