The time has finally come. I started this review series a long, long time ago with WarGames waaaaaaaaaaaaaay back in 2013! It's been quite a ride, hasn't it? From Mortal Kombat: Annhilation to a werewolf-killing FDR in a rocket-powered wheelchair to a galaxy far, far away and beyond! And yes. I know that this film technically doesn't fit the theme we've been going with for Sword and Sorcery 2020, but it's the 100th review and I felt like treating myself. There are no swords to be found in this movie, but we do have a dragon (sort of), laser lights, and kung fu. It is a tale of love, a tale of triumph, and a brilliant merchandising opportunity for one of its producers.
It's time, at last, to acknowledge who is the Master. No, not that one.
It's time for...The Last Dragon.
Our film begins with our protagonist Leroy Green (Taimak), otherwise known as Bruce Leeroy, completing the final test of his training from his master (Thomas Ikeda). When he completes the training, Leroy believes he has failed until his master tells him of "the Glow". The Glow can manifest in skilled fighters as a light coming from their hands. However, someone who can unlock the full power of the Glow will have it envelop his entire body. Any martial artist that can unlock the Glow will be the greatest fighter alive.
Leroy's master gives to him a talisman that he claims was once owned by Bruce Lee himself, and tasks him to find the master Sum Dum Goy, who can help him unlock the power of the Glow. Leroy's path will not be an easy one. On the one hand he is pursued by the Shogun of Harlem himself, Sho'nuff (Julius J. Carry III), who seeks to defeat Leroy and prove himself the greatest martial artist alive. On the other, Leroy grows closer to video jockey Laura Charles (Vanity), who is herself maligned by a video arcade mogul Eddie Arkadian (Christopher Murney). Eddie wants Laura to play a music video at her club, 7th Heaven. Her refusal puts her in his sights for revenge...let's hope that Sho'nuff and Eddie don't end up teaming up. That would be dreadful.
...actually, it'd basically be Spider-Man 3 if Spider-Man 3 were good.
So, how does something like this even come about? If you're wondering how, the answer comes in two words: Berry Gordy. Yes, the man who made Motown Records and said to himself "Hey, African Americans have a disproportionate love of martial arts films being importanted from Asia. Is there some way that I could combine with my want to sell the music of the artists on my label?" Berry Gordy, being an absolute genius of a human being, had already produced three films in the mid to late 70s and decided to hit the mid 80's hard with this.
Sure, the subplot with Eddie Arkadian and Laura's video club (which I'm told actually were a thing in the 80s, I wasn't actually there for it) is a shameless attempt to sell records, but I'm okay with it. Why? Because the music is really damn good. Yeah, who would have thought that the man who brought us the Jackson 5, Diana Ross and the Supremes, and Stevie Wonder (among others) would take the opportunity to stuff the film with some really good music. Even the original stuff composed for the film is pretty good. The main theme "The Last Dragon" and "The Glow" are both absolutely great, performed by Spyder Davis and Willie Hutch (both Motown artists) respectively, and their among the movie music that I do actually have in my personal collection. I'm honestly baffled that the main theme got nominated for a Razzie award.
Of course, this comes to a bit of a double-edged sword when we get to Vanity performing "7th Heaven"...they can't all be gold. Also, that song was also nominated for a Razzie...and deserved it!
However, unlike the clothes making the man, the music doesn't make the film - it only elevates it. Taimak plays a good, if not particularly complex protagonist. Leroy is very much a product of the martial arts films mentioned before - idolizing Bruce Lee and that driving him to become the best fighter alive. Nineteen at the time, Leroy comes off as very measured and restrained, not wanting to fight for its own sake, but more wishing to seek self-improvement.
His speech patterns and behaviors might seem a little odd when you look at the rest of his rather normal family (running the family pizza place), although it seems he's done quite a bit to link himself to his hobby and uses it as a form of discipline over himself. Also, unlike a certain guy who they wanted us to think is a Jedi Master in a certain thing that people might want you to think is a Star Wars movie, Leroy actually passes on what he has learned. Yeah, he actually starts his own dojo away from his master's and takes on (comedy relief) pupils.
So in one way, even before the end of the film, he was always the master...
Sho'Nuff is pure blaxploitation, but Julius J. Carry III absolutely 100% sells the menace that the man projects - yes, even when his hands are lighting up light a Christmas tree. Sho'Nuff is incredibly loud, bloister, and petty to the point of almost being comedic - a perfect foil to Leroy's more straight-laced and restrained style. So while he straddles that line between villainous and comedic, even indulging in a bit of parody at points, the film manages to balance this and not diminish the threat that he poses to Leroy and his loved ones. I'm not sure anyone else could have played the role as well as Carry did. He was a talent not to be matched as the Shogun of Harlem, having sadly passed away back in 2008. May he rest in peace.
He also did his own stunts for most of the movie, with only just getting martial arts training for the movie, so kudos there.
Vanity plays Laura Charles, a video jockey...and that's pretty much the extent of her character that doesn't involve being a love interest. She doesn't do bad (well, except for the 7th Heaven performance, but it's just really not a good song), but there's also nothing to really write home about in the praise column. I would also be remiss if I didn't mention her own passing away in 2016, among the many celebrity deaths in that year as we all remember. May she rest in peace.
Seriously, a lot of dead cast members in this movie. Pretty soon it'll be just Taimak and William H. Macy that are still alive.
...yeah, no, William H. Macy is in this film. It's literally one scene and he has three lines. You will almost literally miss him if you blink. It may be the most surreal thing about this movie, and I'm including the part where Taimak cosplays as a flood light.
Some of the more astute of my readership will no doubt find this a curious pick for my 100th. After all, I haven't exactly been drowning in martial arts films over the last 99 reviews. Apart from Mortal Kombat, its sequel Annihilation, and Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins, it's not really something I've ever enjoyed too much as a genre. Sure, I've seen several martial arts films, but the genre as a whole has never really captured my imagination as others have, say...sword and sorcery for example.
The Last Dragon, though, is a film close to my heart. In writing this review, I still can't really say why. I'm not its target audience, certainly, being the pasty white guy that I am. I've already mentioned I have no particular like or dislike of martial arts films. It's just honestly one of the things that the 80's did best: a feel good movie with a story that, while it may have some holes and inconsistencies about it, is packaged and presented in a way that is entertaining. Maybe, just maybe, that is enough.
Despite being a hit at the box office - grossing over $30 on a budget of $10 - the film was not popular with critics and has never gotten a sequel. Of course, a sequel was apparently planned and just never materialized. I'm glad for that, in a way. Leroy's story was done. He's gotten the Glow, gotten the girl, and all was right with the world.
I mean, that would be like someone trying to remake this film. That'd be absolutely deranged, right?
The Last Dragon is not a timeless movie, being very much a product of the 1980's (with a joy in every step as it proclaims this) and of the environment of the time. Yet, for some reason, that's not really what I think about when I watch it. There is cheesiness to be sure but, again, this film is just a great feel good movie. It's got memorable lines, great fight scenes, and good music as part of its tapestry, woven together with pretty good performances (and an excellent one from Julius Curry) all around. It can be goofy, it can be ridiculous, and it can be absolutely spectacularly awesome.
Which it is - this movie is absolutely spectacularly awesome.
Thanks to everyone who has stuck with me through these (admittedly sporadic) 100 movie reviews! Let's hope the next 100 will be even better!
Next week, it'll be only three blessed days before the end of 2020. I think it's time to end the year the way we started it...with a little bit of sword and sorcery.
And what better way to do this than go with the all-time classic...Beastmaster II: Through the Portal of Time!
...wait what?!
The Last Dragon is brought to us by Motown Productions and Tristar Pictures.
For the latest from the MadCapMunchkin, be sure to follow him on Twitter @MadCapMunchkin.
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