When Latin Dragon made an unscheduled appearance on Lexington's last independent television station sometime last year, I immediately dismissed it as yet another generic action wannabe starring Gary Busey and a host of quasi-professional unknowns. Instead of suffering through what I thought would be an excruciatingly painful two hours of alternative Sunday afternoon programming, I picked up a book on how to get cheap red wine out of white polyester pants and promptly fell asleep in our cozy second-hand desk chair. Ah, those were the days.

However, once director Scott Thomas' latest low-budget effort Plane Dead had finished wowing me into a giddy frenzy, I figured it was only fair that I give Latin Dragon another shot at providing yours truly with 90-plus minutes worth of solid entertainment. One can only imagine my shrieking schoolgirl delight when this modest martial arts vehicle managed to bring a toothy yellow smile to my goofy Caucasian grill. Yes, the story is insipid and simple, the acting is nil, and the plot twists can be spotted doing donuts in the middle of the freeway during rush hour from fourteen miles away. But it's also a lot of fun, something that cannot be said for the many like-minded productions I see clogging the arteries of my favorite local video store.

What prevents this flick from becoming yet another faceless kung fu outing is Scott Thomas' knack for kinetic action sequences and some damn fine fight choreography from Fabian Carrillo. Ray Romano jokes aside, the man is quite good at what he does, regardless of his questionable talents as a dramatic actor. If nothing else, Latin Dragon gives its rising star dozens of opportunities to deliver some hardcore hand-to-hand damage, including a very cool final reel showdown with everyone's favorite B-grade tough guy Lorenzo Lamas. Note to Art Camacho and those who would follow in his tiny footsteps: Lamas needs a production that puts his considerable talents to good use. The guy has been wallowing in the trenches for way too long.

Someone get this man a decent script yesterday, people!

If you're the type of guy or gal or pre-op transsexual who enjoys campy action flicks supported by some very engaging action sequences, Latin Dragon is definitely worth a rental. Scott Thomas and Fabian Carrillo do an admirable job without ever taking themselves too seriously. More importantly, these talented individuals give the Latino community a chance to see a genre flick that doesn't portray them all as moronic mean-spirited thugs. We can only hope and pray this trend will continue well into the future. In the meantime, I'm keeping my fingers crossed for that Ethiopian knock-off of The Matrix Rosie O'Donnell told me about last week.

Who's with me?