| A few years before starring and directing the superb "Chinese Stuntman", Ho Chung Tao (aka Bruce Li) starred and directed "Fists of Bruce Lee". Unlike "Chinese Stuntman", "Fists of Bruce Lee" is dull, feeble, and an unintentional joke. In other words, it represents the majority of films starring Bruce Li, Bruce Le, Dragon Lee and all the other Bruceploitation clowns. So why was his second directorial effort so good and his first so bad? Well, from all the tidbits I've been gathering, Ho Chung Tao didn't exactly have full control of his projects at this point of his career (ie Jackie Chan under Lo Wei), which explains the sloppy production work, incomprehensible storyline and fight choreography that will put you to sleep if you're not careful.
"Fists of Bruce Lee" opens with an impressive credit sequence featuring "borrowed" funk music from Average White Band's "Pick Up The Pieces" playing over a training sequence that showcases Ho Chung Tao's acrobatic talents and kung-fu skills -- and get this, he's blind-folded the whole time. Sadly, this credit segment is as good as the film gets.
As soon as the credits disappear, Mr. Li (Ho Chung Tao) gets a James Bond-like telegram that reads: "Black eagle after white. Both black and white after big fish." This tells me that Mr. Li is some kind of secret agent or cop. Next, Mr. Li is flown somewhere in Hong Kong and picked up by a few gangsters (headed by that skinny guy who plays the translator in a couple of Bruce Lee films) - for some odd reason, Mr. Li just starts beating the hell out of the guys for no reason at all.
From here on out "Fists of Bruce Lee" is all over the place. Lots of double-crossing, multiple gang fights, and a shit-load of fugly assassins. One of these guys resembles a dorky whiteboy version of Bruce Lee (complete with a pair of nunchucks). You actually have to see the guy to believe it. He's seriously one of the most peculiar fellas I've seen in any kung-fu film. Lo Lieh ("Five Fingers of Death"), who is absent from most of the film, is one of the main baddies. Despite his disappearance, he returns during the end-fight where he takes on Mr. Li using a detachable hand connected to a chain that swings out to fuck his enemies up.
"Fists of Bruce Lee" gets the award for the most "borrowed" music. We all know this is a common practice for 1970's kung-fu flicks, but this is crazy. Let's see, we get lots of recognizable James Bond themes like Paul McCartney's "Live and Let Die", music from both "Enter the Dragon" and "Fist of Fury" plus much, much more...not to mention the already mentioned (my grammer sucks, I know) "Pick Up The Pieces" by Average White Band.
Overall, "Fists of Bruce Lee" isn't a good film, but is nowhere near unwatchable. Due to it's 1970's pop culture (Ho Chung Tao's "Indian" belt buckle is bigger than Elvis Presley's), bizarre-looking gangster goons and initial cheesiness - it's a visual ride. Just don't be expecting "Chinese Stuntman" or "Iron Dragon Strikes Back". |
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