Saturday, July 17, 2010

See The Film The Last Dragon

By Silvia Hewitt

The Last Dragon was actually a film produced by Motown Records back in the eighties. It seems that one of the primary concerns of the film might actually have been to promote new talent, particularly that one song, "Oh Sheila", you know, "Let me love you til the morning comes". But that doesn't change the fact that it's really a fun, exciting Kung Fu movie, and one of the must download movies of the eighties.

The movie follows a young martial artist nicknamed Bruce Leroy as he teaches the kids at the local dojo and works at his father's pizza parlor, delivering pies on foot throughout Harlem. He also tries to maintain his composure while dealing with hsi rival, Sho'Nuff, the Shogun of Harlem... Yep. Sho'Nuff... He's the Shogun of Harlem, you see.

Sho'Nuff, the Shogun of Harlem, is really a cinematic treasure as far as great film characters go. He tries to egg Bruce Leroy into a fight so that he can prove, once and for all, who the strongest fighter in the city is. Every time he steps on scene, it's with a short speech, aided by his lackeys. "Am I the prettiest?!" "SHO NUFF!" "Am I the baddest?!" "SHO NUFF!" "Am I the meanest, leanest mofo around dis town?!" "SHO NUFF!" "SHO'NUFF! Da Shogun of Harlem!" He wears visor sunglasses, a samurai's hakama (those baggy pants that disguise foot movement), and shoulder pads, as well as a top knot... He looks ridiculous and he's just a joy to behold.

If there's one downside to the movie, it's the whole subplot about the Cyndi Lauper wannabe singer and her promoter/boyfriend. He's trying to play hardball in order to get her played on the local music show, and... Well, it's just not really the high point of the movie. It's not too much of a distraction, but you'll 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 also some really fun, corny moments along the way. At one point, Leroy tries to seek wisdom from the guy who writes the fortune cookies at the local Chinese restaurant, only to find that they're written by a computer. Therein he finds that zen wisdom of emptiness and being.

Perhaps the movie might have been better without the relatively uninteresting subplot. After all, you just came for the kung fu, right? But nevertheless, it still remains a classic of its genre, and one of the few films to successfully spoof kung fu movies and honor them at the same time. It's really a lot of fun, with just enough corny eighties style goofiness to make it one of the all time classic eighties comedies.

Next time you want a goofy, fun eighties flick, and you want to see a little kung fu while you're at it, go ahead and give The Last Dragon a download.

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