The Last Dragon

UPC: 043396461321

Studio: Sony Pictures

MPAA Rating: PG13   Contains:[Violence, Questionable for Children, Adult Language]

Summary: The TV prints of this entertaining melange whittled down the film's original self-serving title (Motown king Berry Gordy was the producer), and settled on merely The Last Dragon. Taimak stars as an African American martial-arts whiz, so devoted to his hobby that he dresses and behaves in what he thinks is true Chinese fashion. Taimak falls in love with sexy veejay Vanity. Gangsters intrude on both their lives when crook Julius J. Carry III tries to promote his talentless protegee into rock stardom. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Category: Action

Features: Return of the Dragon:
an all-new look back at the making and legacy of Berry Gordy's The Last Dragon, featuring Taimak, Berry Gordy and more!
Original theatrical trailer
Commentary by director Michael Schultz

The Last Dragon

Format: Blu-ray

Release Date: 08/25/2015

Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 Theatre Wide-Screen

Audio: DD1 Dolby Digital Mono, DHMA

Runtime: 108 Minutes

Sides: 1

Number of Discs: 1

Language(s) English,French,Portuguese,Spanish

Subtitles: English,French,Portuguese,Spanish

Donald Guarisco

This singular mix of kung-fu, blaxploitation, family film, and music video may seem unwieldy in theory but it is actually quite entertaining. Louis Venosta's script periodically overdoses on goofball humor but makes up for this with plenty of imagination and enthusiasm and Michael Schultz's assured direction deftly blends the humor, action, and music with style. The score, supervised by Motown veteran Willie Hutch, occasionally overdoes its '80s production quirks (drum machines, blooping synthesizers, etc.) but delivers plenty of soulful punch in the film's plentiful action set pieces. In terms of performances, Taimak doesn't exactly have the presence of Bruce Lee but his comic timing is solid and Vanity is surprisingly confident and poised as the sexy damsel in distress. However, the scene-stealing work comes from Julius J. Carry III's rip-snorting performance as Sho Nuff (imagine Rick James as a kung-fu expert) and Christopher Murney's scenery-chewing work as frustrated mogul Eddie Arkadian. In the end, The Last Dragon may be a little too dated and squeaky-clean for action enthusiasts, but its period charms and genial humor are guaranteed to entertain those nostalgic for the '80s. ~ Donald Guarisco, Rovi

Cast and Crew: Pen Densham  Screenwriter 
Berry Gordy, Jr.  Producer 
Rupert Hitzig  Producer 
Michael Schultz  Director 
Misha Segal  Composer (Music Score) 
Louis Venosta  Screenwriter 
John K. Watson  Screenwriter 
Bruce Miller  Composer (Music Score) 
Taimak  Actor 
Vanity  Actor 
Christopher Murney  Actor 
Julius J. Carry III  Actor 
Faith Prince  Actor 
Leo O'Brien  Actor 
Ernie Reyes, Jr.  Actor 
Glen Eaton  Actor 
Andre Rosey Brown  Actor 
Michael R. Chin  Actor 
Howard Feuer  Actor 
Kim Chang  Actor 
Jamal Mason  Actor 
Torrance Mathis  Actor 
Ernie Reyes Sr.  Actor 
Shonte  Actor 
Soo Gin Lee  Actor 
Freddie Stroble  Actor 
William Taylor  Actor 
Julian Villaneuva  Actor 
Jeffrey Ward  Actor 
Verne Williams  Actor 
Henry Yuk  Actor 
Mike Starr  Actor 
Jim Moody  Actor 
Roger Campbell  Actor 
Esther Marrow  Actor 
Keshia Knight Pulliam  Actor 
B.J. Barie  Actor 
Sarita Allen  Actor 
Jacqui Lee Smith  Actor 
Jodi Moccia  Actor 
Sal Russo  Actor 
Chazz Palminteri  Actor 
Frank Renzulli  Actor 
David Claudio  Actor 
Kirk Taylor  Actor 
Janet Bloem  Actor 
Lisa Loving  Actor 
Fredric Mao  Actor 
Thomas Ikeda  Actor 
William H. Macy  Actor 
Trulie MacLeod  Actor 
Gary Aprahamian  Actor 
Lou David  Actor 
Captain Haggerty  Actor 
Robert Silver  Actor 
Clayton Prince  Actor 
Brandon Schultz  Actor 
Carl Payne  Actor 
Anthony Cortino  Actor 
Sebastian Hitzig  Actor 
Derek Schultz  Actor 
Rhonda Silberstein  Actor 
Peter Traina  Actor 
Jack Meeks  Actor 
Joe Dabenigno  Actor 
Scott Coker  Actor 

Country: USA