The Last Dragon (1985) - A Movie Review

 

This movie gets better as it goes on, ending up being a martial arts movie classic.

The Last Dragon (also known as Berry Gordy's Last Dragon) is a martial arts comedy movie released in the United States in 1985 and stars Taimak Guarriello, Vanity, Julius Carry, Leo O'Brien, Christopher Murney, Faith Prince, Glen Eaton, Mike Starr, and Ernie Reyes Jr. The Last Dragon was directed by Michael Schultz, with martial arts choreographed by Torrance Mathis, Ernie Reyes Sr., and Ron Van Clief.

Taimak as Leroy Green. There is a lot of questionable cultural appropriation in this movie, by the way.

In The Last Dragon, Taimak plays Leroy Green (nicknamed Bruce Leeroy), a kindhearted martial arts student who wants to become a master martial artist like his idol, Bruce Lee. Leroy's master tells him that he must find the "last dragon", the final level of martial arts mastery. At this level, a martial artist will be able to control his inner energy in such a way that his whole body will glow, giving him or her great power. The master tells him where the master of "The Glow" lives, so Leroy goes in search of him. With half of a gold medal that once belonged to Bruce Lee, Leroy goes on a quest to find this master, who has the other half of the medal and the knowledge to master "the glow". Leroy runs into a lot of wacky and zany characters in search of this final master, including the "Shogun of Harlem", Sho'nuff (played by Julius Carry). Sho'nuff loudly proclaims himself to be the top martial artist in the city and isn't above beating up innocent people to prove it. After finding out about Leroy Green's martial arts skill, he wants to fight him in a duel, but Leroy refuses to accept the challenge.

Leroy Green and Laura (played by Vanity) enjoying Bruce Lee clips playing on a video wall. I would have the same reaction!

While all of this is happening, Eddie Arkadian (played by Christopher Murney), a sleazy arcade business owner, wants his girlfriend Angela Viracco's (played by Faith Prince) music videos played on Laura Charles' music video show. Laura (played by Vanity) refuses to play Angela's videos, so Eddie gets his henchmen to kidnap her. Leroy ends up saving Laura, and through this (and other circumstances) they become friends. Eventually, Eddie Arkadian and Sho'nuff join forces, and Leroy has to decide whether he should use his martial arts skill to stop them. Does Leroy find the final master and learn "the glow"? Can he defeat Sho'nuff and stop Eddie Arkadian's criminal activities?

The Last Dragon is one of those movies I've heard about for years, but never had a chance (or really a desire) to watch it. I saw some scenes of it on TV when my cousin was watching it randomly one day, but it didn't really look appealing to me. Decades later, I have decided to give this movie a chance. It was on Pluto TV On Demand, so I decided "why not?" After a shaky start, I ended up really liking this movie!

This movie shows a lot of respect towards Bruce Lee, with a lot of references to him throughout, and a lot of clips from his movies (even referred to by their correct titles, as they were known as at that time). Considering this movie was released by Columbia Tristar, it was surprising to see clips from Enter The Dragon (1973) in there along with clips from his Hong Kong films. Bruce Lee is the ultimate martial artist in this movie, despite what Sho'nuff thinks!

Sho'nuff (played by Julius Carry) is one of cinema's greatest villains! Julius Carry should have won some kind of acting award for this performance, not joking.

This movie is mainly a comedy, and it is funny for the most part. Unfortunately, there is a lot of goofy comedy, too. For some people, all this comedy would make them not take the movie seriously. If you stick with the movie, a shift in the plot puts the comedy on the back burner, and it becomes more of a straight up martial arts movie. This is where I really became interested in The Last Dragon. When Leroy Green has to face everything he's been avoiding or has been unsure about, is when the movie becomes awesome. You really root for Leroy Green throughout the movie, and you always hope for the best for him.

The performances of the actors vary, though there is no one that is truly terrible. Taimak as Leroy mainly speaks in a calm, wise way. He says mainly dialogue that is full of wisdom. He is great at awkward comedy. The scene between him and Vanity in her car is probably Taimak's best non-action scene in the movie. Vanity as Laura is really likeable, while Christopher Murney as Eddie Arkadian is truly detestable. Glen Eaton as Johnny Yu, Leroy's martial arts student, is really funny (though some could find him annoying), and Faith Prince brings a lot of emotion to a very comedic role (and she has a great, cartoony voice). The best actors of the movie are Leo O'Brien as Richie, Leroy's younger brother, and Julius Carry as Sho'nuff. Leo says his dialogue so naturally, and is hilarious doing it. That kid should have become a bigger star. Julius Carry is charismatic to the max. Even though he is an over the top character, he is totally believable. Another actor that should have become a bigger star after this movie.

As for the action in The Last Dragon, it's okay. Not bad, but it doesn't compare to the Hong Kong fight scenes of the same period. In the early fight scenes of the movie, we get an idea of the skill levels of both Leroy and Sho'nuff. These fights are a bit more simple in choreography. When we get to the final fights, the choreography becomes a bit more complicated. As you can imagine, since this is an American movie, the editing and camera work do not showcase the fights in the best way. At the end, we get to see Ernie Reyes Jr. bust loose on some bad guys, in a huge group battle. Taimak takes part in the group fight, and then eventually faces off against Sho'nuff. Julius Carry was not a trained martial artist, but he really went all out in his fight scenes. Taimak is a really talented martial artist and stuntman, and he got to show it off throughout this movie. His final fight against Sho'nuff is definitely a classic martial arts battle that will have you cheering by the end.

In conclusion, I highly recommend watching The Last Dragon. It's good, clean fun! It is lighthearted, funny, action-packed, and respectful towards Black and Asian culture. This is a movie of it's time, though; with references to arcades (though not really showing any games), music videos, and hip hop in the 1980s. Taimak should've become a bigger star after this movie, as well as several of his co-stars. Watch this movie for the Bruce Lee homages, the final fight scenes, and to see Taimak glow for one brief moment in movie history.

Here is the movie trailer:

Reviewed by David Williams

[Fight Scene Friday] Turtle Wave - Civil War (Ip Man 3 Parody)

 On this Fight Scene Friday™, we have an homage to Ip Man 3 (2015) from the Turtle Wave crew. In this scene, an MMA fighter proves he can still be a screen fighter. Some nice choreography and comedy in this one! Check it out!

 

BABY ASSASSINS 2 (2023) - Official Trailer

 Check out the English-subtitled trailer for Baby Assassins 2, finally coming out here in the United States in a couple of months. Here is the synopsis:

Chisato and Mahiro must pay four years of overdue fees or lose their membership in their assassin guild. They take part-time jobs, but find themselves in the middle of an armed robbery and being hunted by other assassins.

I loved the first Baby Assassins (2021) movie (which I reviewed here), and this looks to be more of the same, but even better! Can't wait to watch this one! Baby Assassins 2 comes out on digital & Blu-ray April 2, 2024 in the U.S., and streaming on Hi-YAH! July 5, 2024!

 

[Fight Scene Friday] EPIC HONG KONG STYLE FIGHT SCENE - "SPIRIT"

 On this Fight Scene Friday™, we have a scene from Tarell "Kota" Bullock and Gaetan Caillot! This was filmed during Covid lockdown, and as you can see, they filmed it from their living room! This shows if you have the creativity, it doesn't matter if you don't quite have everything you want (or need) to make the best possible work of art. This scene is a tribute to classic Hong Kong martial arts cinema, and I think they did an excellent job! It definitely has the spirit! Check it out:

 

The Tattoo Connection [Edited For TV Version] (1978) - Movie Review

 

Jim Kelly struts his stuff in The Tattoo Connection.

The Tattoo Connection (also known as Black Belt Jones 2: Tattoo Connection and The Hong Kong Connection) is a martial arts crime movie released in Hong Kong in 1978 and stars Jim Kelly, Dorian "Flash Legs" Tan Tao-Liang, Chan Sing, Tony Leung Siu-Hung, Lee Hoi-Gei, Bolo Yeung Sze, Chiang Tao, Norman Wingrove, and Lee Hoi-Sang. The movie was directed by Lee Tso-Nam, with martial arts directed by Bruce Leung Siu-Lung.

Jim Kelly as Lucas. He is one cool dude in this. He even dubbed his own voice for this movie.

In The Tattoo Connection, Jim Kelly plays Lucas, an ex-CIA agent hired by an insurance company to retrieve a stolen diamond stolen by a tattooed gang in Hong Kong. Once the gang boss (played by Chan Sing) finds out Lucas is there to take back the diamond, he does everything he can to stop him, including killing people who have info, and putting a bounty on Lucas's head. Lucas plows ahead, destroying everybody that gets in his way. The gang is dangerous, but there is one member, Dong Ho (played by Dorian "Flash Legs" Tan Tao-Liang), who is a bit honorable. He wants to leave the gang with his girlfriend (played by Lee Hoi-Gei). Will Lucas get the diamond back, and will Dong Ho be able to leave the gang?

Dorian "Flash Legs" Tan Tao-Liang as Dong Ho. An underappreciated martial arts movie star nowadays. This guy could kick!

Like many people who are fans of him, I've liked Jim Kelly ever since I first saw him in Enter The Dragon (1973). I've never seen him in any other movies, though I knew he was in some blaxploitation films. So, I finally found one of Jim Kelly's movies (considered one of his best) on a free streaming site (Tubi). Unfortunately (or fortunately...) it was the edited for television version of the movie. When that showed up in the opening credits, I had to decide if I still wanted to watch it, or wait until I had access to the unedited version. I decided to watch it anyway, and here are my thoughts...

The Tattoo Connection is one weird movie! Though this is billed as a Jim Kelly movie, in reality, it is more of a Jim Kelly/Dorian "Flash Legs" Tan Tao-Liang movie. In fact, I would say Tan gets a bit more screen time in this one! Jim Kelly plays the cool, cocky, expert martial artist while Flash Legs Tan plays the honorable, yet conflicted gang member who can kick like no one else. Both are likeable in their roles, and of course, they both have excellent martial arts skills. It is mainly Jim Kelly who has the cool lines, but Tan has some zingers as well.

The plot is pretty basic, maybe a little too basic. As was the case back then, there is some weird pacing issues and let's say inappropriate humor. Unfortunately, there is a little bit of racism in this as well. From what I've read about this movie, there is apparently a lot of gratuitous nudity throughout The Tattoo Connection. You know it's too much unnecessary nudity when reviews from regular people (not critics) complain about it! The version I saw was edited, so there was absolutely no nudity shown. Of course, the scenes with nudity were edited in such a way that it made it even more weird and creepy! You have to see those edits to believe it! The music in The Tattoo Connection is also very funky, or dare I say, fonky (the pinnacle of funkiness). Really good music throughout.

The Tattoo Connection has some nice fight scenes. Considered to be Jim Kelly's best movie that showcases his martial arts skills.

While the plot of the movie is nothing special, the action is really good! Jim Kelly is one awesomely cool butt kicker in this! He is fast, precise, and hits hard in his fight scenes. Kelly even gets to finally have his one on one fight with Bolo Yeung in this movie (which he was supposed to have in Enter The Dragon). Flash Legs Tan starts off the movie with a fight scene, and there (and throughout) he gets to show off his awesome kicking skills. There are a lot of good fights in this movie, with the final fight being the best, in my opinion. This is classic 70s martial arts choreography, not as intricate as Lau Kar Leung, Sammo Hung, or Yuen Woo-ping's, but still entertaining.

I am not sure if I can recommend The Tattoo Connection. It does have entertaining fight scenes and fonky music, but the plot is basic and there is rampant nudity (in the unedited version). I guess I will recommend the movie for its fight scenes only... and the fact that Jim Kelly is cooler than a cucumber in this. Where else can you find a movie where Bolo Yeung sings his heart out in mockery of his fellow gang member? It happens in this movie, and you will not be prepared.

Also, though my feelings are mixed on this movie, I would love if The Tattoo Connection got a remastered HD blu-ray release in the future. I think it would look pretty good in high definition.

The Tattoo Connection original trailer:

Reviewed by David Williams

[Fight Scene Friday] ROD Squad - Dominique vs Brandon

 This week's Fight Scene Friday™ scene is choreographed, shot, and edited by
Aaron Toney. It stars Dominique Smith (in light clothes) and Brandon Shaw (in dark clothes). Though the fight is short, I like the intensity of both fighters throughout. Check it out!

 

[Fight Scene Friday] Vonzell Carter vs. Alex Hashioka and Jeffrey Griffith (Karate Cowboy Fight)

 This week's Fight Scene Friday™ scene is from the LBP and Thousand Pounds Action Company crews. Vonzell Carter is the Ranger, Alexander Hashioka Oatfield is the "Brown Coat Outlaw", and Jeffrey Griffith is the "Black Suit Outlaw". Emmanuel Manzanares is the director, fight choreography, camera operator, and editor, so you know it's good! Check it out!

 

Designing the 80s - #1: Emerging Art Forms (YouTube Video)

 Here is a video from strafefox, who does mini documentaries on video games mainly, but has branched out into other subjects. This video is about emerging art styles/forms in the 1980s. Here is the description:

Designing the 80s, a 6-part mini series exploring design within media and entertainment. Placing iconic productions in film, gaming and music in context to the digital revolution and contemporary visual trends. Each pair of episode will cover a different era of the decade. This first episode will be the introduction of the rising art-forms at the dawn of the 80s: computer graphics expanding into media and entertainment and the phenomenon of the music video which ties into events happening in pop-culture and design.

This is a well-made video that deserves more views. Check out strafefox's YouTube channel right here to see his other videos on the development of 80s and 90s video games!

(I had no involvement in the making of this video)

Strafefox's YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@strafefox