The Last Dragon (1985)

[jimkiler 84]

Please do an episode of a movie i loved in the 80's The Last Dragon. Where the main character is called Bruce Leeroy and it has an awesome 80's soundtrack. The only caveat is you will love the movie too much to hate or will you. You can see it for free on crackle.com

 

http://www.crackle.com/c/The_Last_Dragon/The_Last_Dragon/2460332

[EricLewin 5]

Oh God this would be so amazing. I love this movie so much and it would be perfect for the show!

[PlanBFromOuterSpace 3138]

As a child of the 80's that grew up on this thing, the DeBarge song from the soundtrack is permanently embedded in my brain. It's such a fucking perfect song. Oh sure, "Who's Johnny?" from "Short Circuit" was pretty great too, but nothing beats "Rhythm of the Night" when it comes to non-Kenny Loggins 80's soundtrack cuts. NOTHING.

 

OK, maybe Robert Tepper's "No Easy Way Out" from "Rocky IV", but nothing else...

[wyldride 285]

"Hey, my man -- What it look like?"

[LionelO 8]

I created an account just to suggest this movie, and am angry/not surprised that someone beat me to it!! This movie has so much to talk about, the innumerable levels of racism, the sketchy plot, the awesomely horrible uber 80's R&B music, the complete 5:00 music video in the middle, TRAINING MONTAGE!!!, and of course, one of the greatest villains in movie history, SHO 'NUFF the shogun of Harlem!!! This is a must for this podcast!!! Please watch it!!!!

[jimkiler 84]

I watched this on crackle yesterday and still enjoy this movie. I went to the Wikipedia and someone wanted to remake it in 2008 with Samuel Jackson playing Shonuff, the Shogun of Harlem. While I like Samuel Jackson he could not play this role. Also the actor who played Shonuff died in 2008, where was the media coverage for that? Also William H Macy has a bit part.

[LionelO 8]

Just in case visual aids may sway your decision on viewing this movie for an upcoming episode, I present to you, Sho 'Nuff the Shogun of Harlem!

[LionelO 8]

Don't you want to see these Asian character actors do incredibly racist impressions of black people?!?!!

 

 

Also, this guy's tribute page should give you even more reasons to watch it!! http://www.thelastdragontribute.com/top-10-reasons-to-love-the-last-dragon/

[jarrycanada 2483]

wow where are the five star reviews... LOL

[wakefresh 689]

This movie is gold! It is not a bad movie at all. Paul, you guys had better do Port of Call New Orleans before even thinking about touching this cult classic.

[LionelO 8]

It is a great movie, a cult classic, and ridiculously hilarious. But the jokes written in the script don't make it hilarious, the performances and the plot make me laugh the most. That's why I say it's one of those "so bad it's good" movies. I really don't think they were trying to be funny with this flick. I think they were trying to make an earnest kung fu film. It's very evident in the movie poster.

 

 

The Last of His Kind. The Best of the Best. ABSOLUTELY!

[PlanBFromOuterSpace 3138]

I really don't think they were trying to be funny with this flick. I think they were trying to make an earnest kung fu film.

 

Jim Varney would have succeeded in making an Ernest kung-fu film...

[Domoromo 1]

I agree 100%. This movie is the poster child for "so bad, it's good" and the music just sticks in your head. So many things to love about this movie. ShoNuff has been mentioned. But can we also mention that Bruce Leroy is so stereotypically Chinese that he eats popcorn with chopsticks. oh and he can chop arrows in midflight and catch bullets with his teeth. William h. Macy is in this movie. I can't stop please review this one!!!!!

[jimkiler 84]

I agree 100%. This movie is the poster child for "so bad, it's good" and the music just sticks in your head. So many things to love about this movie. ShoNuff has been mentioned. But can we also mention that Bruce Leroy is so stereotypically Chinese that he eats popcorn with chopsticks. oh and he can chop arrows in midflight and catch bullets with his teeth. William h. Macy is in this movie. I can't stop please review this one!!!!!

 

The music sticks in your head because Berry Gordy, the founder of Motown records, produced this movie.

[tambora 4]

Oh, please, let this come true. This is by far the worst movie that I love unconditionally. I challenge anyone to watch this movie and not go up to the first person they see and scream "LEROY! WHO'S THE MASTER?"

[Ofcoursemyhorse 1043]

My favorite part that doesnt involve glow fighting, is the ten year old giving sex advice to Leroy.

[wakefresh 689]

It is a great movie, a cult classic, and ridiculously hilarious. But the jokes written in the script don't make it hilarious, the performances and the plot make me laugh the most. That's why I say it's one of those "so bad it's good" movies. I really don't think they were trying to be funny with this flick. I think they were trying to make an earnest kung fu film. It's very evident in the movie poster.

 

 

The Last of His Kind. The Best of the Best. ABSOLUTELY!

 

 

If you think this was a earnest kung fu film then you probably think Black Dynamite was an earnest action movie. Please.

[PhillipMedoc 648]

The wife and I watched this last night.

 

It's like Kung Fu (the tv show) meets Karate Kid, but Motown style. And possibly one of the most "eighties" movies from the 1980s there is. The clothes, the hair, the neon, the boomboxes, the everything -- it's awesome. It has some genuinely fun music in it, Rhythm Of The Night is a jam.

 

The movie is CRAZY. So, his name is Leroy? Or Bruce Leroy? And he had a master but now he lives with his family I guess. And everyone in this movie seems to be confused about Asia, because Leeroy practices kung fu but says some Japanese at a couple of points. And his rival is the Shogun of Harlem, which would indicate Japan. Also Leroy runs a dojo which comes up later in the movie for no other reason than the Shogun can be a bad guy.

 

At some point we find out he's been searching for "the glow", which you think is like an ultimate zen state or something but no, it turns out that if you're enough of a badass you FUCKING GLOW when you fight. Like a mystical superhero.

 

The whole crazy story pulling everything together (barely) is this... bad guy (is he just rich and evil, or a gangster, or what?) wants to make his mistress into a pop star or something, and the way he tries to accomplish that is by having his bungling thugs attempt to kidnap Vanity. She hosts an apparently incredibly influential music video program and after kipnapping her, they'll force her to play the white chick's bad pop videos. That's it, that's what moves this plot along. And then Sho Nuff the Shogun pops up once in a while to mix things up.

 

1985. Record exec producer. There had to be so much cocaine use involved in the making of The Last Dragon. I think this movie would make the HDTGM crew's heads explode.

[huppra 1]

I love this movie, it is so good at being bad.. I mean the villain Eddie Arcadian owns and operates Arcades. If cheesy names, 80s pop culture, and 1 weed joke are your thing, this is the kung-fu movie for you.

[sillstaw 414]

I endorse this whole-heartedly.

 

A few thoughts:

 

How is it that nobody even questions the idea of a guy going around fighting people and challenging some random kung-fu student to matches? Not to mention, nobody even calls the police on him. And also, he calls himself the Shogun of Harlem, as if that actually meant anything in the USA. (Incidentally, watching the movie, I couldn't stop thinking that he looked like "Conan" writer Deon Cole.)

 

The bad guy's mistress/musician basically came across as Cyndi Lauper with the fashion sense of Lady Gaga. That "head lights" song, where she wears a bunch of road signs all over her clothes, is amazing.

 

Near the end of the movie, the musician finally gets sick of Arcadian's* under-handed tactics and leaves. Arcadian still goes after Leeroy, apparently just because he managed to fight off his thugs.

 

At one point, Leeroy mentions to Vanity that he's seeking the Glow. She takes him to her studio and starts playing a music video where some guy keeps mentioning the Glow. I honestly thought that was the end of it, that he was sent to seek out something his master had heard on MTV, but no, it's apparently a real thing (in the movie, I mean), and some musician just happened to make a song containing the words "The Glow" so popular that she had it on standby to play in her studio.

 

* A guy named Arcadian owning a chain of arcades is like if Bill Gates made his fortune by building fences.

[thestray 361]

Legit one of my favorite movies ever. So many of my peers have NO idea what the hell I'm talking about when I bring this movie up. I'd totally be down for them to do this movie, as much as I love it it's crazy, but definitely still entertaining to watch.

[PhillipMedoc 648]

I know I already posted, but I just want to say that everyone should watch this even though there's a low chance of it getting a HDTGM. It is totally entertaining and worth seeking out. There's a torrent out there on the intertubes.

[ChrisPurvis 0]

As a child of the 80s and a frequent bad movie watcher I was surprised I had never heard of this gem. My wife just introduced it to me, as it was a staple for her growing up. 1985 's The Last Dragon is amazing. It is Karate Kid meets Girls Just Want to Have Fun. Please, Please HDTGM you need to do is movie. It will change your lives.

 

IMDb: The Last Dragon (1985)

http://imdb.com/rg/an_share/title/title/tt0089461/

 

Watch Trailer

[ChrisPurvis 0]

Did anyone notice the albino Mr. T?

[csetlow 1]

So I've been listening to the show for a couple of episodes and this movie seems to check off a ton of the boxes that the hosts look for.

 

Ridiculous Movie Summary

Motown music combines with action as a shy karate champion fights off bad guys who are threatening a beautiful disc jockey (Vanity).

 

Current Availability

 

Is the complete movie easy to get?

Yes, the full movie is on youtube https://www.youtube....h?v=D3rC3TvHAuU

 

Relevancy

 

Was this movie a success?

The film was a critical disappointment but a financial success, and is now considered a cult classic. It grossed $25,754,284 on an estimated $10,000,000 to make. Infact, as the movie is coming up on its 30th anniversary there is are blogs and sites dedicated to hosting a rescreen of the movie.

 

Genre

 

Was the movie serious?

Why yes, it was an ernest attempt to make an action movie. It is certainly not a horror or comedy movie that the hosts don't like to pick. Additionally, it is very watchable movie that I doubt the hosts of watched.

 

Interesting backstory elements

 

It was Berry Gordy's last movie in an otherwise interesting carreer of screen, stage, and music. The movie itself is a martial arts movie set in 80's brooklyn with a black cast. This is truly a crazy, amazing movie that gets mentioned in popular culture even today. For example, LMFAO references the movie in their hit song I'm sexay and i know it. This was the first acting role for the protagonist of the movie Taimak, a then-20-year-old black belt who learned to act on the set of this picture

 

Amazon Reviews

 

There are 391 5 star ratings for this one. I'm sure the hosts could cull some good ones.