Year of the Dragon (1985)

Mickey Rourke ignites the screen with his flamboyant portrayal of a vigorous-but-veteran, emotionally scarred, determined, charismatic, bigoted, and intensely arrogant police captain Stanley White. Anchoring him with similar intensity we get John Lone as his ruthless Chinese underworld rising boss antagonist and Raymond J. Barry as his cynical superior. Sure things get a little weighed down with the subplot of White's relationship with his particularly shrewish wife falling apart while he dives head-first into an affair with cold fish reporter Arianne, but YEAR OF THE DRAGON never loses its intensity and unpredictability.I love the little side touches like how the deeply profane and immoral Rourke brings in two easily offended nuns as translators, plus how one of his superiors taunts and stares at him like an angry playground bully while his closest underlings consist of a sloppy middle-aged loafer and a barely competent academy flunky as his undercover informant. At times the proceedings become fairly humorous, especially given Rourke's very random reactions. Sometimes he comes off as a noble hero and sometimes like a total racist sociopath but a more human, well-rounded character than, say, William Petersen's equivalent character in the very similar film TO LIVE AND DIE IN LA from the same year. That said, YEAR OF THE DRAGON never loses its seriousness despite a couple out-of-place and over-the-top musical cues. Cimino artfully handles the plentiful action scenes especially one involving Rourke vs. two hoodlums. He also displays a lot of his same penchant for spectacle with the drug-buying scenes in The Golden Triangle, which I'd wager accounted for half the budget as it features a corrupt general leading a very large and heavily armed private army.I find the film fits comfortably as a tonal bridge between the gritty NYC crime films of the 70's (FRENCH CONNECTION, TAXI DRIVER, etc.) and the glossier 90's (KING OF NEW YORK, GOODFELLAS, etc.). In some ways, the dark, uncompromising atmosphere and misanthropic cruelty remind me more of KIDS or THE CROW. Certainly (and very unfortunately) overlooked, YEAR OF THE DRAGON remains a masterpiece of its time and a window into the equally brilliant and warped mind its writer of Oliver Stone just prior to the start of his directorial career.

What this film basically says is that is OK if you get a slew of folk killed as long as you are 'fighting the good fight.' That is a fairly abysmal moral premise. This film also showcases Mickey Roarke at the height of his popularity and is often regarded as an 'unsung contemporary classic film' by "those in the know." I don't think it really qualifies for classic film status-when the only thing really outstanding or even good about it is the cinematography. The film also goes on about 'Chinese stereotypes' when thats basically all the film depicts. I would also find it hard to believe that only one cop in NYC had a problem with the criminal activity in NYC's Chinatown. In that way the film is relying on the fact that it is 'a work in motion' to hide its multiple flaws. I also didn't find Mr. Roarke's character particularly likable-I'm not saying I found the actor unlikable-I found the character the actor was playing basically an unlikable person. I used to think this was one of the best movies made in the 1980's. My opinion of it has changed over the years. I think that 'To Live & Die in LA' was probably the better crime movie from the 1980's time period. If someone is a hardcore fan of the crime genre film will probably still like this movie. I can only give it a bare pass.

Quite a few of these east-meets-west thrillers have been made over the years, from the good (the likes of THE YAKUZA and RISING SUN) to the bad (Ridley Scott's ridiculously over-stylised BLACK RAIN). YEAR OF THE DRAGON is a particularly unknown one, despite being a lengthy, sometimes epic-feeling production starring one of the decade's hottest stars, written by Oliver Stone, and directed by THE GODFATHER's Michael Cimino.It turns out to be a strong and eventful movie, one that's expertly directed and packed with sudden outbursts of gritty violence that really shock the senses. Despite his dodgily-coloured hair, Mickey Rourke gives a career-best turn as the detective attempting to clean up Chinatown. What ensues is never less than gripping, highly watchable and completely entertaining.The Asian cast members give solid performances, from the criminally underrated John Lone as the bad guy to the virtually unknown Ariane as the love interest. Stone's tough dialogue zings with malice and intrigue, and there are relatively low levels of contrivance and coincidence; the characters come first in this movie, and it's all the better for it. I loved every minute of it.

I am COMPLETELY dumbfounded that Michael Cimino never really was given any decent films after this. Even after he made this EXTREMELY powerful one, how the hell could that even be possible? You would think after making this one, he would have easily gone on to make many more.Oh well... One of life's (and Hollywood's) many completely senseless mysteries I guess...I DO love a good Crime Thriller and this little baby put such a permanent stamp on me when I first saw it 30 years ago, I have truly never forgotten it. I just watched a nice HD rip of it this evening for the first time in many years, and YES, it still packs every bit of the powerful punch that it did almost 30 years ago when I first saw it.Where do I start...? Mickey Rourke's amazing performance? John Lone's wonderful and SMOOOOOOOOOOTHE role? The way the story is beautifully laid out and built up to it's great ending? The fascinating 'behind the scenes' view of the Chinese Mafia? The gripping Suspense? The frigg'n EDGE of your frigg'n seat Action? The gritty portrayal by Rourke as a self-obsessed, VERY flawed, but tenacious and ultimately deeply caring cop?Those were just SOME of the first things that came to mind. SERIOUSLY, I am really NOT one to get very worked up about Action films per se, but this one was done SO damn well that it honestly holds a place forever in my personal list of best films ever made!Oh, and just to say too that I COMPLETELY agree with 'Cracker's review here that you compare it to the HUGE amount of cinematic sludge floating around out there, and this baby holds it's own quite well. Take a very similar film made by the GREAT Ridley Scott, who I TOTALLY revere (can you say 'BLADERUNNER' anyone?) called 'BLACK RAIN', is a lot like this one, but was more visually stylish, and also was quite a good film. So, if a director like Michael Cimino can hold his own compared to one of the absolute GREATS like Scott and make a film that is possibly even MORE powerful, then what's the deal anyway with not giving him any more films...??? (BTW I thought that Mickey Rourke's performance categorically BLEW Michael Douglas's out of the water, for what it's worth. And I LIKE Michael Douglas...)So, if you like good film making, a tense, gripping Crime Story, VERY involving characters, and GREAT acting, then YES, you will indeed like this film...