Latin Dragon (2004) User Reviews

I don't like that Raymond!

[tequila_mockingbird · 4/10 · 17 September 2004]

This movie made me think of what it might be like if Ray Romano decided to do martial arts. Fabian Corillo looked just like Ray in that one where Ray was trying to act cool and got a tan and dyed his hair black.

Seriously, the acting was pretty bad, and the fighting was pretty... eh. The shots were edgy for the first 3 minutes and then they over-did it with 'edgy'. Then they over-did it with 'edgy'. Then they over-did it with 'edgy'. It was like a broken record with the speeding up and slowing down and almost stopping the camera. It's like back in school if you had the hyper kid running the movie projector. "Stop playing around Tommy!"

Still, there was some minor charm in this film. And to quote Jules Winnfield (Pulp Fiction), "Charm goes a long way." Still, watching it only one time would be fine with me.

Interesting house "the Dragon" has at the end. If you go for that "post-hurricane" look. Was that supposed to be his "Fortress of Solitude"??

If this comes to television, it's worth watching. In fact it has a made-for-TV look to it. 4/10

Busey, Lamas &...Romano?

[tarbosh22000 · 5/10 · 13 May 2010]

"Latin Dragon" is an entertaining action film. The plot is: Danny Silva (Carrillo) is an undercover agent who has the battle the street gangs in his neighborhood. Gary Busey plays the street kingpin "Thorne". Lorenzo Lamas is his henchman "Frank".

The drawback in this movie is that Carrillo looks like a Latino Ray Romano. So it's hilarious to see him do martial arts. Busey and Lamas sleepwalk through their roles.

There's also some unnecessary "Matrix" style FX that come out of nowhere when bullets start flying. Overall, it's cheap and fun action... If you don't mind that.

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It's OK for what it is, as far as late-night martial arts movie fanfare goes...

[dee.reid · 5/10 · 25 April 2012]

There's a certain kind of movie that should always appeal to anyone who truly appreciates movies, and that's of the late-night variety. No, I'm not talking about late-night soft-core porn shows/movies, but it's really more of the late-night, "B"-movie action fanfare.

2004's "Latin Dragon" is one of those movies.

The film was directed by Scott Brown and co-written by Fabian Carrillo (who according to the blurbs on this movie's cover art), is the world's first Latin martial arts hero/sensation. Now I'm not sure about the exact validity of such a claim, but I guess I'll have to take it as the literal truth since as a fan of martial arts and martial arts movies, I cannot come up with a single martial arts actor who is said to be of Hispanic heritage.

According to his biography here on IMDb, Carrillo was born in South America (his specific country of birth is not listed), but was raised in The Bronx, New York; having been raised here in the United States, it certainly explains his surprisingly firm grasp of the English language, despite the occasional odd word or two of Spanish-language dialogue in the movie. He is also a three-time national Karate champion and holds five black belts in three fighting disciplines. So he certainly has the goods as a fighter, but can he act?

For my late-night viewing pleasure, watching a Latin martial artist on TV was a welcome change. Carrillo is a dynamic presence on the screen and he definitely has a future in American martial arts movies, if he ever gets that big - he appears to be a likable all-around good guy, and all he really needs to do is develop the necessary acting skills to better carry a film production. Hence, that's what I got out of watching "Latin Dragon": he is certainly one to look out for, though I am kind of surprised that this movie came out in 2004 and he has not been picked up yet for at least an appearance as a villain in a mainstream American studio production (you hearing me calling you, right, Mr. Robert Rodriguez, Mr. Quentin Tarantino?).

"Latin Dragon" has a by-the-numbers plot that is also an iconic riff on western movies: Carrillo plays the typical lone hero Danny Silva, a world-weary expert in Karate and former government assassin, who returns to his old neighborhood in East Los Angeles riding high a ruby-red Kawasaki motorcycle. He discovers that the neighborhood is being terrorized by violent Latino gang members under the leadership of Paco (Robert LaSardo), who also happens to be in league with Bishop Thorn (all-purpose bad guy Gary Busey, hamming it up as a stereotypical villain in the film's most enthusiastic performance), a greedy land developer who wants the poor working-class Hispanics and Asians to move out so he can build a major city. Danny goes to work beating up the legions of bad guys sent in his general direction, while also reuniting with his cop-brother Rafael (Luis Ramos) and childhood sweetheart Claudia (Joyce Giraud), while also trying to save his community that he loves so much.

As I stated earlier, the movie is pretty typical martial arts/action movie fanfare. I wouldn't expect much considering it's a low-budget production, but it's an interesting one with promise for its chief protagonist. It certainly kept my attention, since Carrillo proves to be a dynamic fighting presence on the screen, even if he isn't really the best actor in the world.

One thing that may annoy some people are the "Matrix"-like CGI special effects that pop up during some of the film's action sequences. But I guess that since it was made in 2004 - one year after the dual threats of "The Matrix Reloaded" (2003) and "The Matrix Revolutions" (2003) and every other clone in the wake of "The Matrix" (1999) and "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" (2000) - every action movie big & small had to have slow-motion "Matrix"-inspired action sequences. And Carrillo's most impressive fight scene has him battling Thorn's right-hand man Frank (Lorenzo Lamas).

It'll be interesting to see what the future holds in store for Fabian Carrillo.

5/10

It's Ray Romano as Billy Jack in East L.A.!

[SciFiSly · 4/10 · 29 July 2005]

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.

Hispanic version of Road House

[jfgibson73 · 5/10 · 12 February 2011]

This was a fun action movie set featuring a primarily Hispanic cast set in L.A. The story is similar to Billy Jack, Walking Tall, and many other action movies, but with a Latino lead.

The main character, Danny, was a special agent in the military who had to do a lot of horrible things, but honed his skills as a killing machine. He comes home to the neighborhood where he grew up to find that the local business are being terrorized by an organized crime outfit. He single-handedly must fight the gang until the climactic showdown where he confronts the top men.

One twist is that Danny's brother is a crooked cop who is working for the gang. Gary Buesey gets to do his usual kooky stuff as the crime boss. Danny's love interest is the daughter of his mentor and the leader of the community group trying to stand up to the gang.

The fight scenes were fun, although a bit amateurish. My biggest problem with the movie was the ending. After Danny had toppled the gang (if that ruins the surprise for you, this must be the first action movie you're watching), he leaves town without explanation. This is the second time he's disappeared and broken his girlfriend's heart. Maybe the filmmakers thought they had a franchise and wanted to leave room for a sequel, but I got the impression that he was no longer involved with the military and had no other commitments. So it just seemed kind of mean for him to take off without giving a reason. 5/10

This was something else...

[paul_haakonsen · 3/10 · 9 January 2016]

For a 2004 movie "Latin Dragon" sure had a lot of similarities to the action and martial arts movies from the mid-1990's. And you might think that it is a good thing, but it wasn't.

A generic and stereotypical lone hero saves the day storyline didn't really make it into a particularly entertaining movie, nor did the flaccid acting put on throughout the course of the entire movie.

Thumbs up for actually making a Latin martial arts movie, that is something that I have personally never seen before stumbling upon "Latin Dragon" in the local secondhand DVD store.

With a cast that included Gary Busey, Lorenzo Lamas and for me an unknown guy named Fabian Carrillo, you pretty know what you are getting into. But I guess it is the morbid fascination with bad movies that still make us sit down to watch such movies.

The action sequences and scenes were mediocre, so nothing to get your hopes up for here. My favorite scene would have to be where Carrillo slided down a wooden banister while standing up and shooting two guns, and in slow motion just as icing on the cake. That was so bad it actually hurt the eyes to witness. At least it was good for a solid laugh.

Bad acting, bad dialogue, bad story, if these is your things, by all Means give "Latin Dragon" a go, otherwise stay well clear of this movie.

Hispanic viewpoint, but still lacks flavor

[Wizard-8 · 15 January 2012]

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.

Are you serious?

[shady1142007 · 1/10 · 12 January 2007]

This movie sucked absolutely sucked. It came on TV and the only reason I watched it was because I was sick and couldn't really do much. The acting was bad all around. You'd expect more from someone like Gary Busey. The movie was low budget horribly acted and in fact made me sicker. I knew from the title Latin Dragon and the first I dunno 5 minutes that this was a stinker. I was really unimpressed by everything the plot was predictable and I've seen better fight scenes in a Steven Segal movie. You expect the good guy to roll up on a Harley Davidson but this guy nope he's on a toy bike a Kawasaki. To me that does not scream butt kicking' its more like i dunno guy who teaches Karate at the local YMCA and thats exactly what the fighting looked like. Like they payed a guy a hundred bucks to come on the set and teach these guys basic karate. They should've also hired an acting coach cause they couldn't get that right either. This movie was a real disappoint a couple of no body's Gary Busey and Lorenzo Lamas. Oh how the mighty have fallen (Gary Busey that is Lorenzo Lamas has always been a crap actor)!

Beware--possibly the worst film acting ever

[bth2004 · 4/10 · 9 June 2007]

Well what can I say? The "actors" in this film (wow, that term is becoming more and more misleading all the time) are really some of the worst I've ever seen: Fabian I-forgot-his-last-name is just plain pathetic, Lorenzo Lamas (is being his normal self), and I still don't know what the crap happened to Gary Busey!

The fighting is decent at best, but they could really have played up Fabian's foot work a lot more instead of shifting cameras to compensate for what I believe is bad choreography.

The only good thing about this movie is that the fighting is fast paced and decent and the girl is hot beyond belief, and that is not enough to make a movie worth watching. Really can't recommend this one.

I heard you like hot sauce

[nogodnomasters · 5/10 · 14 July 2021]

Robert LaSardo is the leader of the Dragons who are terrorizing their own community. LaSardo is attempting to get folks to move and sell their home who developer Gary Busey can build his city. Fabian Carrillo stands in their way as he meet him saving Mister Ree, which was what "Clue" was called at one time long ago.

Standard fighting film. The plot wasn't convincing for me.

Guide: F-word, sex, nudity (Iliana Fischer, Heidi Thomas, Alejandra Gutierrez)

Whether it's good guys or bad guys - it's latino muscle all the way.

[rockoforza · 8/10 · 8 March 2013]

This martial arts action movie should be titled Latin "dragons," because most every fighter in it is a latino badass. The hero is Fabian Carrillo, a martial arts champion in real life, cast as a former hit-man for the CIA. We see him in his past life, assassinating whomever the government told him to, but leaving him scarred and wanting to do right. His brother is a tough L.A. street cop, played by Luis Ramos. Together they are trying to protect the residents of the barrio from a gang of vatos working for Gary Busey and his main enforcer, Lorenzo Lamas.

The movie is non-stop action with shootouts, street fights and assassinations -- with the violence mostly latino on latino. Carillo and Ramos are both well-muscled studs whose brutal skills raise the body count early and often. The vatos are led by Robert LaSardo, whose ripped physique is covered in gang tats, and who kills without remorse. His crew is, likewise, street-muscle bodybuilders. Though impressive, their size doesn't help when Carillo raids the vatos's headquarters and, in a series of awesome fights, slays most of these inked latino musclemen with his bare hands.

There are crosses and double crosses, including when Busey coldly discards his henchman LaSardo by ordering Lamas to put a bullet in the vato's head so he can set up Carillo for the murder. Lamas carries out the assignment, leaving the alpha dog's body on display for the cops – including Carillo's brother – to find. His arrest leads to a series of showdowns and more surprise double crosses, with Carillo first taking down a huge anglo biker named "Mad Dog" (pretty much the only non-latino he ices in this flick,) before savagely executing Lamas in a vicious fight. Finally the evil Busey is made to pay the ultimate price at the lethal hands of the Latin Dragon.

This movie might be the first martial arts flick to feature a goodlooking latino stud as a kickass hero and Carillo definitely fits the bill. Though a villain, LaSardo's powerful physical presence spotlights him, especially in his fight scenes. In fact, most of the fights feature built young latinos whose martial arts moves and sculpted bodies make for some convincing action. Whether you are latino or not, if you enjoy martial arts, you'll like "Latin Dragon."

Kick Ass Movie!

[lloyd-49 · 4 October 2004]

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!

Awesome...

[jandmretired · 9/10 · 21 December 2004]

Love the action and the storyline based on the realities of Latinos. I especially like how the star of the movie (Fabian Carrillo) keeps his composure throughout the movie until the end when he explodes into action. Also, how he enters as a positive role model and exits with respectful simplicity. His fighting style brings a fresh mixture of "cool" and "reality". Can't wait to see him in action again in another movie!

Also, great cast for this type of movie... Gary Busey was a perfect bad guy and Lorenzo Lamas was interesting as Gary's henchman. Robert LaSardo, who plays Paco was a perfect fit and his love scene was steamy. The only weak link in the movie was Joyce Giraud who played Claudia. James Hong gave a great performance and the gang members were very scary...

When is the comic book and part 2 coming out?

A interesting view on Mexican culture

[mzacha · 31 May 2007]

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.