I have now updated my "how to rate reviews" opinion
I have now updated my "how to rate reviews" opinion
Member since:10.03.2004
Reviews:45
Members who trust:5
Plot Details: This opinion reveals major details about the movie's plot
How new is the product...how many people have written for it already...how many times the people that wrote for it got read...how popular is the product. Ugh...I am going nuts. It has been too long since I reviewed something for the sheer joy of it. I need to get the math out of my head. So here is a tribute to one of the few movies I ever bothered to buy. I don't buy movies; I think it’s a waste of money to do so because they will be on TV anyway.
So why do I have this movie? Despite the fact that its older than me, 'Enter the Dragon' is the best martial arts movie ever made, and possibly it will not be topped during our lifetimes unless there is a major change in Hollywood’s attitude. The kung-fu mania has came and gone, and we only have B-rated martial arts movies made by American companies. Surely, Honk Kong is still coming up with some excellent kung-fu flicks, but they are either hideously dubbed or subtitled, and the action
is always unrealistic. Now before you leave me an offensive comment, let me just say I also love those unintelligent kung-fu flicks. It’s just that none of them comes close to being as kewl as the Dragon. Although if I did speak Chinese, I might actually like these movies more.
Enough of that, so lets get into the movie. This movie starts off with 3 people being invited to a Tournament ran by a drug lord, who lives in his private Island Fortress. We get an introduction about the 3 heroes. One is a brotha with an Afro, who gets into trouble with racist cops. The second is a blonde martial arts actor in financial trouble. And the third is none other than our short dragon, whose intro consists of an explosive sparring scene with a fat shaolin dude, who is surprisingly good despite the dangling blubber. We find out, within the first 10 minutes of the intro, that henchmen O’Hara had killed Bruce’s sister.
We than go through a very long introduction to the tournament, during which Bruce's skills remain a secret to the people around him. There is some Karate involved with the blonde dude and the brotha, but the best fighting scenes are kept away from the viewer for a bit. A very clever style used in every Bruce Lee movie except for Chinese Connection. It comes to the point that you want the guy to go kick some bricks just for the hell of it. And so we finally get to the scene where Bruce will finally fight in front of an audience (remember we know he's going to kick bum, but they don't.) Luckily, his first opponent is none other than O’Hara. The tension rises. Of course, you would expect some crazy stunts or some sort of a dragon kick and a knockout, but no. Bruce knocks the d00d down with a single, lightning-quick punch. At this point, you can't do anything but grin as you watch the rest of the competitors do something they never did until that point: applaud. Than you get to watch some of the best butt-kicking scenes ever, only so because it looks so darn real. Bruce eeks and squirms, and O’Hara is dead meat.
That’s pretty much Bruce's only involvement in the tournament, because after this he will get trapped while trying to contact the military at night. As expected, he kicks dozens of guards to the sky as we get some of the classic one-man army scenes. Grinning for us is not over, however. While fighting with the guards, some really stupid doorknob attacks Bruce with a nunchaku. I bet the dunkoff hadn't seen the Way of the Dragon. The weapon ends up dangling down from the stick that Bruce is holding, and you start smiling immediately. Bruce grabs the nunchaku and swings it with no less skill than a cheerleader doing her thing with the pom-pom.
These, and the last mirror battle scene are the best pieces from this movie. Not everything here makes sense, but I never said this is a perfect movie. In fact, there are a lot of plot holes and events that don't make sense. The brotha has the best lines throughout the movie ('Man...you came right out of a cartoon!'), but he just can't act. Bruce is tha man, but his accent is too heavy that his longest speech is about 2 sentences long. I don't know where that blonde d00d learned Karate, but someone forgot to tell him to move his torso when he kicks. A lot of problems. So no, not the best movie ever, but the best martial arts movie ever, and I am pretty sure that it will always be.
If you wish to buy this it costs $9.94 from Amazon
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
Production Year: 1964 - Action/Adventure - Director: Cyril Endfield - Original Language: English - Classification: Parental Guidance - Starring:Stanley Baker, Jack Hawkins, Ulla Jacobsson, James Booth, Michael Caine, Nigel Green
Production Year: 1977 - Action/Adventure - Director: Clint Eastwood - Original Language: English - Classification: 18 years and over - Starring:Clint Eastwood, Sondra Locke, Pat Hingle, William Prince, Bill McKinney
Production Year: 2002 - Action/Adventure - Director: Vincenzo Natali - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over - Starring:Lucy Liu, David Hewlett, Anne Marie Scheffler, Joseph Scoren, Matthew Sharp, Jeremy Northam
Production Year: 1996 - Action/Adventure - Director: Tom Clegg - Original Language: English - Classification: 12 years and over - Starring:Daragh O'Malley, Oliver Cotton, Jason Durr, Sean Bean, Allie Byrne
Production Year: 1995 - Action/Adventure - Director: Tom Clegg - Original Language: English - Classification: 12 years and over - Starring:Sean Bean, Daragh O'Malley, Allie Byrne, Oliver Cotton, Emily Mortimer, Michael Cochrane
Advantages: The final Bruce Lee film, an opportunity to see the man at his peak Disadvantages: The final Bruce Lee film, and a sense of what might have been had he lived, some pretty brutal violence
Advantages: The majectic Bruce in action, generally entertaining Disadvantages: poor story, bad acting, grainy colour, average sound, last proper Bruce Lee film
Advantages: martial arts sequences, one of Bruce Lee's best films Disadvantages: Cheesy script, could have been better for the timid anti-oriental producers
Mar 12th, 2004
exceptional by (6%):
very helpful by (89%):
helpful by (6%):
