The Last Dragon

This love letter to Bruce Lee and martial arts classic movies is not so well made; however, it is delightful to watch. The characters are over the top. The cinematography, set design, and costumes are dripping with the 80's. The story is a fun, light story of a martial arts student in Harlem, NY forced to find a balance between his desire to avoid violence with his need to use his unique skills for good. The music is good, being a Berry Gordy production. Vanity is beautiful and good. Tiamat has become a legend from this one film, and he is perfect for this role. Julius Carey's Shogun of Harlem is one of my favorite characters. The film is infused with its adoration of Enter the Dragon and Bruce Lee and does not take itself too seriously, so why should we. Check out the various small performances from actors that became much bigger, like William H. Macy. The fight choreography is fun- not great but fun.

If you occasionally get nostalgic for break dancing, too much hairspray, De Barge, and Cyndi Lauper-style hair extensions, then this movie will give you an awesome blast from the past! I watched it on a Saturday morning and it made me feel like a kid again.

As many of the naysayers have already posted here, this ain't no bona fide martial arts flick. But it does make Tarantino-esque allusions to kung-fu pop culture- namely, Bruce Lee's films- that will be appreciated by 'true' kung-fu fans. And the fight scenes were co-choreographed by Ernie Reyes, Sr., so that gives them some credence.

In my opinion, the "worst" parts of this movie are actually the best because of their kitsch value: Prince protégé Vanity performs a ridiculously bad song and dance number; Leroy finds his inner "glow"; Sho'Nuff and his gang interrupt a screening of ENTER THE DRAGON; the list goes on. I think I'll watch it again next Saturday!

Lest we forget, this is BERRY GORDY's The Last Dragon. He was the head of Motown Records. It has the look of a music video for a good reason, it was produced and directed by music video people. Made to sell soundtracks like almost every Robert Stigwood movie of the 1970s.

Tiamak play Leroy, often called Bruce LeeRoy in this movie(ouch). It's amazing that he didnt do more in Hollywood than he did, maybe it was a personal choice of his, it certainly does not seem to be because of any lack of talent. He could have been an action hero on the level of a Van Damme in my opinion (with a little acting talent added in...).

Vanity is beautiful, as usual, as the host of a TV video show, remember them? She is very easy on the eyes and the role does not require too much in the way of her acting, so she does very well.

The story line is silly and improbable. All this action and no police ever show up? The movie makers and Tiamak seem to obviously love Bruce Lee movies, and for Lee fans this was a nice way of seeing Bruce back on the big screen after 12 years or so of nothing after his death. The scene where Vanity presents Leroy with a video compilation of some of Bruce's greatest moves is a highlight of this movie.

Worth seeing. Be in a light, silly mood and you will get the most out of it. Be sarcastic and critical and you will have a miserable time. Remember, your children will laugh at your favorite movies as well.

Forget the campiness. Who cares about the less-than-Oscar-nomination acting. I never watched The Last Dragon for these reasons. I watched it because I loved the feeling and spirit. Oh, and Vanity. This movie became such a huge influence in my life that I pursued martial arts lessons so that I could be just like LeRoy Green. Now, nineteen years later, I am nearly ready for my Masters rank in the martial arts. This movie was all about basic things in life: good triumphing over evil, the importance of love, family ties, loyalty and plain, old good fun. I find it interesting that LeRoy could reach the Final Level ONLY after he had found someone else to help; i.e. Laura Charles. Rather like life should be, eh?! Love is truly the ingredient for a rich, fulfilled life. Of course, some serious kung fu adds some spice to life. Just one thing: how did LeRoy practice catching a bullet in his teeth? Did his old master train him by throwing bullets to him? Forget the hoakiness. Just enjoy this awesome (and rather poignant)film.

Needless to say, this movie is incredibly cheesy. But it's also deceptively clever at times, and if you just go with it, it's a lot of fun.

Leads Taimak and Vanity (yes, they each have only one name) are surrounded by a talented and colorful supporting cast, allowing them to do what they do best; look good (and in the case of Taimak) kick a lot of butt.

It's sort of a mash-up of two of the most prominent b-movie genres of the 70s; Blaxploitation and Kung-Fu. But it's the 80s, so there's pop music and it has a happy ending.