The saddest thing is that this film, having begun as an effective parody of kung fu movies and Hollywood mysticism, degenerates into a series of fights and huge rock video clips.

The Last Dragon is first and foremost a romantic comedy, and a very sweet one at that, and that's why its martial-arts combat scenes work so well. We've been given enough time to care about who's kicking the stuffing out of whom.

It's slick Motown stuff, shrewdly kept on a brightly colored comic strip level, so that its silly plot and wild swings between dancing feet and flying fists don't seem to matter as much as the attractiveness of the two leads.

... among many other things, implies an awareness of the history of martial arts cinema, working in aspects so that knowledgeable fans can feel seen.