Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		3.0
Overall		4.0

The Last Dragon 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Martin Liebman October 4, 2023

Sony has released the fan-favorite 1985 film 'The Last Dragon,' directed by Michael Schultz and starring Taimak, Vanity, Christopher Murney, Julius Carry, Faith Prince, and Leo O'Brien, to the UHD format. New specifications include 2160p/Dolby Vision video and Dolby Atmos audio. A new audio commentary track is also included on the UHD disc. The bundled Blu-ray is identical to Sony's original 2015 issue.

Leroy Green (Taimak) is a martial arts student who aspires to be like his idol Bruce Lee and has all but reached the end of his training. His teacher (Thomas Ikeda) instructs him to seek out Master Sum Dum Goy, the only individual who can help him achieve the final level of true martial arts understanding which involves capturing the power of a mythical energy known as "The Glow." Green sets out on the journey but finds it difficult to enter the master's inner circle. He also, and more urgently, becomes entangled with a group of bullies led by the powerful Sho'nuff (Julius J. Carry III), a man who sees Leroy as the only obstacle between himself and total martial arts supremacy. Leroy takes Sho'nuff's showmanship and shenanigans in stride, but the two are ultimately pitted one against another when Leroy comes to the rescue of a young television star named Laura Charles (Vanity) who is being harassed by Eddie Arkadian (Chris Murney), a man who hopes to use Laura's television platform to promote his girlfriend Angela Viracco's (Faith Prince) talents. Now, mixed up with a celebrity whose interest in him may extend beyond the rescue, Leroy must do what he can to channel his strengths and defeat the people who would threaten him, his family, and Laura.

For a full film review, please click here.

The Last Dragon 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

For 1080p screenshots sourced from the Blu-ray, please click here.

Sony's 2015 Blu-ray was quite the looker, and it still is. Watching it in spurts again for the sake of comparing it to the UHD revealed an image that holds up beautifully today. It's one that is organically filmic, crisp, and efficient: it offers the film medium at just about its best at the 1080p resolution. The UHD still manages to offer a fairly sizeable improvement, especially in the area of the Dolby Vision color grading, but more on that in a moment. The 2160p resolution amplifies the image's filmic essentials, yielding a superior grain structure even against the very fine grain on the Blu-ray. It's healthy and looks like it hasn't been touched at all. The overall clarity gains are striking, and the improvements to fine level detail are vital. The UHD brings out better clothing elements, superior skin textures, finer hair elements, and crisper environmental details, even well into the background. Even some complex overhead distance shots see remarkable gains. Look at a shot of a pier area at the 6:23 mark and compare the clarity of the lines of the individual boards on the Blu-ray and the UHD. There is no mistaking the vast superiority of the UHD here, and in every shot. The movie looked good on Blu-ray, but the UHD takes it to another level of accuracy and complexity.

The more substantial gain here comes courtesy of the Dolby Vision grading. Wow. The Blu-ray looks positively dull, flat, and washed out in comparison. The UHD's gains to color vividness, vitality, depth, and boldness are quite remarkable. Everything from warm woods to bright clothes, from skin to neon lights, enjoy vast improvements to color richness and saturation. That extends to every color, and not just the punchiest reds or oranges, but to grays and browns and other less vivid colors as well. Black level depth is wonderful and true, whites pop with newfound life and vigor, and skin tones are far healthier and fuller on the UHD. This is a radical improvement. Add in the perfect encode and flawless print and this is easily one of the finest looking UHD discs on the market.

The Last Dragon 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The new Dolby Atmos track replaces the 5.1 lossless track from the previous Blu-ray, and it makes a difference. The sense of stage fullness is greater with the Atmos track, of course not just because of the additional speakers at work but also because of their proper utilization. The musical elements and general atmospheric detail (such as the scene inside the packed movie theater early in the film), offer a satisfying sense of environmental saturation that the Blu-ray cannot quite achieve. The overhead channels are not really used for significant discrete elements, and the original track was not engineered to do so, so the top layer is mostly left as fill support, of which the track does a fine job. Overall clarity is excellent as well, and the spacing is precise and pronounced. Dialogue is clear and centered in addition to being well prioritized throughout.

The Last Dragon 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

The UHD disc includes a new extra: a fan commentary featuring Comedian Amber Ruffin and Author Lacey Lamar. The included Blu-ray disc for The Last Dragon, which is identical to Sony's 2015 issue, contains a commentary, a documentary, and a trailer. See below for a list of what's included and please click here for full coverage. A Movies Anywhere digital copy code is included with purchase.

UHD:

• Audio Commentary: Comedian Amber Ruffin and Author Lacey Lamar are the film's self-proclaimed biggest fans. They offer a fun and energetic chat that is more about love for the movie than it is the usual commentary technical elements. Fans are going to love listening to his.

Blu-ray:

• Audio Commentary
• Return of the Dragon
• Theatrical Trailer

At time of writing, the UHD release of The Last Dragon ships exclusively in SteelBook packaging. The SteelBook is very attractive. The glossy front panel, which will collect fingerprints in the darker areas, is simply a repurposing of classic poster artwork, blending together a significant amount of text, character images, a warped and red cityscape, and the film's title along the bottom. The color scheme is predominantly on the red and orange end of the spectrum. The rear panel features a full panel image of the twin dragons logo with regal, ornate workmanship around its periphery. It is predominantly red against a black background. The spine is black with the film's title in large red letters, center (Berry Gordy's name appears in white). A white Tri-Star logo appears at the bottom.

Inside, the digital copy code is tucked underneath the left-hand-side tabs. The two discs, one UHD and one Blu-ray, are situated on the right in staggered-stacked formation. The inner print is a two-panel spread that features a still image from the film depicting a wicked kick to the face, delighting a stunned audience in the background.

The Last Dragon 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The Last Dragon is a fun and easy tongue-in-cheek entertainer that understands itself and plays to its strengths. It may be a bit overlong but the cast is strong, the characters are endearing, the comedy works, and the music remains infectious. One of the stalwart and quintessential 80s films, The Last Dragon holds up as a fan favorite that's received a wonderful new UHD release that delivers jut about reference 2160p/Dolby vision video, a great Atmos soundtrack, and a fun new commentary. It also ships exclusively, at time of writing, in a handsome SteelBook. What's not to love? Highly recommended!