Year Of The Dragon (1985)

Year Of The Dragon (1985)- * * *1\2

Directed by: Michael Cimino

Starring: Mickey Rourke, Ariane, John Lone, Caroline Kava, and Raymond J. Berry












Stanley White (Rourke) is a Cop On The Edge (and Vietnam vet) in New York City. Assigned to Chinatown, he discovers the area is rife with gangs demanding protection money from shopkeepers, illegal gambling, and other activities that are against the law - U.S. law. When White confronts the leaders of the community, he is informed that their traditions are thousands of years old, and he can’t just waltz in and change things.

But then the violence spins out of control and the murder rate rises. The headstrong Stanley just won’t tolerate their growing domination. Meanwhile, Stanley finds himself growing apart not just from his colleagues on the police force, but from his wife Connie (Kava). He develops a relationship with Asian TV reporter Tracy Tzu (Ariane), and when she gets caught in the middle between Stanley and his growing sense of vengeance to crime leader Joey Tai (Lone), fireworks - literally - occur. Will Stanley clean up the streets of Chinatown? Find out today!

Michael Cimino is one of the only currently-living masters of American cinema, and with a screenplay co-written by him and Oliver Stone, in a movie produced by Dino De Laurentiis, you know you’re going to get a high-quality production. It’s an expertly-shot and acted film as well, and with some of the themes it deals with, it was ahead of its time in 1985. 

It’s filled with intense moments, and its length and pace bespeak its status as an epic crime drama, which would make sense as the novel it’s based from was written by Robert Daley of Prince of the City (1981) fame. So we applaud that it did not cave in to the trend of “MTV editing”, and it comes out smelling like a rose in the 21st century.

Mickey Rourke was the ideal choice to play Stanley. This was at the height of his initial fame in the 80’s, and he’s looking young and trim. Stanley, despite appearing, on the surface, like a brash, insensitive, politically-incorrect brute, actually has a highly sensitive soul and a powerful and overriding sense of morality. But he’s caught up in a corrupt world so he deals with it the best he can. Rourke, one of the most talented actors currently working today, can expertly play that subtlety and complexity. Plus not only does he have cool hair, he has a cool hat, and when he’s not wearing his cool hat, the coolness of his hair can shine, and his hair seems to get cooler as the movie goes along.

On top of the cultural knowledge and references in the movie, not just of Asian culture but biblical as well (could Stanley’s shot in the middle of his hand with its blood be a reference to the stigmata of Jesus?) , it’s important to recognize that this was the 80’s, after all, and we get the disco scene we all love, and arcade games Pac-Man, Galaga and Defender can be seen. This movie truly has it all.

So for a serious-minded, extremely professional cop/crime drama that has all the hallmarks that we know and love, plus a lot more, it’s hard to beat Year of the Dragon.

Comeuppance Review by: Ty and Brett

The Hunted (1995)

The Hunted (1995)- * *1\2

Directed by: J.F. Lawton

Starring: Christopher Lambert, John Lone and  Joan Chen











Paul Racine (Lambert) is a New York businessman on a business trip to Tokyo. After getting involved with the beautiful Kirina (Chen), he finds himself inadvertently drawn into the shadowy world of Ninjas. When he tries to stop her murder, it’s “Businessman to the rescue!” but he doesn’t realize what he’s up against. None of the Tokyo authorities believe Ninjas still exist in modern-day Japan. 

Obviously they’re not aware of the highly-trained, yet evil Kinjo (Lone) who now takes Paul as his main enemy because he knows too much. So Paul trains in the ways of the Ninja to face off in the eventual final confrontation with Kinjo. Who will win?

The Hunted comes from a not-so-distant past when Christopher Lambert movies came to the movie theater. And ones about Ninjas no less. Ah yes, it was a different time in our nation’s history indeed. Part of the interest of a Christopher Lambert movie is attempting to decipher and determine if it’s a Christopher Lambert movie or a Christopher Lambair film. The jury may still be out on The Hunted, because it is a fairly glossy, professionally made product with an almost two-hour running time and a pretty slow pace by today’s standards. But because it’s a movie about Ninjas with a lot of “Sword Violence”, it’s probably an “Ert” title, not an “Air” film.

We give the movie credit for the fact that when the Japanese locals talk, it’s in Japanese with subtitles. So many movies have locals in foreign countries speaking English to each other. Speaking of voices, Lambert’s is kind of odd. It’s accented, of course, but the real problem is that it’s a bit thin and quiet to boot. With a more powerful voice, his screen presence could have been improved. 

The Hunted is at its best when it’s executing its action setpieces, and the scene on the train is a movie highlight. But on the whole the movie seems bloated, and some trimming could have helped. Plus the movie takes itself so seriously. During the Ninja scenes in the woods, it made us miss Godfrey Ho and the fact that Ho’s Ninjas have headbands that say “Ninja” on them. Well, maybe they don’t have to be that silly, but a happy medium would be nice.

We appreciate the professionalism and the obvious care that was put into the action/stunt sequences of The Hunted, but the hard fact is that this is not an essential movie. You could probably miss this one and not feel too bad about it. But if you do see it, you’ll see a competently-made and pretty slick time-filler.

Comeuppance Review by: Ty and Brett