The Last Dragon

[BerringerX]

Sam Jackson as Sho'nuff.

Why the hell would anybody want to remake Berry Gordy's The Last Dragon? I'm honestly stumped here - while I love The Last Dragon on many levels, it's most successful levels are the ironic aspects of silly 80s culture. I don't think the story or character of The Last Dragon are so compelling that anybody needs to revisit them.

But I guess the name is a brand, and so we get a remake from Gordy's son Kerry, coinciding with the 50th anniversary of Motown. The only rays of hope come from the fact that RZA is co-producing and that the film is set in the modern day, and not some kind of nostalgic pastiche. That said, I don't know that the modern day quite offers the sort of kitschy, playful gaudiness that hip hop in the 80s had. But just in case RZA had you too happy, know that the guy who wrote the Master P opus Uncle P is writing this remake.

Samuel L Omnipresent Jackson has signed on to play Sho'nuff, the Shogun of Harlem. This completes the Samuel L Jackson One Degree of Separation From Famous Dead Black People 2008 edition - he stars in Soul Men with the bodily remains of Bernie Mac and Isaac Hayes, and now he's stepping into Julius Carry's Converse.

One thing about the remake: it must include Taimak in some way, in some form. This is mandatory. It just isn't The Last Dragon without a touch of Taimak. There's no chance that he'll return as 'Bruce' Leroy Green, and I guess he won't be taking the obvious role of Sho'nuff, but there must be a place for him in here somewhere.

And by the way, if you haven't seen The Last Dragon, I'm officially calling your movie lover credentials into question. This is a cornerstone of the 80s. Do it as a double feature with Big Trouble In Little China if you must, but just see this movie before the remake hits next year.

[Dyne]

This is gayer than gay.

[Dolemite]

What the fuck, man...

[GKM]

I love Sam and all, but comeon don't do this please. :/

[Gymkata]

My feelings are so conflicted......But Im not sure this will end well. Its just not the same. It would be a miracle if they were able to pull this off into some kind of awesome comedy. Something that would stand on its own as a diferent entity, but still tying into the original plot.

Bleh+1

[Gonzo]

Shonuff is not happy!

Oh and neither am I.

[Daitokuji]

Do you find it weird that there are tons of 80s movies getting remade? Where are the 60s or 70s movies?

[BioMechanic]

I just watched this last night, and it's still awesome. Goddammit a remake will suck ass. Why bother? It's like current filmmakers want to relive their youth, because there's so few good movies coming out anymore. Just let it go, punks, cuz you can't do better. These films are awesome because they're a product of their time, and no one can duplicate that.

At this rate, the 00s are at risk of not having any identity whatsoever. That's what this film decade will be called. The Zeroes. True on several levels.

[arjue]

Just don't pay to see this type of shit.

[Nash]

I can't wait for this movie to come out so you guys can throw a hissy fit. I'm also going to support these remakes by paying the full non-matinée ticket price.