A hit and rare adventure movie with Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jackie Chan has arrived on Netflix

He streaming it has allowed us to discover a world of films that were unknown to most viewers. the mystery of the dragon (viy 2) is a clear example of this. It is a classic adventure film, an action-packed story that seeks to evoke the best-known genres. However, it is a true cinematic oddity despite its aforementioned generic intentions.

The plot follows English cartographer Jonathan Green (Jason Fleming), who receives the mission to create a map of the most remote areas of Russia. During his extensive journey, Jonathan will live all kinds of adventures, from encounters with strange creatures and battles with martial arts experts, to confrontations with fearsome thousand-year-old witches hidden in the most remote corners of legendary China. However, these will be minor challenges when he must face the greatest enemy ever created by black magic: the great King of Dragons.

But what really stands out is that it is a production between Russia, China and the United States. And even weirder is that it is a sequel. It was in the year 2014 that it was released viy 2, a Russian film that became the highest grossing title of the year in its country, although in the rest of the world it was not seen in movie theaters. Her international title was Forbidden Kingdom and it was an adaptation of the text by Nikolai Gogol, the Ukrainian-born Russian novelist who has been the basis of many genre feature films.

There is no trace of Gogol here, but a clear influence of Alexandre Dumas and The man in the iron mask. And that is the reason why the international title of the film is Iron Mask. Now it’s coming to Netflix, as part of Arnold Schwarzenegger’s landing on this streaming service. The title of the mystery of the dragon clearly captures the spirit of adventure and fantasy of the story. In addition, the entire universe of Far Eastern stories is added, giving the film a different style from its predecessor.

Although it is a sequel to a Russian film, it surprises with its international cast with stars from East and West. The protagonist of the two films is British Jason Flemyng, a long-standing actor who brings his familiar face to the central role. He also works on both films Charles Dance, another classic secondary of the last decades. Thanks to the huge success of the first movie, two huge stars were attached to the sequel. arnold schwarzenegger and Jackie Chan They are not only acting, they are also the producers. An additional pleasure is also to see Rutger Hauer, another beloved actor who had the last role of his life here.

Chan and Schwarzenegger had already shared the bill in an unsuccessful adaptation of Laround the world in 80 days and here they meet again in a 19th century style adventure story. They are the best part of the movie, because when they share the scene, they not only show their natural charisma, but also have their dialogues adjusted to the personality and career of both. Being the producers, they do their best so that the film has a quality according to their ambitions. Outside of the two of them, the film becomes too long and also confusing. A certain budget limitation is noted, despite its bombastic searches.

It has been said that there are plans for a third part set in India, using some Bollywood stars, but nothing is confirmed despite how promising such a plan could be. It is even possible that this format suits this feature film better, which looks somewhat cheap for a giant production and somewhat expensive if one thinks that no one in the West knew of its existence.

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