Wednesday, June 16, 2010

A Synopsis Of The Film The Last Dragon

By Erma Duncan

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 film follows Bruce Leroy, or so is his nickname. He's a young martial artist from Harlem who works for his father's pizza parlor while teaching Kung Fu to the local neighborhood kids. Throughout his adventures, he also has to keep his cool and composure while dealing with his rival, Sho'Nuff, who's always trying to get a rise out of him. Sho'Nuff, you see, is the Shogun of Harlem... Yep, the Shogun of Harlem. That's what he likes to call himself.

Sho'Nuff is really one of the all time great screen villains. Everything about him is just... Wild, ridiculous and hilarious. He walks around with a crew of lackeys, and wherever he enters the scene, he's preceded by a little call-and-response speech between himself and his crew, as if they were the mirror on the wall, he asks them if he is the prettiest, the meanest and the baddest, and Sho Nuff, he is. He wears shoulder pads, visor sunglasses and hakama, those baggy pants worn by samurai. For style and attitude, he's really one of the funniest heavies of all time.

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!

And of course, it does pay off in the end when the manager hires all the baddest dudes in the city to have it out with Bruce Leroy and his students. These "bad dudes" include a big fat old white guy with a Mister T Mohawk and an all gold one piece suit... Yep, real bad dudes, these guys.

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.

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.

It's exciting, funny, colorful and kind of corny, and a lot of fun. Get a few beers and some buddies and give it a download. You'll definitely enjoy the show if nothing else.

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