Dragon City

One would not expect the so-called “first Chinese punk rock movie” to be a technically superior product with polished acting and a professional script, but the overall primitivism of Dragon City is so extreme that it conjures up bad videotaped late-night cable access shows and embarrassing high school film class productions. Ostensibly, this is a post-apocalyptic, dystopian punk-rock tale about the not-so-adventurous adventures of a Chinese punk band called No Name (sounding like some sort of infernal morphing of Motorhead and Green Day), who must save themselves from cannibals stalking the Earth. The band just happens to befriend an annoying American hippie—a ‘60s-throwback whose character is obviously modeled on Dennis Hopper in Apocalypse Now—who owns a recording studio/performance space, and he invites No Name to perform for the last few remaining non-cannibals in the land. The bulk of this throwaway movie consists of No Name showcasing their merely competent Western-punk rip-off songs in a live setting. Although it's heartening to see this sort of feisty DIY spirit coming out of China, Dragon City's only true redeeming quality is its merciful brevity. Not a necessary purchase. (M. Sandlin)