[.ca] Last Dragon (Widescreen/Full Screen)

From Amazon.com:
Get ready for some seriously big hair. The Last Dragon--or, to call it by its full title, Berry Gordy's the Last Dragon--is a stunning example of 1980s camp cinema. One-name kung fu wonder Taimak plays Leroy Green, a.k.a. Bruce Leroy, a humble student of kung fu who has achieved the highest level of skill, but hasn't yet found his inner master. Wandering through the streets of New York in a Chinese peasant outfit, he accidentally becomes the protector of nightclub hostess/video jockey Laura Charles (played by former Prince protégé Vanity, who also costarred in the trash classic Action Jackson). She's being threatened by a height-challenged mobster who wants her to play his girlfriend's video (the girlfriend is something of a Cyndi Lauper look-alike, played by Broadway star Faith Prince). Meanwhile, a man who calls himself Sho'Nuff, the Shogun of Harlem, wants to kick Leroy's ass and prove himself the baddest kung fu master in town. Add to this Leroy's smart-mouthed brother Richie (who calls Leroy "the chocolate-covered yellow peril"), a dregs-of-Motown soundtrack (DeBarge is a high point), ninja battles, pseudo-Eastern philosophical babble, and a jaw-dropping club performance by Vanity, and you have a hilarious example of why we're all so very glad the '80s are over. Featuring a bit role by William H. Macy (Fargo, Magnolia). --Bret Fetzer

steveo:
i first saw this video when i was 10 years old.I THOUGHT IT HAD BEEN DISCONIUED,then finally i come across it again this is one cheesy film but i love it to pieces

Who da MASTER?! Bruce Leroy that's who!:
Oh my God! I remember seeing this film over a dozen times and I still find it to be the most highly entertaining film to come out of the 80's. I have very fond memories of this movie being that I am a child of the 80's, and this film is an excellent piece of nostalgia for anyone old enough to experience the 80's in their teens or their 20's, or even for someone like me (who was simply a child). The story itself is pretty basic, but very entertaining nonetheless. Would-be entertainment mogul Eddie Arkadian wishes to form an alliance with Video Disc Jockey Laura Charles, the host of a popular Soul Train-esque type show called '7th Heaven', in order to make his girlfriend Angela (looking very much like Cindy Lauper's twin) a glitzy popstar goddess. When Laura refuses, he takes drastic measures to ensure her cooperation. thus Leroy enters the scene and becomes Laura's protector, and she in turn begins to fall for him despite his naivetee regarding the ways of romance. While all this is going on, Sho'Nuff with his crew want to proclaim dominance over the streets as the baddest mofo in town, and the only way to do that is to kick Leroy's ass through all Five Boroughs all the way to Shaghai. Anyway, the film can be viewed on many different levels: it is pretty campy in parts (this is the 80's we're talking about), but it has a great deal of heart because in essence Taimak's character of Leroy is on a journey of self-discovery and a sort of spiritual coming of age type of ordeal. Leroy is someone that appears to be in his early to mid 20's, who has put a great deal of dedication into studying the martial arts and understanding the philosophy behind them. So much so that he is very much a pacifist, and only fights in self-defense or in the protection of another and refuses to be intimidated into fighting by another. This is evident by his blatant refusal to accept Sho'Nuff's challenges, even when his family's pizzaria is vandalized by Sho'Nuff and his crew. It is only when both his brother ad Laura are kidnapped by Eddie that he decides to try and rescue them alone, despite the fact that he knows that it is a trap. In addition, this level of dedication has made Leroy a bit naive about certain things in regular life, one of them being how to interact with women. when he begins to reciprocate his feelings for Laura, it is so sweet and innocent because of his lack of experience it is truly genuine that he loves her and towards the end of the film when he appears with a bouquet of white roses, he isn't afraid to make a fool out of himself when he shouts out to her 'COULD YOU TEACH ME SOME MOVES?!' which is obviously a more politically correct way of asking someone 'will you have sex with me'. His younger brother Ritchie, is a lot smarter than Leroy when it comes to the world at large or at least, has a great deal of street smarts. Although he seemed more understanding of how things really are, and views his brother's take on life as 'weird', Ritchie himself is not without a sense of innocence and naivetee. The kid was 15 years old and thought that he himself was 'man enough' for a woman like Laura Charles when all it boiled down to was a simple teenage crush, and hormonal lust. Laura Charles (as played by Vanity) epitomizes the strong-willed woman, she exudes with beauty, talent, and sex appeal, in addition to displaying a heart of gold. She displays her outright refusal to cave in to Arkadian's demands even from the beginning before meeting him and finding out what kind of a slimeball he truly is, her continued defiance of him is well conveyed. Her interactions with Leroy are filled with just the right amount of charm, warmth and romance without being too sappy or mushy. Eddie Arkadian starts off as someone very cool, calm and collected, but definitely shows his malicious intent to anyone that crosses him in true mobster fashion. His descent into the depths of madness towards the end of the movie are well-conveyed with an appropriate over-the-top style that still displays the depth of his menace. The scene where Leroy sneaks into 7th Heaven, and suddenly the large vidscreens light up with Eddie's image, and his voice echoing from all around, its a moment that is truly terrifying in a Big Brother type of manner. Sho'Nuff is definitely Yang to Leroy's Yin, someone simply obsessed in displaying his macho testosterone dominance over his enemies, and his single-minded pursuit that to be the best you must defeat the best and maintain your reputation as the one you should not mess with. It all comes to a head during his fight with Leroy and he displays that he is a true master, by being able to use the power of 'The Glow', something Leroy had been unable to achieve throughout his studies, and comes close to getting the stuffing beaten out of him each time he refuses to answer Sho'Nuff's question 'Who's the Master?' Leroy's conviction and spiritual journey ultimately comes to fruition during his battle with Sho'Nuff when he finally realizes that the master he should be looking for is within himself, which gives him the confidence to finally proclaim that he is indeed a true Kung-Fu Master, which then allows him to achieve 'The Glow' and proceed to beat the ever-living crap out of Sho'Nuff. This is indeed a great movie, as something that both pays homage to and pokes fun at the martial arts genre by mixing it in with a bit of blaxploitation, a coming-of-age story and some romance to balance it all out. I highly recommend this film to anyone that loves the 80's and longs to be a bit nostalgic.

Forget the critics! I love this movie!:
I don't know why such a bad review is posted here on Amazon? I am sad that the 80s are over, but I still have my DVD to watch any time I want. Bruce Leroy has to go up agienst a bad dude by the name of sho nuff.. All while tring to find the inner glow that will give him the power to defeat his foes... He has to help a beautiful lady named Laura Charles a video DJ who is harassed by some crazy promotor who will stop at nothing to get a video played on her show.. I love the film for the action and we get to see some Bruce Lee in it too! Leroy is sent out on a mission to find the way to reach the glow and when he has to fight Sho nuff, he finds out that he is the master! I loved this movie and I wish that there was a sequel... Grab some popcorn and just sit back and have fun...

A cheesy 80's classic:
THE LAST DRAGON is one of those films where the viewer knows the film isn't good, yet you still enjoy it, and watch it endlessly. I'm one of those viewers. You can't help by liking the film, even though it was made in the weird 1980's. Anyway the film follows Taimak (where has he been, anyway?) as kung-fu master Leroy Green, who has reached the highest level of martial arts. He is trying to find the master in himself but is confronted by Sho'nuff, the baddest guy from Harlem. Leroy is also romances a DJ named Laura Charles, played by Vanity (where has she been too?; have you noticed that one-named actors are often lost in oblivion in the movie industry?) Even though the film has a horrible 80's era feel to it, the film nevertheless boasts good karate action, a dated but fun soundtrack, and memorable lines by Sho'nuff ("who's the baddest? SHONUFF! who's the prettiest? SHONUFF!...) THE LAST DRAGON is a classic guilty pleasure spectacle.

5 Stars--Brilliant, Baby!!:
I absolutely LOVE this movie. This is one of my favorites! I don't know how people critique movies, and what they call "great", but I'm tired of them, they don't know what the (bleep) they're talking about!! This movie is sooooooo great! I love Taimak and Vanity (a protegee of the man Prince I awesomely adore) and all of the characters. Sho'nuff may be ug-ly but he makes me laugh! The whole movie makes me laugh. The tough, strong, yet cute and gentle Leroy Green (son of Daddy Green and his Pizza) a.k.a Bruce Leroy is a funny character I just love. Laura Childs is so pretty and sassy, you just love her. The Plot is endlessly good and I LOVE THIS MOVIE! I recommend it to you and your family (PG-13, though) and you will love it! I LOVE IT, I LOVE IT, I LOVE IT!! BUY IT, WATCH IT, LOVE IT!!