Bruce Lee - Unbesiegt bis in den Tod

This is a biopic of the legendary martial artist Bruce Lee staring Bruce Li. It's actually quite an effective film about his rise to stardom. Li has one half the charisma of Bruce Lee but that's not unexpected. The plot follows his life especially in his epic fights. The action is solid with loads of hand to hand combat. Li is at least competently skilled in that arena. There are some missing story elements and some liberties are taken as always. His family life is mostly in the background. The production value may not be that high but in a way, it matches those Bruce Lee movies of that era. It's a functional biopic and that's more than expected.

After Bruce Lee's untimely death, a series of Martial Arts films followed to capitalize on his fame and the growing popularity of Martial Arts films. Bruce Li (AKA - HO-Chun-Tao) assumes the role of the great Bruce Lee and did a remarkably good job. He has the look and the overall presence to convince the audience he's the real deal. He may not have been as fast or as skilled as Lee himself, but then again, who was?

This fictionalized biography touches on the key points in Lee's life from his days at Washington University, his personal relationships, his competitions, his film career and his marriage. The marriage is briefly shown as we get merely two minutes of screen time with his wife and two children. We also see his struggles and eventual success with convincing the Production studios to make him an Action film star. Lee had the looks, the skill and charisma to carry Martial Arts cinema into a mainstream genre. But this film biography puts a huge emphasis on fight scenes. From how the screenplay is presented, it's as if Bruce Lee was a man who was constantly being provoked and tested by thugs who were unfortunate enough to test themselves against him. And Lee was not a guy who was known to back down or turn the other cheek. Street thugs harass him or an innocent bystander which is thus followed by a valiant display of heroism and fighting power. Along with the fight scenes is an ongoing battle of fighting disciples: Kung Fu VS. Any other discipline from Karate, Thai boxing, Judo, etc. While Lee represents the Kung Fu philosophy this theme runs concurrently with his overall methodology which was an amalgam of various disciplines as he subsequently developed his own brand known as Jeet Kwon Do.

The downside was that it's not well made. Poor dubbing and dialogue look laughable at times. The acting is fairly wooden. The story doesn't backdate itself. We start in late 1950's Hong Kong up to the present day and the fashion and styles all remain 1970's. The filmmaker didn't put an emphasis on authenticity. But what stuck out in my mind most was a workout session where Lee is measuring his punching speed through this sophisticated battery of equipment. He pokes his finger through this electronic device to have these mounted bulbs light up indicating his accuracy and impact. I've never heard of such a machine being used in the early 1970's and I am guessing this was pure fiction, but it does give the scene a futuristic and Avant Garde feel. 1970's Futurism. LOL.

If you are looking for a more accurate and deeply personal portrait of Bruce Lee, this may not be the best film for you. It does, however, carry some nostalgic and sentimental value for Bruce Lee fans.

Bruce Lee was certainly a fascinating and talented individual, but the makers of this movie were either ignorant of those facts or were just instead more interested in making a quick buck. We learn very little about Lee in this movie - there's never a scene where we get into his head and get an idea of what he's thinking or feeling. Also, a lot of his background is ignored or glossed over; for example, we suddenly see him with a wife and two children halfway through the movie with no previous footage showing how he got them. The movie is more interested in delivering fight sequences instead. Now, the fight sequences in this movie are a bit better than usual for a 1970s Hong Kong movie, but the contrived ways the movie gets Bruce into fight sequences are so laughable that a lot of potential excitement is lost. If you want to learn more about Bruce Lee, find a printed biography of the man instead.

The movie opens by giving away the ending - Bruce Lee is dead! Not too much of a spoiler actually. Our hero, Bruce Li, appears and does his Wing Chun dummy routine then talks to his master. He must go to America. Hello Seattle! Bruce is already the big man on campus. He works at the gas station. We are deviating from history again. Two black karate experts attack for the movie's first fight

Looking at Bruce Li's execution, focus, and speed, I would say the fights are good. The stunt men vary from okay to pathetic. The stunt man who hit himself in the head with the nunchucks was in Bruce Lee's movie. This movie is certainly only for fans of the genre. That is it's only entertainment value for back then and even for now. In consideration of that and the year it was made it rates as simply average.

I have been watching martial arts movies of the golden age from 1967 to 1984 in chronological order and writing my reviews. It is interesting to watch the progression of these movies in that way. Curiously, when I reached 1976, there were three movies in a row starting with "Bruce Lee" in the title. The man had an impact in many ways.

Bruce Li turns in one of his best performances in this mostly fictional biography about the life of Bruce Lee. Li does a very good imitation of Bruce Lee but not surprisingly, falls slightly short of capturing the true essence of what made Bruce Lee such a special presence on film.

While this was supposed to a biography about the life of Bruce Lee, it is much more concerned with presenting Kung Fu street fights rumor and gossip, whether based on any true factual reality or not, might have at one time had it said Lee had a penchant for getting involved in. The fights themselves are not badly executed and again Li has most of Lee's mannerisms down pat. Still he always falls slightly short of the mark as you might well expect even from the best of imitators.

In the end, I have to admit to enjoying this film on a pure guilty pleasure level. It really is just using Bruce Lee's name as an excuse for yet another Kung Fu movie and cleverly ties itself to his legacy most likely hoping to cash in on his name. Still, Bruce Li isn't half bad at that and this movie moves at a nice, brisk exciting pace and is filled with decent Kung Fu fighting action. There's certainly worse efforts that this out there that also tried to cash in on the Lee name and legacy.