Latin Dragon (2004)
In the grand tradition of the lone hero who mysteriously appears in a town desperate for help (think "Shane, "Billy Jack", "James Bond" and "Chinese Connection"), having survived a war and now serving the government as an undercover agent, Danny Silva takes on his biggest foe yet: the street gangs that have taken over his neighborhood. Unwilling to play by the rules set down by the criminals, Silva forgoes the use of guns and decides to battle the thugs with the strength of his fists, spirit and willpower, turning himself into a real-life, modern-day superhero. Packed with pulse pounding, adrenaline-filled action; "Latin Dragon" gives us our first mainstream Latino martial arts action hero.
Watch Trailer
Cast
Similar titles
Reviews
Strong and Moving!
Brilliant and touching
a film so unique, intoxicating and bizarre that it not only demands another viewing, but is also forgivable as a satirical comedy where the jokes eventually take the back seat.
Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable
The back of the DVD box for "Latin Dragon" declares that star Fabian Carrillo (who's actually third billed in the opening credits!) "...gives us our first mainstream Latino martial arts action hero." Uh, wasn't Lorenzo Lamas - who also appears in this movie - the first person to fit that category? Well, that's a minor concern compared to the badness found in this movie. The plot - about a land-grabber trying to force lower class people off their property - is nothing that you haven't seen before. Somehow it's stretched out to 101 minutes, making seeing the clichés an extra burden than usual. Fabian Carrillo is not exactly a compelling actor, coming across as stony as Chuck Norris but missing Norris' charisma. The movie is also badly shot, with almost all the movie shot to give everything dark and murky colors. Fans of Gary Busey or Lorenzo Lamas will be disappointed, because they obviously knocked off their scenes in just a few days. Haters of Lorenzo Lamas - which are probably more in number than fans - may want to tune into the end to see him beat up and shot.
I saw this movie in Polish TV last weekend and I was really surprised. I was expecting another dumb action/karate movie with terrible acting and predictable plot. I received an interesting view on Mexican culture with some good roles including the main star.Right, this movie still has a weak plot - a man from nowhere comes back to his hometown and kicks asses of several bad guys including Gary Busey - but there is something more. A love that is not love (because both the characters know it has no future). A brother that is not a real brother. A gang members who do wrong just because they try to be happy not because they are bad. The music, the cinematography... and so on.Worth seeing.
Man, I sure did love Billy Jack when I was a kid and "Everybody Loves Raymond" is one funny show. So, as I sat watching this movie I kept thinking to myself, "Gosh, this sure seems familiar in a really odd, totally indirect sort of way."And then it hit me.The hero looks like Ray Romano and the avenging retired soldier aspect of his character reminded me of Billy Jack. Then you've got some bad guys making everyone miserable and rich folks with money providing money to the bad guys to make everyone miserable. I mean, it's not EXACTLY like Billy Jack but if Billy Jack ever made it to East L.A. this is exactly how he'd handle things.Of course he wouldn't ride in on a burgundy red Kawasaki (!). No self respecting tough guy would.
This movie has a real story behind all the action with finally, a Latino action hero! The acting is good and the fighting is great and feels real as well as unique, not all the fancy wireworks like most of the martial arts action movies today. It's edgy and depicts the bad guys as what we see in true life today! It's almost scary. Fabian Carrillo did great first time out of the gate as compared to Jean Claude and Steven Segal in their first movie. He has presence on screen and at times has hints of very successful actors. In the cemetery scene he looks like Nick Cage, in the suit he looks like Stallone and at times like John Cusack. He's going to be a big star. This movie kicks ass!