Birth of the Dragon movie Review

Birth of the Dragon

Being a huge Bruce Lee fan, I made it a point to be able to watch any films that would re-tell the legend and the story of Bruce Lee. And one such controversial film was released this week. Amidst the controversy and the negative reviews, I decided to give it a go even if Bruce Lee's own daughter, Shannon Lee abhors the film. The movie Birth of the Dragon is said to be inspired by the events of the legendary underground fight between a Pre-Jeet Kune do Bruce Lee and Northern Shaolin master Wong Jack Man. much of the controversy of this film was borne from the deceiving trailer which presented the movie as a Bruce Lee Bio-Pic. When in truth, it was only a semi-biopic that is blemished with fictional characters and an expanded story line. The events of the film is seen through the eyes of a fictional character named Steve Mckee (probably based on hollywood movie star and one time Bruce Lee student Steve Mcqueen). Mckee served as the bridge between Bruce Lee and Wong Jack Man's epic fight. Critics lambasted the film for whitewashing (a hollywood term for exchanging Asian characters in favor of Caucasian ones). While the Bruce Lee and Wong Jack Man fight indeed happened, the cheesy climax ruined the film for me. I came to watch the film because of the Bruce Lee and Wong Jack Man fight, which was based on the article "Bruce Lee's toughest fight" written by Michael Dorgan. The well researched article neither confirmed nor denied whether Bruce Lee indeed won the fight against Wong as what is more popularly known to the public. And the movie handled that part of the story well. At least for me. I don't need to go into details about the other expanded fictional stories of the movie, because honestly, those parts ruined the film for me. They could have just stayed true to the narrative of that legendary fight and kept it at that with probably some improvements on the story for more dramatic effect. Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story which was a semi-autobiographical film about Bruce Lee back in the 90's have handled that part deftly. Though that movie also had additional fictional stories in their narrative (most notably a scene depicting Lee and Wong having a rematch in public which actually never happened), but at least it remained true to their intentions for the majority of the movie. Not unlike in this movie where we have an eastern-western Romeo and Juliet love story that did nothing to push the film forward. In fact it only made Lee and Wong comical in the climax. I was also annoyed at the Bruce Lee actor Philip Ng's forced portrayal and imitation of Lee. I get it that the producers were looking for someone who looks like Bruce Lee but his facial expressions sometimes gives me the laughs. Jason Scott Lee (Dragon: The Bruce Lee story actor) was the better actor, as he was able to convey the dramatic parts of the movie as well as the fight scenes. Yu Xia who plays Wong jack man on the other hand handled his role deftly as he was able to showcase his fight choreography flawlessly for someone who does not have a martial arts background. Birth of the Dragon also turned off a lot of Bruce Lee fans because of their portrayal of Lee as an arrogant person. Though that is not that much of an issue for me, because men with too much self-confidence are always cast/misunderstood as arrogant (see Kobe Bryant and Michael Jordan as an example). What I do like about the film are the references and Easter eggs of significant Bruce Lee moments like the one inch punch and Lee's battle with a henchmen who wore knuckle claws (perhaps a nod to Enter the Dragon). Fight scenes were handled just fine. When it comes to Bruce Lee films, nothing still beats the original. When you watch films such as these, you should never compare and base your criticisms on the actor's martial arts skills or the fight scenes. Because comparing them with Bruce Lee is unfair. To conclude, Birth of the Dragon is an interesting film about Bruce Lee if you could skip all the unnecessary additions to the story. However, if you are looking for a semi-autobiographical film that is well done and stays true to its intentions, then Dragon: The Bruce Lee story is the better film.

Philip Ng as Bruce Lee

Bruce Lee v.s. Wong jack man (Yu Xia)

The Legendary Fight

Brandon Lee: The Son of Bruce Lee

Brandon Lee

 

The tragic story of Bruce Lee does not end in him alone. Though he died a legend at an early age, his son Brandon Lee lost his life when he was on the cusp of stardom. Many would say that there was a curse within the Lee family. A curse that befell the men. And Brandon was to be it's last victim. It was my deep interest for Bruce Lee which led me to follow his son's career. I was actually silently rooting for Brandon to achieve the same status as what his father have achieved, but he was taken away from this world at such a ripe age of 28 years old, just when his career was starting to get an upward trajectory. His movie career started when he played bit roles in various T.V. shows and B-Movies. Most notable of them all was the T.V. Movie Kung Fu, which ironically was the T.V. show that his father helped conceptualize and was supposed to play the lead star before he was replaced by a westerner (David Carradine). That same T.V. show was what led Bruce to leave America and go to Hong Kong where he would eventually start his legendary career.

"Is that you my son?"

And just like his father, Brandon would go to Hong Kong to shoot for his first major film role in the movie Legacy of Rage in which he played the lead star. This movie would also have Brandon nominated to a Hong Kong Film Award. This though would also be his only movie in Hong Kong, as he would return to America to star in an unsuccessful pilot for a new Kung Fu T.V. series.  This setback would lead Brandon to do a small budget B-Movie titled Laser Mission which was cheaply shot in South Africa and released in the European Market. He would also play a villainous role in the T.V. Series Ohara (which was Pat Morita's of Karate Kid fame T.V. series).

The Jeet Kune Do training that never was

Brandon's comeback to U.S. would open the door to his first big budget Hollywood film and his first major american film, the movie Showdown in Little Tokyo. He would play sidekick to 90's action star Dolph Lundgren in this movie. But unfortunately the film's studio outfit wasn't too pleased with the movie. They decided to just have the movie made straight to video in other countries and gave it a limited theatrical run in the U.S. But despite this setback, Brandon would be offered a multi picture deal with a rival studio and had his first starring role in a major american film production. That movie would be Rapid Fire.

"I have come home my Father."

Rapid Fire would become Brandon's personal showcase of his father's created Martial Arts Form Jeet Kune Do. With his father's early death, Brandon would get his Jet Kune Do training from a couple of his father's closest friends. Though Brandon had stated in interviews that he has no plans to diligently follow his father's footsteps, in the movie, Brandon showed that he had a lot of promise in terms of trying to replicate the success of his father's Martial Arts Movie career. Brandon though had to endure and carry the load of being Bruce Lee's son as long as he would star in Martial Arts movies. The comparisons were inescapable.

Bruce and Brandon in their fight against the curse

 

Brandon's quest to make a name for himself would begin in the movie The Crow (More about this Character in my next entry). A movie that he would play the lead star but unfortunately would not be able to finish. Much like his father's the Game of Death movie, Brandon would film important parts of the movie but would not be able to finish it because of a freak accident. Brandon died while filming a scene involving a gun shooting. He was gunned down but in this case, real live bullets were not removed from the gun. It hit Brandon instantly and felled him. He never woke up. This was supposed to be Brandon's kick off movie. But alas, the curse has caught him. And just like that, a once promising career of a young man was lost. For both Father and Son (Bruce died at a tender age of 32 yrs. old, while Brandon died at 28).

More Photos...

Father and Son together again

Brandon Lee

Kick to the face

One inch punch

Sidekick

The Brandon Lee figure that I used in this entry is from the NECA Box Set The Crow Reflections. The Boxset contains 2 figures, Brandon Lee as Eric Draven and as The Crow. The Box Set also contains a 7 inch tall highly detailed dressing table as well as The Crow's Crow and a Face Mask for Eric Draven. The figure amazingly has Brandon's likeness. My only beef for this though is that it has limited articulation. It only features articulations on the neck (swivel), shoulders (swivel), wrists (swivel), waist (swivel), hips (swivel) and ankles (swivel). But what it lacks in articulation, it makes up in it's sculpting details. The only reason why I bought this box set is because of Brandon. The Crow is just the bonus. I needed to have a Brandon Lee action figure to accompany my Bruce Lee action figure. So I'm quite happy to get this box set for my collection.

Squared Off: Bruce Lee V.S. Wuxia

The Cast

Long before Bruce Lee changed the standard Chinese Martial Arts movies genre, Chinese productions favored the Wuxia style. Wuxia is a brand of Chinese martial arts movies that features heavy swordplay and mysticism. It has numerous gravity defying fight sequences that is more on fantasy than realism. Though HK movies tried to bring in a new style to make their movie more realistic, none of the Pre-Bruce Lee Martial Arts actors made the new genre stick to the general audience. It took a Chinese who was born in the United States of America to change the course of Hong Kong's Martial Arts action films. Bruce Lee's superhuman skills brought a new era to HK's Martial Arts film making industry. Bruce Lee's Enter the Dragon and his slew of movies (which I wrote about in an earlier entry) would open the flood gates for Martial Arts actors like Jackie Chan, Yuen Biao, Sammo Hung, Jet Li among others to capitalize on. While the 80's to mid 90's brought heart stopping realistic Martial Arts films worldwide, somehow the it would also eventually tire the audience as more and more less credible Martial Arts actors tarnish the genre. Approaching the new millennium, Martial Arts Movie's demand started to decline. HK and China needed to come up with something new. With China's vast progress making it's impact around the world, it took them to reach out to their long lost culture and traditions to present to the world the Wuxia Martial Arts film genre that was thought to be long gone.   

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon would go on to enthrall the worldwide audience with their fantastic well choreographed fight scenes. It introduced audiences to the world of Wuxia and would later influence other film productions to come out with their own Wuxia films. Although Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon has been recognized as one of the highest grossing Chinese films in the U.S., the staying power and influence it brought has not matched the same popularity that Bruce Lee brought to his more raw and realistic Martial Arts films.

In the 2nd edition of Action Figure Planet's Square Off Series, I present to you Bruce Lee v.s. Wuxia. Below is the skit that I made about the fight.

Prepare to meet your doom Mr. Lee

She moves so fast...

But not fast enough for me!

Stay down

Eh!?! A woman?

Hands off me, kyaahh!!!

I normally don't hit women...

But you're a feisty one, give it up.

Stay away from her!

DIE!!!!

Back off! I don't want this fight

You need to be taught a lesson

Crazy, they seem to have come from all places

Your going down Mr. Lee

Don't bet on it sister

Time for you to go to sleep

Three down... is this all of it?

Who's that? The final Wuxia Warrior?

Your fast for a non Wuxia fighter

Yes because I am not make believe, I am really fast

And it took me years to achieve this skills

So I guess this is the last one

Not so fast Mr. Lee, together we can still beat you

Let's dance then? Kyahh!!!

Mu Bai is down, now I take down both Lo and Shu Lien

And dodge just in time for both ninjas to hit each other.

Effortlessly done

Do you guys give up?

And the winner is Bruce Lee. I picked Bruce influence on the Martial Arts genre simply because his legend to this very day continues to shine brightly in the martial arts realm. One cannot say Martial Arts without connecting it to Bruce Lee. Bruce influence on the industry encompassed many eras as the years brought along Martial Arts Actors like Jackie Chan, Jet Li, and other Chinese Martial Artists. Not only that, It helped encourage the west to come up with their own Martial Arts Artists like Chuck Norris, Steven Seagal, Jean Claude Van Damme and others. Mix Martial Arts sports enthusiasts also acknowledges Bruce as the father of Mix Martial Arts with his founding of Jeet Kune Do. So there really is no question that while Bruce Lee's influence is much more greater than what Wuxia has done.But also not to discredit Wuxia, Wuxia is an art that is deeply entrenched in the Chinese culture. It showed to the world the beauty of past Chinese cinema which was almost forgotten when Bruce Lee changed everything.

Check out my previous entries for a brief review on the action figures that I used in this entry.

Bruce Lee Inspired Collections

Kato Comics by NOW Comics

Here are some Bruce Lee inspired merchandise that I managed to pick up...

First this single Kato comic book I picked up by NOW Comics. NOW Comics (a small Comic book publishing company) released a KATO Limited Series solo book back in 1991 which was written as inspired by the KATO character that Bruce Lee popularized as Green Hornet's sidekick. NOW Comics has been in the comic book business acquiring rights to publish popular Movies/TV shows such as Mr. T and The Force, Speed Racer, The Original Astro Boy, Alias, Terminator, Ghostbusters, Fright Night, Married with Children, and the aforementioned Green Hornet. In this comic, they established a continuity  wherein the TV Bruce Lee version of Kato was actually the son of the original Kato from the Radio Series reincarnation of the Character. He was given the name Hayashi as a homage to the Radio Series' voice actor's original name. I only managed to snag this No. 3 from what I think was a 4 part limited series. I believe this comic is now very hard to come by since NOW comics wasn't publishing a lot of comics being just a small size company in the comic book industry. The cover art looks awesome and screams Bruce Lee all over it. I'm hoping I could find the other three issues of this comic book though. It should be a nice addition to my Bruce Lee collection. (There was also a 6 issue limited series Malibu Comics version entitled Bruce Lee, I found one set selling at ebay, giving it a hard look).   

The second Bruce Lee inspired Item I have is the SOTA Street Fighter Fei Long Action Figure. Fei-Long is a character in the Street Fighter fighting video game series. He is Capcom's tribute to Martial Arts Legend Bruce Lee, who was the actual inspiration for Fei Long's design itself. He first appeared as one of the four "New Challengers" in Super Street Fighter 2 (along with T. Hawk, Cammy, and Dee Jay), which was released in 1993. He also appeared in the Street Fighter 2: The Animated Movie and also the anime, Street Fighter II V. Hands down this has got to be the best articulated Bruce Lee (if we consider this as Bruce Lee) action figure ever created. Though I'm not planning anytime soon on completing the SOTA Street Fighter toy line, I was compelled to make this purchase because this figure screams Bruce Lee to me.With over 30 plus points of articulation, He's got articulation on the toes, mid-foot pivots, ankles, shins, double-knees, ball jointed hips, a waist and a torso hinge, palm and wrist joints, double-elbows, biceps, shoulders, and a ball jointed head. He's also got five alternate Hands (2 fists, 2 open hands, and 1 pointing right hand) and an alternate Head to help you go through different Bruce Lee fighting stance and poses (too bad I never got the alternate hands and head because I bought it loose and incomplete). Below is a little demonstration and a small skit of what this Fei Long Action Figure (with sparring partner Mattel Batista) could do.

Prepare to get beaten

No problem Bruce

Turning Side Kick---Kiyaahhh

Elbow and Back hand slap

Punch Kick

Left Hand Palm Uppercut

Elbow to the Crotch

Want some more?

Round House Kick

Full force Side kick

And stay down...

That's all folks. I'm still rummaging through my Chinese Pop Culture related Action Figure collections before I go and feature my main line, DC and Marvel toy collections.

Still on tonight by the way, National Geographic Channel Asia's Bruce Lee tribute documentaries continues at 9pm HK time.