Chasing the Dragon (film)

Chasing the Dragon, previously known as King of Drug Dealers, is a Hong Kong-Chinese action crime drama film directed by Wong Jing and Jason Kwan. The film stars Donnie Yen as Crippled Ho, based on real life gangster Ng Sik-ho and Andy Lau reprising his role as Lee Rock from the film series of the same name. The film is about an illegal immigrant from China who sneaks into British-colonized Hong Kong in 1963 and transforms himself into a ruthless and emerging drug lord. The film is a remake of the 1991 film To Be Number One.

Chasing the Dragon II: Wild Wild Bunch, a sequel-in-name-only featuring new characters and a new storyline, was released in June 2019.

Cast

 * Donnie Yen as Crippled Ho (跛豪; based on Ng Sik-ho)
 * Andy Lau (special appearance) as Lee Rock (雷洛; based on Lui Lok)
 * Bryan Larkin as Ernest Hunter, a corrupt British policeman and the main antagonist of the film
 * Kent Cheng as Piggy
 * Philip Keung as Wil
 * Wilfred Lau as Wayne
 * Yu Kang as Chad
 * Kent Tong as Tong
 * Michelle Hu as Jane
 * Raquel Xu as Rose
 * Felix Wong as Jan
 * Ben Ng as Chubby
 * Julian Gaertner as Translator Geoff, the right hand of Ernest Hunter
 * Niki Chow as May, Ho's deceased wife
 * Philip Ng as Wai Man
 * Jonathan Lee as Peter
 * Lawrence Chou as Willy
 * Wang Qianyu as Cheryl
 * Kenneth Tsang as Sir Chow
 * Michael Chan as Master Dane
 * Ricky Wong as Grizzly Bear
 * Xia Qing as Grizzly Bear's wife
 * Han Xinyi as Snake Dancer
 * Terence Yin as Tong's brother
 * Jason Wong as Comic

Production and release
Director Wong Jing personally flew to Canada in 2016 to persuade Yen to star in his film Chasing the Dragon, while Yen was filming XXX: Return of Xander Cage at that time. Yen was convinced by Wong's sincerity, playing a non-traditional role of a villain with limited fighting scenes and the opportunity to work alongside Andy Lau. Yen flew back to Asia to take part in the film after filming Return of Xander Cage in 2016.

In September 2017, Chasing the Dragon was released to mixed reviews from critics. It was a huge hit with audiences in most Mandarin-speaking parts of Asia (including China and Singapore), beating Hollywood blockbuster Blade Runner 2049 and Jackie Chan's The Foreigner, despite being marketed less heavily. In Hong Kong, Chasing the Dragon earned more than 10 times the box office gross of The Foreigner. In China, it earned US$86 million.

Chasing the Dragon was released as a digital, Blu-ray and DVD combo pack on January 23, 2018.