Dragon Head is based on a series of manga, and it is more than evident this action film could have well been an anime feature.
Sorry, I got sidetracked. Here’s a summation that will enable me to move on and actually review this film – 1: killing’s bad; and 2: there’s no such thing as the greater good.
My fellow cinemagoers did not take too kindly to Dragon Head. Keeping in mind that this was a screening at the Melbourne International Film Festival (MIFF), there were more than a few derisive chuckles, aggravated sighs and walkouts. Expectations are very different at a film festival, and audiences react in ways they never would when watching a mainstream release.
I for one thought that such behaviour was a little unnecessary. Dragon Head does have some dodgy acting, and a bad script (or maybe bad subtitling), but there are also some jaw dropping moments. A couple of dream/hallucination sequences are terrific, and every now and again there’s a large explosion which can knock your socks off.
Once again I say that this could have been a great piece of anime, and perhaps had the audience been a little more savvy to such Japanese styles of storytelling, they may have liked it more.
Dragon Head is for the most part flawed, but it has its moments.