Following hot on the heels of his highly successful The Deer Hunter and the highly unsuccessful Heaven's Gate, up and coming director Michael Cimino made this ultra violent Mickey Rourke vehicle co-written by none other than Oliver Stone.

In this grim and gritty cop drama, Rourke plays a police captain named Stanley White who has been assigned with the task of cleaning up China Town in New York City. Crime runs rampant in the streets and it's going to take one tough S.O.B. to handle the job, but White fits that bill and he certainly seems up to the task. White's got issues of his own, however. It wasn't that long ago that he was sweating it out in the jungles of Viet Nam and that war left him more than a little scarred upstairs. He more than a bit racists and he is more apt to shoot first and ask questions later. He's also a sexist jerk and a truly unlikable man.

To make matters worse for White, his wife is leaving him because he never spends any time at home, his only friend is his commanding officer and all they ever do is argue, and the only person he gives a damn for is the cute news reporter he's having an affair with. His personal life is just as much of a mess as his professional life is.

When an up and coming Chinese gangster named Joey Tai (John Lone of The Last Emperor) starts standing up to White's tactics and posing a problem or two for him, White knows he's going to have to stop him dead or alive. Tai is just as ruthless as White is, however, and he's more than happy to kill anyone who stands in his way be they cops or fellow gangsters.

Year Of The Dragon could have been a great film. Rourke gives a good performance in the lead and Lone makes for a great villain – the similarities between the two men making for an interesting contrast by the time the film ends. The supporting cast is decent, the sets and location shooting is all up to par and really makes for a moody and atmospheric looking film. The cinematography is great and the action scenes are shockingly violent and expertly choreographed.

With all that going for it you'd think this one would be a simple home run, wouldn't you? Instead, Year Of The Dragon kind of fizzles out and works better as a beautiful mistake rather than a truly great film. Yes, it does have a lot to offer to make it worthwhile but the movie gets so bogged down with some of the repetitious and unnecessary dialogue that at times it's almost laughable. We don't need to hear how Rourke's character hates himself or how everyone else thinks he's a scumbag when we already know it. Rourke's character is also hard to sympathize with. While it's true that you don't always have to have likeable characters to make a great film, when the lead is as despicable as Rourke is in this film, you can't really get behind him even when the inevitable showdown with the main bad guy is underway and all the cards are on the table.

The film did generate some controversy when it was released as many Chinese Americans felt that its portrayal of the Chinese American community was racist and playing to negative stereotypes. While yeah, maybe it does and maybe they have a point, it's not portraying the white characters in the film in any better of a light – everyone sucks in this movie regardless of skin color.

In the end though, Year Of The Dragon is definitely worth seeing if just for the great camera work and the two fine performances from the two male leads. Rourke and Lone are both in fine form here, and the action scenes completely deliver. It's just a shame that the plot gets as muddied up as it does and some of the characterizations weren't maybe a little more thought out.

Video:

The 2.40.1 anamorphic widescreen transfer is sharp and crisp and in a nutshell, it looks damn good. The colors are bold and well defined, skin tones look lifelike and natural and the black levels remain strong and consistent throughout the film. There are no problems at all with mpeg compression artifacts and edge enhancement is minimal though if you're looking for it, as usual, you'll see it. Print damage is never a problem and aside from a couple of scenes that exhibit a little bit of moderate film grain, there's really not much at all to complain about here - Year Of The Dragon looks great on DVD.