Father and child sit together smiling while looking at a smart phone.

Want more recommendations for your family?

Sign up for our weekly newsletter for entertainment inspiration

Parents' Guide to

Revenge of the Green Dragons

By Barbara Shulgasser-Parker, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 18+

Vicious '80s gangs fight in graphically violent drama.

Movie R 2014 94 minutes
Revenge of the Green Dragons Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

Community Reviews

See all

There aren't any parent reviews yet. Be the first to review this title.

What's the Story?

Sonny loses his mother at age 10 while illegally crossing from China to New York to pursue the American dream. He's immediately assigned to be a kitchen slave at a sadistic taskmaster's Chinatown restaurant. Sonny briefly attends school, where his friend Steven is beaten and tortured by junior members of the Green Dragons, who then recruit him. Sonny reluctantly joins, too, partly in rebellion against his forced labor, and partly to be with his friend. The 10-year-olds are immediately seduced with drugs and guns and make their first kills long before puberty sets in. Sonny's (played as an adult by Justin Chon) small rebellions against the evil -- he vainly tells a girlfriend to get out of town before the gang kills her -- hardly constitute redemption, and the other players spew cynical rationalizations for their greed and violence. One gang leader justifies human trafficking, drug smuggling, and murder by paraphrasing Balzac: behind every great fortune lies a great crime. Goodfellas veteran Ray Liotta plays the FBI agent who, in the face of administrative resistance, insists that the bureau concern itself with Asian-on-Asian atrocities. But even if gang members end up being put away, what happens if the big fish (Harry Shum Jr.) eludes the net?

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say: Not yet rated
Kids say: Not yet rated

It gets off to a solid start, with a compelling early narrative and good performances, but the energy ebbs as it lapses at times into clichéd characterizations. The soundtrack is often elegant and brilliantly matched to the images, giving a sense of the directors' taut control over the material. But the over-artfulness also leads the filmmakers astray. Episodes of nearly balletic violence ultimately begin to stand alone as tableaux of disturbing artwork unconnected to the story. Rather than moving the plot along, it feels as if gory action sequences were shot just because it would be fun to dream them up.

Based on a magazine article about 1980s Chinese gangs, immigration, and lax law enforcement, REVENGE OF THE GREEN DRAGONS is co-directed by Andrew Loo and Andrew Lau, who directed Infernal Affairs -- on which Martin Scorsese based his The Departed. Scorsese executive produced this film as well; unsurprisingly, it feels like a stylistic mixture of his Goodfellas and a Hong Kong actioner. But in the end, without the humor and irony of Goodfellas, a weary viewer may find this film fizzling into pointlessness.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about how violence can be used in movies to make an argument against violence in real life. Does that happen in Revenge of the Green Dragons? Do you think the violence is necessary to the plot?

  • Loyalty to friends is usually a virtue. Is loyalty to evil friends a virtue? Are there circumstances under which disloyalty can be a greater good?

  • Many of the movie's characters came illegally to America to make better lives. Some chose crime, and some were forced into it as children. Does the film take a position on whether they were better off here or in China?

Movie Details

Inclusion information powered by

Did we miss something on diversity?

Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by suggesting a diversity update.

See all recommended movie lists

Related Topics

Want suggestions based on your streaming services? Get personalized recommendations

Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.

See how we rate