Way of the Dragon (1972) - Review

Director: Bruce Lee

Cast: Bruce Lee, Chuck Norris, Nora Miao, Hwang In-Shik, Robert Wall

Country: Hong Kong

Production Company: Golden Harvest

Rating: R

Run Time: 99 minutes

And the very first foreign language film to be reviewed on the site goes to a Bruce Lee film! I know it is not specified anywhere on the website, but this will not be just an American action film site. I love many foreign language films, ranging from Chinese, to Japanese, to French actioners. So, let this film be the very first step into the awesomeness that is H.K. cinema!

I love Chinese/English lettered title cards.

Way of the Dragon was Lee's third martial arts action film. And I have got to say, this is quite the bizarre film. Not only does it take place entirely in Rome, but it also features a lot of goofy comedy from Bruce himself! 

The film opens with Bruce waiting at the airport as an old woman keeps staring at him. Whenever he turns towards her, he smiles real big. His stomach keeps making noises so he finds a restaurant. He than gets some soup from there and has trouble communicating with the waitress. This than leads into Bruce really having to find the bathroom. Normally, this would completely turn me off from a movie. What is the need for all of this unnecessary humor? However, it is quite amusing seeing Bruce Lee of all people channel some Charlie Chaplin for several minutes. If you had no clue who Bruce Lee was, you would have no clue what you were getting into with this film! While I still find the humor useless to the film, it makes for an interesting experience.

"Welcome to the comedic stylings of...Bruce Lee?"

Way of the Dragon has an extremely basic plot. Tang Lung (Bruce Lee) arrives in Rome to help out with a restaurant run by his uncle's family. Chen (Nora Miao), who helps run the restaurant, is quite upset to see such a goofball everyman like Tang arrive instead of some lawyer. Apparently, some businessmen really want the restaurant from them. They place some thugs around the restaurant to push any business away from the place until they can forcefully obtain the place. Fortunately for everyone running the restaurant, Tang Lung is played by Bruce Lee and that means that the thugs stand no chance in hell. From that point on, the film is simply Bruce kicking major ass as the thugs continue to fight back.

I have heard some die hard action fans say that this film is their favorite Bruce Lee film. And I really have to wonder how they can see this as his best. Not counting the incomplete Game of Death films, this is my least favorite Bruce Lee action film. I just can't get around the unnecessary comedy. It keeps me from viewing the film as a legitimate action flick. Instead, it has a bizarre tone to it. Some goofy antics here, some ass kicking here, some silly music here, some nun-chuck fighting here. That's how the film felt to me in a nutshell. It's bizarre because this is written and directed by Bruce himself. Even The Big Boss and Fists of Fury, films he did not write or direct, came before this film and are leaps and bounds better than this. But, the film has a unique and bizarre charm to it and I still find myself able to enjoy it.

The ever iconic nun-chucks make an unforgettable appearance.

Bruce's character, Tang, is unlike all of his other on screen roles. Tang always has to go to the bathroom (seriously!), is a master dart thrower (he flawlessly hurls like 20 homemade darts in the film),  is obsessed with Chinese boxing (he'd rather practice it than do anything else), and is completely uninterested in women who come on to him (a girl bares her chest and Bruce freaks out and runs away!). Not only that, but he's insanely ripped and built too! I have never heard of such a bizarre combination of character traits before. 

The rest of the supporting cast is also interesting to discuss. I love Nora Miao as Chen, the semi-love interest and only important female in the film. She has such a cute screen presence and is a Bruce regular (previously appearing in Bruce's last two films). The rest of Bruce's friends and family are all fine too. They aren't really anything special; just a nice lovable bunch of guys. The villains of the film are really flamboyant and corny too. Also of note are two of the film's final martial artists that Tang and his friends have to face off against. They are played by Robert Wall (Enter the Dragon) and Chuck Norris (Invasion U.S.A., Missing In Action). Wall is incredibly memorable as the vile O'Hara in Lee's final film, so it is interesting to see him in such a small role here. Norris on the other hand is just Chuck Norris.

Nora Miao is such a cutie. How can Bruce not fall for her?!

This film really takes its time getting to the action. Like I said before, there is a lot of comedy in the opening of the film. So much so that it takes a whopping 30 minutes before the first action scene. We are already a third of the way in to the film and Bruce finally whoops some thugs for the first time. Fortunately, every action scene that follows is top notch. The second fight scene in which Bruce takes on numerous thugs in an alley with two nun-chucks is truly epic stuff. For any negativity I shed on this film, one glance at these fight scenes will remind the viewer as to why Bruce Lee is so iconic. He truly did action like no one else. 

He takes on assassins, numerous weapon wielding thugs, and the one and only Chuck Norris. The fight between Bruce and Chuck is probably the film's biggest claim to fame. I'm certain that people who have never even seen this film know that Bruce and Chuck throw down in the flick. The businessmen who want the restaurant decide that things need to get serious and choose to hire three martial artists. They save their third, Colt (Norris), as the final man to face off against Tang. Tang and Colt have their fight in the freakin' Roman Colliseum of all places. To be honest, I think this fight has far too much build up to it. Bruce romes the stadium for what must be a good 3 to 4 minutes before he finds Norris. The two than stretch and prepare for their epic duel for another minute or two. A random cat meows and than the fight is on! 

Two icons going at.

As for the fight itself, it's your standard fist fight. Norris wasn't the icon that he is now at the time, so people may look back at this fight and expect a whole lot out of it. It isn't bad. It's a fight scene with Bruce Lee for goodness sakes; he never disappoints. It's just that this is the final fight and it doesn't amp you up the way that the film's previous fights do.

This scene and every fight before it feature fantastic sound and visual editing. Every punch and kick is crystal clear on the screen. Old action films knew how to photograph their action so beautifully. The film's score is alright too. It gets quite goofy during the comedic times, but knows when things are about to get serious too. The tune that plays before each fight bears a strong resemblance to Ennio Morricone's "The Man with the Harmonica" from Sergio Leone's epic 1969 western, Once Upon a Time in the West.

Overall, Way of the Dragon is simply a mixed bag. You get great action and two icons going head to head. But you also get ridiculous villains, unnecessary comedy, and a fair story. It's still a fun film warts and all.

Rating: 7/10 - Bruce Lee and his action prowress make the hum drum Way of the Dragon worth checking out. Not highly recommended, but skipping over a Bruce Lee film is a mistake that you can't make up for in life.