There’s no doubt about it – Bruce Lee rocks. Lee (FIST OF FURY) plays Lee, a Chinese martial arts master that is recruited by a secret British government agency to infiltrate a martial arts tournament to uncover information about Han (Kien Shih, BETTER TOMORROW III), a wealthy crime lord and host of the competition.
Also in the competition is an in-debt American gambler named Roper (John Saxon, A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET) and Williams (Jim Kelly, BLACK BELT JONES), a black man from Los Angeles who wants to get himself out of the ghetto. The film works as a Chinese James Bond flick. It throws in colorful villains especially Han, who is like a Chinese Dr. No, complete with the white fluffy cat.
The film has the intrigue of a James Bond film, split between Lee, Saxon and Kelly. Lee’s character deals more with the external conflicts of the film while Saxon’s character has more of the internal conflicts. There is a conflict between Lee and Han’s thug Oharra (Robert Wall, GAME OF DEATH), but its not developed deeply.
The two main reasons to watch the film are to see Lee kick butt and uncover the maniacal plans of Han. There’s a great line from Williams addressed to Han that sums up the tone of the film perfectly – “Man, you’re straight out of the comic books.” Filled with action, martial arts and a dose of humor, this action thriller is a lot of fun and proves why Bruce Lee was such a massive presence on the screen.
Rick DeMott
Animation World Network
Creator of Rick's Flicks Picks
