MovieChat Forums > Year of the Dragon (1985) Discussion > Great flick - Could have been amazing

Great flick - Could have been amazing

posted 3 years ago by jekporkins (1927)
3 replies | jump to latest

Been on an old-school Mickey Rourke kick lately and saw this on HBO.

It's inconsistent and extremely overacted in spots, but still a really enjoyable 1980s cop flick with some authentic NYC/Chinatown scenery and John Lone rocking every scene he was in. Some scenes were shocking and I didn't see coming... loved that.

I still feel like it could have been more. There are scenes in China that I would have liked to have seen fleshed out. I kept waiting to see some reactions from the Italian mafia. I was itching to see more of Herbert and his undercover role. The ending felt rushed and silly.

All in all a fun watch with some decent action, drama and suspense. As an ex-smoker watching the number of people light up really made me want a dang Marlboro.

[–] Jones70 (6195) 3 years ago

I agree, I've seen this a few times and think it's one of Rourke's best movies.

[–] letess (1026) 9 months ago

Just saw this movie at a theater in 70mm. It is dated and there are sexist and racist comments that would not fly today, but there is something very special about this movie. There were hearty laughs during some sex scenes. The scenes in what was NY’s Chinatown were vibrant and then you find out it was filmed in North Carolina. But what stands out is Mickey Rourke who really was spectacular and then that penthouse apartment. The scenes in Thailand were great too. I can see why this movie is a favorite of Tarantino’s.

[–] Melton (2377) 3 months ago

Interesting that Tarantino loves the film, you can see its influence - especially those shocking murders that appear out of left-field. My jaw hit the floor when Connie buys it!

I really enjoyed the film, but it felt like an epic cut down to 2 hours and change, so it ends up feeling like an elevated Dirty Harry flick. I’d like this to have been a 3 hour epic, more serious, with fleshed-out subplots (like the Italians). It was a really good B-movie that could have been an A crime epic like Heat.