Tuesday, August 31, 2010

See The Hit Movie The Last Dragon

By Dwayne Todd

The Last Dragon was a film produced by Motown Records in the mid-eighties, and while it was sort of created as a way to market a few singles, notably Oh Sheila, the film still stands as a pretty good Kung Fu movie, a good comedy, and one of the all time must download movies of the eighties. It's fun, funny, sort of corny and very eighties.

The story follows a young man nicknamed "Bruce Leroy", a Harlem martial artist who teaches Kung Fu to the local kids. He works at his father's pizza place, delivering pies on foot and deals with his rival, Sho'Nuff, the Shogun of Harlem... Yep. Sho'Nuff... The Shogun of Harlem. This incredibly goofy martial arts tale takes place on the real streets of modern day Harlem and creates a really quirky, one of a kind movie.

He really is a great character. Maybe one of the all time classic comedy movie villains. He's colorful, ridiculous, short tempered and always funny. He wears visor sunglasses (You know, the ones that look like horizontal blinds), as well as shoulder pads, hakama (the baggy pants you always see in samurai films), and a top knot/Rick James kind of hair style. It's just plain hilarious watching him come on screen. He always starts with his big introductory piece, demanding that his lackeys affirm his meanness, badness and prettiness before engaging in any business.

There's a subplot that you probably... Won't take too much interest in. See, Leroy is after the heart of this girl who produces a local music show, and there's this sleazy promoter who's trying to get his girlfriend's new single played on her show. When you see the video, you'll grimace and shudder in embarrassment just for watching it, so... It's funny, but you find yourself wishing they'd just get back to the kung fu already!

But regardless, it is funny, and it does pay off with a big brawl scene at the end when he hires all the meanest guys in the city to attack Bruce Leroy and his students. The end result is a really great rumble scene with Leroy taking on a few dozen hilarious, wild characters before finally beating Sho'Nuff and attaining "The Glow" which is what you call it when they draw a halo of light around your body frame by frame.

There are a ton of fun, corny eighties movie moments along the way, with Bruce Leroy seeking out an old Confucian master of wisdom; the guy who writes fortune cookies. When he discovers that the fortune cookie writer is actually a computer, he has a moment of zen like clarity.

Could the movie have been better without the weird subplot about the record promoter? Sure, but even so, it's one of the all time classic eighties flicks, and one of the best attempts at spoofing the Kung Fu genre while at the same time honoring it. It's also just plain a whole lot of fun.

So it's exciting, it's funny, and it has all the goofiness and colorful style you want from an eighties movie. Give it a download. - 40728

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