Starring
Mickey Rourke, John Lone, Ariane, Dennis Dun, Ray Barry, Caroline
Kava, Leonard Termo, Eddie Jones, Victor Wong. Directed by Michael
Cimino. (1985/134 min).
AVAILABLE
ON BLU-RAY FROM
Review
by Tiger the Terribleđ¸
Stanley
White (Mickey Rourke) is the best, most decorated cop in New York.
Just ask him, he'll tell you. In fact, he'll probably tell you even
if you don't ask, as he does at-least three times during Year of the Dragon. I guess we'll just have
to take his word for it because all we mostly see is an innate talent
for getting people around him killed.
When
not putting partners & loved ones in harm's way, White is
obsessed with bringing down the criminal underworld in New York's
Chinatown, disrupting a mutual accord between the police and the mob.
He's a big thorn-in-the-side of Joey Tai (John Lone), an ambitious
young up-and-comer who ignites a war between two rival organizations
so he can rise to power. Along the way, White alienates his
superiors, bullies fellow officers, belittles his wife and seduces
reporter Tracy Tzu (Ariane), who's inexplicably charmed by his
obnoxious bravado. And given Rourke's penchant for weirdness, one can't
help but suspect he had a hand in White's appearance, from
the ill-fitting fedora to his Billy-Idol-on-crack hairstyle.
 |
| "Get off my lawn!" |
Year
of the Dragon is as awesomely bad as it sounds, chock-full of
groan-worthy dialogue, laughable attempts at grittiness, embarrassing
amounts of racism and wooden performances...except for Rourke, of
course, who chews the scenery like one of his beloved chihuahuas.
While not quite on par with Rourke's magnum opus, Harley Davidson
and the Marlboro Man, this trashy trainwreck is especially
fascinating because its director, the late Michael Cimino, was the
toast of Hollywood just a few years before. Then, of course, Heaven's
Gate happened. Not to speak ill of the dead, but this plays more
like one of those once-promising ideas butchered by Sylvester
Stallone rewrites (ol' Sly did that a lot in the 80s).
Perhaps
those are some reasons Year of the Dragon enjoys sort-of a cult
following today. Without a doubt, the film encapsulates everything
glorious goofy about the 80s, slapped together by a guy in the midst
of one of Hollywood history's more spectacular career downfalls.
Still, I gotta admit it's those same qualities that make it more
entertaining than Heaven's Gate. Faint praise, to be sure, but
at least it isn't boring.
EXTRA
KIBBLES
AUDIO
COMMENTARY - By Director Michael Cimino
TRAILER
KITTY CONSENSUS:
AWESOMELY ATROCIOUS
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