Way of the Dragon (aka Return of the Dragon)


Ho: "Ah! I found that they're being helped by a man named Tang Lung."
Boss: "A man? Only one man?"
Ho: "Ah, but this man knows...Chinese kung-fu."



release year: 1972
genre: martial arts
viewing setting: home DVD, 2/19/22 and 12/12/17 and 1/16/16

synopsis: A Chinese restaurant in Rome, under pressure from thugs, calls for help and is surprised to see that the kid sent from Hong Kong really knows how to fight.

impressions: This is one of only four full movies that Bruce Lee ever made, and the only one he directed. It's pretty simple stuff: the quiet young man shows up, is polite, and isn't taken too seriously by anyone from the restaurant...until he has to fend off thugs, which he does repeatedly and effectively. None of them can even touch them, and he kicks all their asses repeatedly. So at the end, the bad-guy "Boss" brings in Chuck Norris, who lures Bruce Lee to the Roman Colisseum for an epic martial-arts fight.

Bruce Lee activation point: 25:05 - this is where he shows that he means business

asses kicked by Bruce Lee: 30 (some of these are repeats, and 10 of them were in a single fight!)

acting: Bruce Lee is fairly quiet here, except when he fights; some of his comments to the young lady don't make any real sense. I think they were supposed to be humorous. A young Chuck Norris shows up late but is also the only real challenge to Bruce throughout the entire movie. The sneering guy who played the Boss was suitably evil, and his odd, cackling right-hand man was almost laughable.

final word: Solid martial arts action from one of the masters.

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