Year of the Dragon

A fast-paced thriller that brims with bloody action, 1985's Year of the Dragon certainly wasn't quite the epic that director Michael Cimino (The Deer Hunter) imagined, but for all its self-importance, the film still delivers the goods. Mickey Rourke is the flawed hero, a Vietnam vet turned cop whose violent tendencies make him an ideal choice to battle ruthless drug smugglers headed by Chinatown's crime czar (John Lone). What begins as a fairly routine investigation of murderous youth gangs mushrooms into a struggle between Rourke's character--a classic 'lone wolf' who dispenses vigilante-style justice--and a criminal system rooted in thousands of years of secretive Eastern culture. While Cimino overplays his hand in trying to stress Chinese history and culture, overall the story succeeds on a purely pulpy level, and from a production standpoint, it's hard to fault Year of the Dragon: Cimino replicated New York's Chinatown to an uncanny degree in the South Carolina studio of producer Dino De Laurentiis, and the action scenes are imaginatively staged on a large scale. Brimming with authenticity of setting and style, this vivid and exhilarating action film holds up a lot better than many of its era (and looks excellent, thanks to a great transfer). DVD extras include audio commentary by Cimino. Recommended. (E. Hulse) [Blu-ray Review—Mar. 12, 2019—Warner, 134 min., R, Blu-ray: $21.99—Making its first appearance on Blu-ray, 1985’s Year of the Dragon features a fine transfer with DTS-HD 5.1 audio. Extras include audio commentary by director Michael Cimino. Bottom line: an underrated Cimino film that sparkles on Blu-ray.]