Entertaining from beginning to end, it maintains the spirit of the franchise while establishing it's own seal with a fun cast

It is not deep, but it is fun to watch. It does have a bit more of an edge to it than other similar films.

The story-telling is good with flashbacks.The film is both funny and heartbreaking. You smile in a scene and get a soulcrushing revelation in the next.

Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.

A group of young Chinese thugs in NYC murders triad leader Jackie Wong. They also murder a store owner protected by the Italians. Police Captain Stanley White (Mickey Rourke) is one Polock unwilling to uphold the established understanding between the cops and the Chinese leaders. His marriage to Connie is on the rocks when TV reporter Tracy Tzu (Ariane Koizumi) comes into his life. Joey Tai (John Lone) is the ambitious leader who pushes his way to the top as he advocates a risky strategy to ramp up the drug trade from Thailand. Stanley recruits rookie cop Herbert Kwong to infiltrate Chinatown.First of all, this is not reality. This is a hard-boiled crime drama and it's not going to put Chinatown in a good light. Certainly, Michael Cimino and Oliver Stone are willing to write in some Chinese stereotypes such as bad driving. There are some fun surprising bits like the Chinese speaking nuns translating the wiretaps. Despite the hard-boiled unreality, I find the semi-claustrophobic feel of Chinatown very compelling. That's why John Lone going to Thailand takes away some of the tension. Otherwise, John Lone is great and Mickey Rourke is pretty good at this role. Ariane is basically a model-turned-actress. It would have been better to sacrifice a little on the looks for better acting. Part of it is the jarring dialogue like when she injects her rape into an argument out of nowhere. I watched this again after these many years and I'm surprised at so many of these memorable scenes. Cimino is capable of great visual mastery but once in awhile, he loses his way through his excesses.

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.

Using unprecedented degrees of violence, young Joey Tai becomes the head of Chinese mafia in New York and undisputed leader of the Chinese community.Stanley White, the most decorated cop in New York, who hates Asian people since his service in Vietnam, is put in charge of Chinatown.Both men are prone to breaking long-established rules and both men are unlikely to make compromises with each other, which leads to unavoidable and bloody conflict....Despite the presence of Rourke, a cracking screenplay by Stone, and an underlying tension that rumbles throughout the film, it loses a lot of gravitas thanks to a very strange final scene, and stark use of racism throughout.Instead of the eve increasing danger to Rourke and his nearest and dearest, the films narrative focuses more on the next use of violence and how far they can depict on screen. At the time, te film may have been controversial, and a little bit original, but twenty six years later,one cannot help but finding the film a little too slow, and snickering at Rourkes hair.There are speeches aplenty and lots of shouting at seniors, but these are overshadowed by silly characters, unbelievable sets, and strange connotations to the fairer sex.But Rourke is good in the lead, and Stone delivers a good script.

Say what you will about this film, watch it, then watch a current equivalent. It will be a stretch to find one, maybe "The Departed" or "The Good Shepherd" are close. Three days later, betcha you will remember this movie and the characters and will have absolutely forgotten the current equivalent, and this is no dig on either of those fine movies, but rather a testament to the compelling nature of "Year of the Dragon." Yes, the film has many flaws, but I believe it rises above them successfully to achieve greatness. "White Powder Ma," wiretapping nuns, real Chinatown in its beauty and strangeness, The "voicebox" mafioso, are among the many compelling images contained herein.Despite all the nitpicking about technical elements, I believe what annoys people most about this movie is its moral ambiguity. The white and black hat pablum of spoon-fed Hollywood mediocrity is absent. Would that more ambiguous movies were produced challenging us to wrestle with the issues portrayed instead of preaching to us. Also, contemporary audiences just don't have enough patience to appreciate thorough character studies. For example, witness how many IMDb reviewers pan "Deer Hunter" for developing the characters fully before getting to "the action." This is a movie that contends favorably with many others when one is looking for something to review, it presents a new revelation with every viewing, and few movies, especially current movies measure up in this respect. Yes, it can be a jumble at times, and much needed flavor was obviously left on the cutting room floor, but still it is an excellent movie. I crave a "director's cut" of this film.They just don't' make em like this any more.