Die Todesfäuste des Karatetigers

After the death of Bruce Lee, several studios hoped to fool the unsuspecting public into seeing their crappy films. This is because Lee died so young and did so few films that people were clamoring for more. In one case, they took outtakes and old clips and a stunt double and made a 'new' Bruce Lee movie. In another, his name was in the title but the movie was just an opportunistic mess by one of his ex-girlfriends. In MANY others, studios just re-named their actors with names that looked or sounded like Lee's! Actors such as 'Bruce Li' and 'Bruce Le' (from this film) were rechristened for this sleazy purpose--but not a single one of these films I have seen is worth seeing--even if you are just curious. Will "Challenge of the Tiger" be any better?

So how is Bruce Le (Chung Tao Ho) in the film? Well, he is not without talent--his martial arts moves are pretty good--even if his blows often don't even come close to connecting! However, you'll never mistake him for Lee with that mop haircut and aside from being Chinese there's not a whole lot of similarity to the great Bruce Lee. Apparently I am not the only one to think this way, as his career as Le faded and he later dropped this moniker and became a stuntman. I also wonder if perhaps the film might have done better if they'd made Le's helper in this film, Richard Harrison, the star as he was an incredibly handsome man and looked like a Marlboro Man! Sure, he probably didn't know any martial arts but when did that stop some actors in way too many martial arts films?!

This film finds Le in a typical sort of role--a secret agent. And because of this, he's able to travel the world (or at least go to as many places as the small budget allowed) looking for a missing secret formula. Naturally, along the way he gets into a lot of fights and fortunately the baddies never figure out that it would be a heck of a lot easier to just shoot Le and be done with it! So to answer my question about whether or not the film is worth seeing, the answer is no. The film looks amateurish and aside from the nudity (see below), the film never gets very interesting.

As I was just saying, in addition to the Bruce Lee knockoff, this film also features the most gratuitous use of nudity I have ever seen in a movie. During one sequence early in the film, about a dozen topless and completely naked women danced about (often in slow-motion) for no particular reason (get a load of the one drinking from the fountain). I guess the film makers were just trying to give the audience what they thought they wanted! If only they'd considered giving the films excellent plots, good martial arts action and quality directing, writing and acting!

When a lethal biological weapon-a formula capable of sterilizing the world's male population-falls into the wrong hands, two elite agents embark on a globe-trotting mission to retrieve it.

Bruce Le as Huang Lung and Richard Harrison as Richard Cannon lead this wildly entertaining espionage thriller, packed with martial arts, gunplay, and absurd excess. Their quest takes them across the globe, culminating in high-energy showdowns with a nefarious drug cartel and a ruthless kung fu assassin. Competently directed by Bruce Le, who also stars, the film is among his most polished efforts. The action is sharply choreographed, with Le's dynamic rooftop duels and Harrison's Bond-esque (and Italian Poliziotteschi) gunplay standing out. The soundtrack is energetic, heightening the film's pulpy, comic-book tone. The on-location shoot across Hong Kong, Macau, Spain, and the Philippines adds atmosphere and weight.

The cast is stacked with genre regulars. Spanish actress Nadiuska, best known for playing Conan's mother in Conan the Barbarian (1982), brings glamour and charisma to the role of a seductive femme fatale. Jennifer Holmes, a protégé of Hwang Jang-Lee, plays another tough female lead, holding her own in a cast dominated by testosterone-fueled action. Even Morgan Fairchild makes an uncredited appearance.

Bolo Yeung, a familiar face in Bruceploitation and a veteran of Bruce Lee's Enter the Dragon (1973) and The Chinese Connection (Fist of Fury) (1972), appears as a formidable henchman. His powerful physique and brutal fighting style make him a memorable adversary for Le. Meanwhile, the film's main villain, Paul Chang Chung, known for roles in Shaw Brothers productions, appears alongside Josef Laufer, while the hulking Brad Harris plays the imposing henchman Leopard.

The film indulges in gratuitous nudity, often unnecessary but in line with the era's exploitation sensibilities. Despite its absurdity, Challenge of the Tiger is undeniably fun, with breathtaking locations, memorable fights, and an irresistible 80s action charm. It stands as one of Bruce Le's most polished and enjoyable films.

I like the West German dubbing title "The Death Fists of the Karate Tiger" much better for this KungFu knockout cascade, which was created in 1980 in a co-production between Hong Kong, Italy and the USA.

Bruceploitation star Bruce Le consistently fights his way through an outrageous plot involving the formula for a super drug that makes people sterile. Oh right! From Malaga it goes via Hong Kong to Macao. At Brucele's side is senior schlawiner Richard Harrison, who, as a CIA agent, roams through all the beds and also likes to appear bare-chested outside of the bedroom. The two heroes have to deal with terrorists and a gang of criminals. As a result, Brucele in particular gets into fights with different opponents.

Bolo Yeung, the Chinese Hercules, is crushed by Brad Harris as the super-cool bodyguard. In a particularly bizarre scene, the Czech heartthrob Josef Laufer doesn't belt out one of his schmaltzy songs, but lets his powerfully shaped chest muscles dance impressively, which is of course immediately punished by the good Brucele. Brad Harris's ultra-cool sunglasses are his undoing. But the brave Brucele gets an equal opponent in Jang Lee Hwang for the big final...

A wonderful piece of trash fun for all fans of the Bruceploitation genre!

Then it must be because you have not allowed yourself to experience the amazing piece of cinema that is Gymkata Killer. I would hate myself too. I was once like you, and then I saw what can only be described as the best movie, EVER! It's so horribly, terribly, frighteningly bad that it cannot be taken seriously. Once the movie, like a horrible, disfiguring train-wreck, careens forward through the opening scene, you understand that it's actually a dadaistic masterpiece - it is truly a movie whose 'brilliance' is housed in its irrationality and negation of the accepted laws of cinema.

It's like looking through a peephole into a post-apocalyptic world in which a nuclear bomb did NOT go off.

(Cutting edge special effects... On par with the TV's Batman & Robin! -- the live action 1970s series, not the cartoons)

This movie is one of many Bruceploitation movies starring Bruce Le as a secret agent along with his partner Dick Cannon. Yes, that's his name. The movie has with bad acting, bad plot, and the plot itself is conveyed very incoherently. Sub-plots come and go at will, characters make decisions that don't impact the plot at all, and characters are kidnapped for no reason. With all these problems you may be asking why I gave this a four and not a one? Well, that's because as bad as it is it's still a fun entertaining movie, with nudity and a plot that makes no sense. I would recommend this movie if you're looking for a good time.