Review of Year of the Dragon (1985) by Troy F — 07 Dec 2011

Mickey Rourke stars as Stanley White, a cop who has just been assigned to Chinatown. A Vietnam vet, Stanley is what one would describe as a rouge police officer; not someone who necessarily takes orders or plays by the rule at all times.

White is wrapped up in investigating the Chinese mafia, which the police force writes off as non-existent, which means little in terms of White's resolve. Joey Tai, a young, strong-willed Chinese man has become the head of the Chinese mafia through terror tactics and violent takeover.

The mafia is a major factor in the drug trade leading White right on the trail of Joey Tai. Both men are very stubborn and won't make compromises when doing what they believe is right leading to a violent cat and mouse game and bloody conclusion.

The Year of the Dragon is a film in the vein of Chinatown, but just not nearly in the same class. The film examines the race relations that exist using a Vietnam Vet protagonist, who clearly doesn't hold Asian people in the highest regard.

The film does have some solid imagery, including a really dirty, gritty feel, but as a whole is more a miss than a hit. It's a "me against the world" type story in that no one outside of Stanley White suspects anything bad out of Joey Tai and its totally up to Stanley to expose the truth.

Mickey Rourke is strong as Stanley White, and his uncompromising nature of the character is great but most of the film is just very one-dimensional. I feel like Cimino shows the issues and makes the viewer aware of them, but never digs deep enough to actually say all that much.

The pacing is also shotty and the film is just too long for this story, which is something I feel Cimino never could figure out.