Year of the Dragon (1985)

Happy Chinese New Year! Ok, I know...I know... I’m 16 days late, and it’s the Year of the Monkey, not the Dragon. I’ve been busy with a bit of freelance work. 

Synopsis: Dedicated cop cleans up Chinatown by, um... turning long-time friends on the police force into enemies, beating a suspect to a bloody pulp in front of hundreds of witnesses, and otherwise throwing away the Bill of Rights. 

Blurb From the VHS Jacket: “For colorful, tense, two-fisted action, this Dragon roars!” 

What Did I Learn?: 1) A great man is one who in manhood still keeps the heart of a child. 2) Dollars are like small fish, difficult to catch, but not to be thrown back except as bait for something bigger. 3) A fish stinks from the head down. 4) If you’re in the heroin wholesaling business, adopting the nickname “White Powder” might make you a target for cops and rival gangsters. Just sayin’. 

You Might Like This Movie If: You could easily imagine Mickey Rourke taking on a major crime syndicate.

 

Really?: 1) I have to ask: did Ariane actually audition for her part? I mean, she’s incredibly attractive, but wow – she’s also one of the worst actresses I’ve ever seen in a major motion picture. 2) Funny how Joey Tai pretty much declares war on the Italian Mafia and then....nothing. The audience is informed near the end that the Mafia is fighting back, but we never see any of the back-and-forth. 3) See: “Synopsis.” Seriously, I realize this movie takes place 30 years ago, but I had a hard time believing a Caucasian police captain could get away with a cracking-heads policy in New York’s Chinatown without generating some sort of political backlash. And holy cow, why doesn’t it occur to Joey to hire a lawyer and sue the city after White (Rourke) beats him senseless in a nightclub? 4) Take a drink every time ordinary dialogue suddenly transforms into outright editorializing. Ok, maybe one character might deliver an impromptu speech on Chinese-American history, but three or four? Come on.... 

Rating: Year of the Dragon is a stylishly-made, but somewhat-dated crime thriller that was directed by Michael Cimino and co-written by Cimino and Oliver Stone. While I liked the interplay between Rourke and John Lone (they're both quite good, although Rourke's character isn't terribly likeable), the film is a bit too long, and frankly, the script could have used a lot of tightening-up (See: "Really?" and "Synopsis."). 6/10 stars. 

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0090350/?ref_=nv_sr_1