Enter the Dragon

For once, CBC gets it right with this high-intensity mini-series
By BILL HARRIS
Toronto Sun

Do not make the mistake of thinking you're tuning into Dragons' Den when you tune into Dragon Boys.

Dragons' Den is a CBC reality series through which would-be inventors beg for money from investors. It got decent ratings on at least one night last fall (translation: nothing good on the other major networks).

But CBC can be more proud of Dragon Boys, a slick, four-hour drama about Asian gangs on Canada's West Coast. Part one is tonight (8 p.m.), with part two tomorrow at the same time.

Dragon Boys is set in Vancouver, as is Chris Haddock's high-quality CBC series Intelligence, and there are atmospheric similarities. There is some crossover from the Haddock stable of actors with a few of the smaller roles in Dragon Boys, too.

But as a made-for-TV movie rather than a series, Dragon Boys moves far faster than Intelligence, and it's considerably more violent. Let's just say the first few minutes tonight will grab your attention in a hurry.

Directed by eight-time Gemini Award-winner Jerry Ciccoritti and written by Ian Weir, Dragon Boys isn't merely a crime story. It also examines how the existence of Asian gangs impacts the wider community, and how some members of that community struggle to break free from the stereotypes the gangs help to cement.

Dragon Boys has two excellent performances at its core.

Byron Mann plays RCMP Det. Tommy Jiang, whose own self-image is tied up in his attempts to put a dent in the Asian crime hierarchy.

And Lawrence Chou plays a long-haired loan shark nicknamed Movie Star, whose reckless ambition throws the Asian gang world -- which includes many of his own blood relatives -- into chaos.

Dragon Boys boils down to a battle of wits between Tommy and Movie Star, but there are several intriguing side-stories that tie into the main plot.

For example, Steph Song plays Chavy Pahn, who comes to Canada from Cambodia with the promise of a modelling career but is forced to work in an erotic massage parlour; and Simon Wong plays Jason, a mild-mannered high-school kid of Asian descent who casually is attracted to the gang lifestyle but is stunned by how quickly his own life can be ruined.

There are several gripping scenes in part one tonight, including the one in which Tommy is arguing with his estranged wife Andrea (Stefanie von Pfetten). She accuses him of pursuing the gangs like a "samurai warrior," at the expense of his own family life, because of some psychological need to separate his Hong Kong roots from cookie-cutter criminality.

"You know, you could say something if you really wanted," Andrea pleads. "This is our lives we're talking about."

Tommy stares back blankly. "Samurais are Japanese," he says before walking away.

Part two tomorrow can get a little confusing, with so many twists and turns that it's easy to lose track of who is siding with whom. But if you're patient, it all sort of works itself out in the end.

Dragon Boys is no Dragons' Den. But there is an inventors' element to Dragon Boys, too.

For a change, CBC has "invented" some high-intensity TV.