Essay Example on Who’s the Master The Last Dragon 1985

The Last Dragon by director Michael Schultz is a martial arts comedy released in 1985 that is a spoof of one of the most famous karate movies ever Enter the Dragon This movie was filmed as a comedic re launch of the Bruce Lee film that was released in 1973 Berry Gordy who is the film s executive producer along with Schultz have managed to incorporate comedy drama and karate romance all into one Despite that it did not look very modern when it opened this martial arts musical is still a memorable 80s classic that included this three things the guy always does the impossible to get the girl the good guy wins the big fight at the end and finally the main point of the story is just simply an everyday lesson Kruse The film focuses on Bruce Leroy Taimak in Harlem He is told by his Miyagi that he needs to find the Master in order to obtain a glow or a type of higher spiritual plane Being at peace is part of his training so he chooses not to fight his arch rival Sho nuff the Shogun of Harlem However Leroy also finds himself distracted by Laura Charles Vanity a disco queen whom he rescues from thugs sent by a wannabe mobster Eddie Arkadian Chris Murray Leroy finds that the non violent path is not an easy one to walk and sooner or later he must face his destiny Yousef Schultz dir with the backing of Motown mogul Berry Gordy the film s mid 1980s dance and up tempo tunes are appealing but the story and characters make it mediocre Directors The tone of the film unfolds in a goofy fun vibe The movie is not meant to be taken seriously 

The Last Dragon sends its message in a more light hearted manner Schultz dir mentions in the DVD commentary that he wanted the film to be cartoony through the use of either of bright pastel colors or flat looking dance performance numbers set on soundstages Donalson 2003 p 89 The Last Dragon further suffers from pointless dialogue and kooky characters that alternate between fantasy and stupidity In one part of the dialogue Leroy is speaking in a simplistic broken English to highlight his adaptation of Chinese manners Leroy s expression of mystical ideas and thoughts is frequently described by his rival as mumbo jumbo Directors In general the other characters in the film remain animated and bland disappointing an audience to care about them in any degree Finally one would expect back then this film as an expensive high tech production But this does not make up for its weaknesses with the action sequences Even though Schultz dir does a decent job directing these moments nothing stands out in performance or intensity In some ways the scheme of showing actual Bruce Lee footage works against The Last Dragon Directors Despite that the story calls for the character Leroy to mimic the physical moves of his idol Bruce Lee the fight sequences of The Last Dragon remain only a shallow copy of action seen elsewhere I would give the rating a 3 out 5 since this is a classic I grew up on in terms of music and comedy but the special effects and storyline could have been better For the overall message of the film Schultz dir hoped that presenting a young black heroic character who had values and had positive training being seen as a corn ball character by other people but ultimately believing in his own power could overcome evil would be a thing that would resonate with youthful audiences and it did Axmaker para 9 

Being someone living in a generation where movies have to make sense a typical person would simply ask these two questions Is it just a 80s ninja flick Is it just a long music video Overall I would recommend it if you want a laugh but do not try to figure out the actual point of this cult classic Works Cited Axmaker Sean The Last Dragon Turner Classic Movies www tcm com this month article 294706 7C0 The Last Dragon html Directors Hollywood Jukola Art Community Michael Schultz The Crossover King Hollywood Directors 28 June 2017 www jukolart us hollywood directors michael schultz the crossover king html Donalson Melvin Michael Schultz The Crossover King Black Directors in Hollywood Univ of Texas Press 2003 pp 78 94 Gonzalez Francisco The Last Dragon 1985 The Film Connoisseur 22 May 2013 filmconnoisseur blogspot com 2013 05 the last dragon 1985 html m Kruse Jarrett Looking Back at The Last Dragon Den of Geek 2 June 2013 www denofgeek com us movies the last dragon 127143 looking back at the last dragon Schultz Michael director The Last Dragon TriStar Pictures 1985 Film Youseph Ramon The Last Dragon 1985 Kung Fu Kingdom 13 Mar 2015 kungfukingdom com the last dragon movie review