Review of The Last Dragon (1985) by Bryan G — 17 May 2010

[font=Courier New]Many movies from my youth have become great finds on DVD. Some don?t turn out so well. I have been revisiting with a lot of films that held a special place in my childhood, and [i]The Last Dragon[/i] is one of them. But does it still hold up as well as I remember?

Sadly, this movie isn?t as great as I remember it to be. But, I still think it is an insanely amusing homage flick to the martial arts movies that have inspired so many people. Besides, can I really hate the movie that gave us Sho?nuff, The Shogun of Harlem?

The movie is about Leroy Green (Taimak), who has learned everything he can from his teacher and is in search for the master who will teach him the final level of martial arts. This is know as ?The Glow,? and looks a lot like the characters in the movie [i]Tron[/i] in some ways. What stands in his way to achieving this is a greedy record promoter (Christopher Murney) and the ultra-evil Sho?nuff (Julis J. Carry III). With his determination, and his newly found love Laura (Vanity), Leroy stays firm in becoming a true martial arts master.

My biggest problem with the film is the fact that it almost seems like two films thrown in together. I really liked the story following Leroy?s feud with Sho?nuff. But everything following Laura and her struggle with record promoter Eddie Arcadian just seems to slow the movie down. Don?t get me wrong, I like that there is a love story to the film. But it almost seems like that story could have been the sequel to the better half of the film.

The movie is ridiculous, but in a good kind of way. The movie maintains its level of goofiness all the way till the end when Leroy and Sho?nuff have their final showdown. This is one of those strange movies that wasn?t groundbreaking or anything like that when it came out in 1985, but will still remain a cherished favorite among those who have seen it. [/font].