This review is for those that are not hard-core Martial-Arts Movie fans. They have another perspective, more closely associated with the popular genre. It is for those that drop in occasionally to see what all the fuss is about or to check out the "new kid on the block".

In this one it is a real life fighter of some sort or another and has made his way to the screen via his physical abilities and was the best at what he does. Cung Le makes Jet Li look like a great talent in the acting department. But as these things go, no one much cares.

The film looks, again, like a sepia-tone, washed out, colorless, "style" that is supposed to say this is hard-boiled stuff, nothing pretty here, only dudes allowed. All it really does is look pretentious and lifeless.

The fight scenes are very good and are shot with a focus and not quickly edited so you can actually see what's going on and there are a lot of them and are quite convincing and brutal. The plot is confusing and way over written. Van Damme is a secondary mentor type, but Peter Weller makes an impression as a cartoon cop. Worth a view for fans but there is really nothing here for outsiders slumming it.

Dragon Eyes is a Yojimbo remake but a bad cheap looking one with all close up shots, yellow filters and colorization which all cheap straight to DVD films have these days.

It stars MMA fighter Cung Le who has few lines but gets to do a lot of fighting. Jean Claude Van Damme appears in a cameo as a prison inmate/mentor of Cung Le.

Dragon Eyes sees Cung Le turn up into a town called St Jude where he plays off different gangs against each other and crosses path with a Mr Big who is also a corrupt police chief called Mr V (Peter Weller).

The fight scenes are well staged but nothing special. The story is actually confusingly realised, strange given its inspired by a Japanese classic remade so many times.

Director John Hyams is the son of renowned filmmaker Peter Hyams and he clearly lacks his father's skills.

Jean-Claude Van Damme plays a minor role as the prison mentor for Mr. Hong (Cung Le)..."There are two tigers inside you." These are seen as occasional flashbacks. Mr. Hong rents an apartment in an Hispanic neighborhood of St. Jude and immediately draws attention to himself. He attempts to pit two gangs against each other (both work for Mr. V (Peter Weller) although does so rather poorly as he leaves a calling card with an oriental symbol for change. But wait...that is all part of the master plan. Mr. V also controls the local cops (Craig Walker, Kristopher Van Varenberg).

Rosanna (Crystal Mantecon) plays the straight honest daughter of the landlord.

Mr. V. recruits Mr. Hong to work for him. The film has some questionable plot points...such as why Mr. Hong was allowed to live so many times. It utilizes grindhouse style music and introduces characters with written screen titles, however the film doesn't quite flow lie a good grindhouse, either by design or poor editing.

F-bomb, sex, nudity (stunt double Arielle Zimmerman)