Millennium Dragon (1999) Review

“Millennium Dragon” Poster

AKA: Black Rain
Director: Phillip Ko Fei
Cast: Yuen Biao, Lily Chung Suk-Wai, Choi Jae-sung, Lee Ngai-Chi, Ben Ng Ngai-Cheung, Chiu Lai-Yee, Chin Siu-Ho, Johnny Wang Lung-Wei, Hugo Ng Doi-Yung, Charlie Cho Cha-Lee, William Ho Ka-Kui
Running Time: 94 min.

By Paul Bramhall

The directorial career of kung-fu cinema legend Philip Ko Fei is one that needs to be studied. Helming more than 50 movies in the years spanning 1982 to 2003, his work ranged from cut ‘n’ paste atrocities for IFD, action cheapies shot in the Philippines, all the way through to slices of Category III erotica. In the span of a little over 20 years the guy did everything, and that’s not even taking into consideration the fact he’d already appeared in close to 100 kung-fu movies when he sat in the director’s chair for the first time (and would go on to feature in over 150 more!). Despite his prolificness as a director it still feels like he was somewhat of an enigma as a filmmaker, which perhaps explains why, in 1999 and far from the peak of his career (which, for the sake of this discussion, we’ll say is his late 80’s – early 90’s period), he got to work with Yuen Biao.

The movie was Millennium Dragon, and in the 25+ years since it was released, is one of those productions that tends to find itself featured prominently in discussions on which movies from Biao’s filmography should be avoided. In fairness while it was the first time for him to be directed by Ko Fei, it wasn’t the first time for the pair to work together. From featuring as extras in the likes of Enter the Dragon and The Secret Rivals Part 2 in the 1970’s, through to regularly appearing together in many of Sammo Hung’s productions in the 1980’s (including a standout fight in 1985’s Twinkle Twinkle Lucky Stars). By the end of the 1990’s Biao felt a little lost in the mix, and was already himself starring in Philippines shot cheapies like 1995’s Tough Beauty and the Sloppy Slop and 1997’s The Hunted Hunter, so taken in the context of the time it was made, appearing in Millennium Dragon really wasn’t so much of a stretch.

What Millennium Dragon isn’t though, is a Philippines shot cheapie. Or at least I should say, it wasn’t shot in the Philippines. What’s more significant though, its that it’s not really a Yuen Biao movie either. Ko Fei must have sensed something was in the air over in South Korea as the millennium dawned on the horizon, as he transitioned from the Philippines to the Korean peninsula for a handful of movies. In a way there was, with 1999’s Shiri proving to be the production that became the international breakout for Korean cinema, one that it’s never looked back from. Perhaps Ko Fei sensed the same, as in 2000 he made both Supercop.com and Payment in Blood in Seoul, both of which cast Hong Kong action stalwarts like Cynthia Khan and Yu Rongguang alongside Korean DTV action stars like Cha Ryong.

What went on behind the scenes with Payment in Blood seemed to hark back to the previous decade’s era of Hong Kong – Korean co-productions, with the latter often making their own local version to be released once the HK crew went home, as it was released in Korea as Rules of a Gangster (with Ko Fei listed as a co-director alongside Jo Moung-hwa). Millennium Dragon wasn’t shot in Korea, however it is essentially a starring vehicle for another Korean DTV action star in the form of Choi Jae-sung. An actor who, ironically, would go on to star in the 100% Korean sequel Rules of a Gangster 3 released in 2000, as well as having previously taken over the title role from Jeon Yeong-rok for the 4^th instalment of the Crazy Boy series, 1988’s Crazy Boy 4: Dune Buggy.

A precursor to Payment in Blood, Millennium Dragon was also released in Korea, this time under the title Black Rain. At least for the Korean version, it seems like a completely new movie was made. The director is credited as An Seung-ho, responsible for the likes of the Won Jin starring Brave Trio, and also billed as co-director along with Ko Fei on the Korean cut of Techno Warriors. Yuen Biao still features in the cast, however the Korean Movie Database lists 6 Korean actors who are nowhere to be seen in Millennium Dragon, and even the fight choreographer is switched from Ko Fei to local Korean talent Ma Yeong-jeong. Thankfully both versions feature the theft of the “millennia luminant pearl” (in case you’ve been wondering where the title comes from), a mysterious bead that unleashes an unfathomable power when exposed to sunlight (or at least, a lot of wind and some rudimentary animation effects).

So, with all that context, is Millennium Dragon truly worthy of its reputation as a stinker, or is it, much like Iron Monkey 2, a misunderstood classic waiting to be re-discovered? I’ll say somewhere in the middle. Jae-sung and Biao play undercover agents representing South Korea and China respectively, although neither of them knows it, their identities only revealed during a bizarre scene involving Leung Kar-Yan (Killer Angels, The Victim) appearing for 1 minute as the chairman of the Joint Intelligence Committee. Various other characters are also revealed to be undercover agents during the course of the runtime, and almost all of them are after the villainous Chin Siu-Ho (The Beheaded 1000, Vampire Cleanup Department) who’s got his hands on the magic pearl.

Millennium Dragon is interestingly filmed on location in Mongolia and Russia, the latter being where the majority of the narrative unfolds. Rather amusingly, as if to hammer the fact home there’s an omnipresent Russian flag in practically every other scene, so much so that it’d make for a fun drinking game to take a shot every time the flag appears. The change in location from the usual Philippines construction sites and barren warehouses at least makes for a nice change, although presumably the filming was done in winter, since Biao spends the entirety of the runtime decked out in a puffy white down jacket (occasionally complimented by an unflattering trapper hat). Thankfully his winter attire doesn’t prevent him from springing into action, although again, the word ‘occasionally’ should be used.

One element I did enjoy is that Millennium Dragon offers up a brief opportunity to see Biao go up against Shaw Brothers legend Johnny Wang Lung Wei, for what I believe is the only time they squared off in their respective careers. Sadly there’s no Twinkle Twinkle Lucky Stars rematch against Ko Fei, despite him taking on a small part, and none of the other match ups are anything to really write home about either. Jae-sung for the most part sticks to powerful punches and kicks, typical of the 90’s Korean action style, and Ben Ng (Red to Kill, Death Notice) also shows up for a fight that’s undercranked to mid-90’s Donnie Yen style proportions. But for a 1999 Ko Fei production expectations are already on the lower side, and we do at least get a fairly entertaining bullet riddled pre-finale that takes place inside a mansion and docklands.

The actual finale itself relocates to Mongolia, with Jae-sung, Biao, and Ng hunting down Chin Siu-Ho for a 3 versus 1 showdown. It’s during this time that Siu-Ho fully unleashes the power of the “millennia luminant pearl” that he wields in his possession, and I’ll simply say that the result wasn’t exactly what I expected. I don’t want it to be a spoiler because I understand that for many who are reading this, watching Millennium Dragon is probably one of your top priorities in 2025, but I will say I felt convinced Siu-Ho was going to make a bombastic transformation into a kind of pearl powered supervillain. The way he doesn’t, and instead we’re hit with the closing credits, will either be viewed as amusing or underwhelming depending on your temperament.

In case it’s not apparent already, Millennium Dragon is the very definition of non-essential viewing for all involved, with everyone having far more entertaining and superior titles in their filmographies to check out. It may be as niche a target audience as you can possibly get, however as low budget late 90’s HK action comfort food, I confess it delivered exactly what I expected it to. Now to seek out Black Rain and do it all again!

Paul Bramhall’s Rating: 5.5/10