This would probably have been more effective as a straightforward crime thriller; Michael Cimino stages some unusually gripping action scenes with great flair. Unfortunately, those scenes are brief interruptions of the long, talky passages that occupy most of the film. Often plodding, "The Year of the Dragon" has an intense moralistic tone, trying to make the hero's crusade against crime seem a lot more grand and tragic than the script would justify. But Rourke, who has always been an underrated actor, does bring some depth and ambivalence to his character. (**1/2)
Review of Year of the Dragon
