Retro Movie Reviews covers cult classics, films that while they may not have been a critical success have a fan following to this day. These are films that you may have seen as a kid on cable late at night and while the special effects are outdated, the dialogue may be cheesy and the budget may be suspect, these films will always be entertaining and hold a special place in your entertainment seeking heart. If you haven’t seen one of these movies you can almost never go wrong by picking one up to watch.
A kung fu film set in Harlem in the middle of the 80s, The Last Dragon follows Leroy Green (Taimak) AKA Bruce Leroy. Leroy has completed his martial arts training and seeks to move on to the final level to achieve “The Glow” and become a true master.
Eddie Arkadian (Christopher Murney) the Napoleonic and self-proclaimed “King of the Video Arcade” seeks to get his girlfriend a break by getting her music video played on the hottest show on television, hosted by Laura Charles (Vanity). Eddie will stop at nothing to get Lauren to play the video, even if it means kidnapping and murder. Leroy stumbles into a kidnapping attempt and saves Lauren who is instantly smitten with him. Leroy will have to battle a host of villains, including the dreaded Shogun of Harlem, Sho’Nuff (Julius Carry) and overcome his own self doubts to save his lady love.
Memorable scenes: Anything with Sho’Nuff and the homage to Blazing Saddles
The movie includes “blink and you’ll miss it” cameos from William H. Macy, Keisha Knight Pulliam and Chazz Palminteri. Also you will see a very young Ernie Reyes Jr. making his film debut. This film was made in 1985 so anyone who grew up in that decade is in danger of experiencing a flashback (Is that El DeBarge!). Carry as Sho’Nuff steals any scene he is in and is easily one of the best cheesy villains of all time.
The movie may have not been a critical success, but fans simply love this cult classic. After watching it just make sure you don’t try to karate kick someone while screaming “Who’s the master?”
On a scale of 1-5 I give this 4 Eds
