When Bruce Lee tragically passed, we didn’t just lose a martial arts superstar and a cinematic legend, but we also were cheated out of the potential that the man still had to give. Take 1972’s The Way Of The Dragon, for example; the final film of Lee’s that was released while he was still alive that not only saw the main man play his trade in splintering bones like balsa wood, but also saw him step behind the camera and call his own shots.
While the movie admittedly shows some understandable weak spots due to Lee’s inexperience, there’s literally no telling what he could have accomplished once he became as proficient at calling action as he was at delivering it.
Still, even “mid-level” Lee is still enough to be irrisistably iconic, especially when you consider that he shares the screen with future superstar and living meme, the Lone Wolf himself, Chuck fuckin’ Norris.
Ready? Fight!
Tang Lung has arrived in Rome in order to assist the doubtful Chen Ching-Hua and her uncle Wang due to the issues they’re having with local mobsters who want their restaurant for nefarious means. Upon arriving and immediately falling foul of the language barrier after a bunch of understandings involving soup, Tang finally meets up with Chen who was hoping that she was going to be sent a laywer instead of this confused looking young man who came even locate the public toilets. The general consensus back at the restaurant is pretty much the same, with the plucky workers seemingly unimpressed with this newcomer and uncle Wang simply desperate to avoid trouble if any sort.
However, trouble soon finds them when Ho, a very flamboyant subordinate of the boss who dresses like he’s a guest on Pee Wee’s Playhouse, arrives with a cadre of men to engage in the day’s bout of threatening behavior. The smug look is soon wiped off their faces however, when, after a delayed start, Tang finally gets to show off his stuff when he displays fighting skills that boast lightning speed and punching power that could concuss a rhinoceros.
What follows is a deadly game of oneupmanship as the crime boss and Ho start throwing everything from armed gangs, to snipers at their Tang related problem, but as the fighter overcomes them all with a mixture of bludgeoning nunchucks or handy darts that can nimbly immobilize a trigger hand. However, business really starts to pick up when, in a desperation move, Ho enlists the aid of three, world class, martial artists to combat Tung’s striking ability and before you know it, the fates of all involved are all hinging on a battle to the death between Tang and the formidable Colt with the Colosseum itself as their area.
Not to be picky, but there’s a fair few flaws that comes with The Way Of The Dragon that primarily comes from is suffering in comparison to the far superior Fist Of Fury that, in my mind, remains probably the best showcase of Lee’s skills this side of Enter The Dragon. The real issue is, despite all the impressive, blunt force trauma on display here (no one, and I mean no one, batters a thug into jelly with nunchucks better than Lee), the fledgling director’s attempts at fish out of water comedy is more a test of the audience’s patience rather than an assault on the funny bone. Holding back on the exact moment when the villains truly understand who it is they have chosen to fuck with always gets a big reaction, but having to sit through around thirty minutes of Lee equiring about the location of the toilet or sneering at Rome’s tourist attractions as he struggles noticably at staging some broader comedy. With Lee on scripting duties as well, we unfortunately find that the plot is as overly familiar as that hugger at work who “likes” all your Instagram reels – does every Chinese restaurant around the world have the exactly same problem with gangsters trying to muscle in on their business?
However, when you take a step back, this is obviously Bruce Lee embarking of something of a cinematic learning curve as he continued to involve himself ever deeper with the nuts and bolts of action cinema. If his meteoric rise hadn’t been tragically halted by cerebral oedema, who knows how big of a prominent filmmaker he could of become with more experience, so when viewed under this criteria, The Way Of The Dragon comes rather an intriguing “what if”.
However, as the movie progresses and the humour gives way to Lee’s more typical talents, The Way Of The Dragon offers up some timeless instances of martial arts cinema that remain overwhelmingly iconic to this day. Not only do we get yet another aforementioned masterclass in instant karma via nunchuck, but we get a legendary match up between Lee and seven time professional middleweight karate champion, Chuck Norris, making his movie debut. It’s here that Lee penchant for the mythic finally gets the canvas it deserves as the two square off in a measured contest that balances the brutal with the cerebral beautifully. Sure, the back drop of the Roman Colosseum doesn’t make that sense in terms of the story (Tang runs from a fight in a clearing, fights Colt and then runs back again for the denouement?) and it’s mostly made up of obviously fake backdrops, but the effect is undeniable. Be it the memorable details (Tang blocks an attack by latching onto Colt’s prestigious thatch of chest hair) or a surprisingly noble finish (appropriate respect is given to the loser), it’s a moment in history that people still talk about to this day.
Enter The Dragon is instantly more iconic and Fist Of Fury has more intensity but even though the plot and attempts at humour swing wildly while attempting to hit the mark (there’s an audacious twist that swoops in the literal last minute that’s equal parts shocking and ridiculous), Lee’s efforts score a total knock out where it counts.
The last finished movie of Lee’s that he managed to see released, The Way Of The Dragon may not be the most polished of his tragically limited output, but devotees will find ample reasons to pour over every punch, every kick and every tuft of hair torn out of Norris’ chest.
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