A24 Film No. 14: Revenge of the Green Dragons (2014)

 

There is a shift in genres and stories in the A24 timeline with Revenge of the Green Dragons. This is the first action-crime film distributed by the company, and it departs from the more existential and identity-driven plots we have seen in their previous films. Here we find violence-driven characters struggling to survive, while we witness real-life issues such as immigration and the drug crisis, and how they destroy both the characters and the community around them.

The film tells the story of the Green Dragons, a Queens-based Chinese-American gang that traffics Chinese immigrants into the US and smuggles heroin (inspired by real-life gangs). Directed by Andrew Lau and Andrew Loo, and produced by Martin Scorsese, Revenge of the Green Dragons follows Sonny (Justin Chon) and Steven (Kevin Wu), two Chinese immigrant friends who join the gang when they are kids while trying to escape poverty and violence. Throughout the film, we follow their journey as they attempt to make their way through the Dragons’ hierarchy and survive in a Chinatown controlled by a reign of violence imposed by this and other gangs. There are many subplots and characters (introduced very quickly in the first 20 minutes of the film), making the narrative difficult to follow. Eventually, however, between trafficking immigrants, bringing heroin disguised in mooncakes, randomly killing people, and being investigated by the FBI, Sonny begins to feel betrayed by the gang and wants revenge for the life the Dragons have destroyed.

I read many reviews saying that the film falls into several clichés of the gangster genre. To be honest, I am not an expert, nor a fan of the genre (and I have never watched Infernal Affairs, which is Andrew Lau’s most iconic work and even inspired Martin Scorsese’s The Departed). Because of that, I cannot make a detailed genre comparison. However, what I can say is that the film definitely feels as if it is trying to imitate something else. It is easy to sense a lack of authenticity, or at least the feeling that the film is not proposing anything particularly fresh. 

Personally, it was a tough watch. Because of the many subplots and characters, the pacing feels off, and I could not really engage with any of the main characters (Sonny is the only one who becomes even slightly likable). The overall story feels quite simple and lacking substance, and it contains a lot of cringeworthy dialogue that is awkward to listen to (“There's a storm coming, and I don't know of any umbrella that can keep the city dry”). It took me a couple of days to finish it, and I have to say it was a bit of a struggle; the only thing that kept me going was this project. Thinking back on it, the film actually contains some interesting elements and themes worth reflecting on, but they are overshadowed by unlikable characters, a weak plot, and excessive gory spectacle.

The immigrant as the “Other”

The Green Dragons and the other gangs mentioned in the film respond, in part, to the need to create a community where individuals who have been alienated because of their immigrant status can find belonging and recognition, or at least respect and fear from others. Beneath the main plot lies the broader issue of the Chinese immigration crisis in New York during the 1980s and 1990s, when many voyages organized by Chinese-American gangs brought desperate migrants to the United States in search of the American Dream.

In this sense, the film also engages with the idea of “otherness.” As I discussed previously in my analysis of Under the Skin, Sara Ahmed proposes that communities are structured by borders that determine who belongs and who does not. These borders are not only physical but also emotional and social: feelings such as fear, hatred, or distrust circulate within communities and help establish who becomes part of the collective “we” and who is positioned as the “Other.” In Under the Skin, this border was literally represented through the body and the skin that allowed Scarlett Johansson’s character to temporarily pass as human. In Revenge of the Green Dragons, however, this process of othering operates less through disguise and more through social and racial boundaries that separate the immigrant community from the broader nation.

The film repeatedly references the isolation of this community: the characters rarely interact with outsiders, and violence is tolerated as long as it remains internal. Killing another Chinese or Asian character is treated almost as routine, but killing a white person is considered unacceptable because it would attract police attention. At the same time, the police themselves appear largely indifferent to the violence occurring within the community. They only begin investigating the gang once they discover the heroin trafficking operation. This indifference reinforces the sense that Chinatown functions as a marginalized space where violence is tolerated as long as it remains contained.

This alienation, reinforced by both the community itself and the broader “host nation”, strengthens the gang's role as a place where Sonny and Steve can survive and “be someone.” However, this sense of belonging is fragile. The “Otherness” that initially binds them together does not produce a stable community based on solidarity or mutual support. Instead, the gang becomes a competitive space where survival depends on power, and loyalty is often secondary to self-interest. Throughout the film, we see how loyalty quickly collapses when personal advancement is at stake. Even family bonds are unstable: Steve ultimately betrays his own uncle to gain approval from the gang’s leadership. In this sense, the gang reproduces the same structures of violence and hierarchy that marginalize its members in the first place.

It is therefore not surprising that the gang begins to destroy itself from within. Without a genuine sense of community, it is ultimately doomed to collapse. The identity that binds its members together is not built on shared solidarity but on the need to survive and gain respect among others who are themselves already marginalized and positioned at the lowest levels of the social hierarchy in the host nation. This does not mean that the entire Chinese immigrant community turns to violence. Rather, the film suggests that for some individuals (perhaps those who are more desperate and unable to imagine a future for themselves) gang membership becomes a way to cope with exclusion and limited opportunities.

While set in the 1980s, Revenge of the Green Dragons can still resonate with the present, given ongoing immigration debates not only in the United States but across the globe. Marginalization and processes of “Othering” continue to reinforce the precarious conditions in which people like Sonny and Steve are forced to live, situations in which meaningful opportunities for growth or integration appear limited. In this sense, the film can be read not only as a crime story but also as a reflection on how exclusion and lack of belonging can shape the paths available to immigrant communities. When individuals are continuously positioned outside the collective “we,” the spaces that promise recognition, even violent ones such as gangs, can become one of the few available ways to claim identity, power, or visibility.