Game of Death II (a.k.a. Tower of Death) (1981)

Director: See-Yuen Ng (w/ action choreography by Yuen Woo Ping)

Cast:  Bruce Lee, Tong Lung, Huong Chen Li, Roy Horan, Roy Chiao

Country: Hong Kong

Production Company: Golden Harvest

Rating: R

Run Time: 86 minutes

Game of Death II (or Tower of Death / The New Game of Death) is a shameful attempt at cashing in on Bruce Lee's name and the original Game of Death. The film has nothing to do with the original film except for the fact that Billy Lo is in the first 45 minutes of the film (only in the English dub though). It also duplicates Game of Death's tactics by using body doubles, stand ins, and stock footage to represent Bruce Lee. The first 45 minutes have some dreadful story telling and dubbing but first rate action scenes that surpass anything in Game of Death. 

But than Game of Death II does the unthinkable and kills off Billy Lo! And you know what that means? More footage of Bruce Lee's actual funeral! The film brings in another character named Bobby Lo (Tong Lung), Billy's brother. Bobby becomes the lead of the film as the second half of the movie becomes something entirely different from the first half. The first half of the film is brought down by its ridiculous attempts to portray the real "Bruce Lee" just like in Game of Death. 

Once Billy Lo is killed off, there is no more Bruce Lee stock footage or body doubles. The second half of the film is all about Bobby investigating Billy's death and discovering a martial arts training compound owned by a man named Lewis (Roy Horan). The film becomes exciting, crazy, and completely bonkers in this final half of the film as the filmmakers let loose with some of the best fight scenes in movie history. Billy Lo fights a kung fu lion, a one armed man, a horde of henchmen, a monk, and a man wearing a tiger print outfit that looks like a cross between something Fred Flintstone and Tarzan would wear. Where do I even begin with this movie?

"Bruce" vs. lots of baddies.

The first half of Game of Death II is about Billy trying to discover who is trying to kill him and his master Chin Ku (Drunken Master's Huong Chen). As Billy investigates, he meets with an old mentor of his and expresses his worry about how his younger brother is too immature and doesn't take martial arts seriously. Chin Ku is eventually killed and a funeral is held in his honor. A helicopter shows up at Ku's funeral and picks up his coffin. Billy leaps onto the helicopter and tries to bring it down. Unfortunately for Billy, a man in the helicopter shoots a dart at him and causes him to fall to his death.

Bobby now shows up as our protagonist and realizes that he has to man up in order to uncover who killed his brother Billy and his master Chin Ku. After he receives some film showing Chin Ku studying at a temple, Billy heads there to investigate. When he arrives, he offers his services to Lewis, the man who owns the grounds. Lewis is an excentric bearded man with a love for trained peacocks, an appetite for raw deer meat and deer's blood, and loves to feed his fallen challengers to his many lions as dinner. Lewis is easily the most ridiculous and memorable character in the whole film.

When Billy suspects that someone is trying to kill him and Lewis, Lewis reveals that a tower of death was built into the ground somewhere. He believes that whoever might be trying to kill them lives in that tower...of death. When Lewis is eventually killed, Billy tracks down his killer and finds the tower of death. The last 40 minutes of the film are an action packed extravaganza as Billy has to uncover the mystery behind the deaths of Lewis, Chin Ku, and his brother Billy.

"Raw venison! Deer's blood!"

As I stated before, the first half of Game of Death II is nothing special. It's yet another attempt at Bruce-ploitation with some absolutely excellent action scenes. The film takes advantage of even more stock footage of Bruce Lee and passes off a deleted scene from Enter the Dragon as new footage (at the time it was new footage but it has since been restored into Enter the Dragon). The film even has the balls to use footage from Bruce Lee's actual funeral yet again when Billy Lo dies. If one time wasn't shameful enough, a second time is just laughable. 

But once you get through this boring and monotonous retread of what the original Game of Death was, the second half of the film comes to life and feels like an entirely new film. The craziness of the animal filled compound, the ridiculousness of Lewis, and the insane fight scenes during the final 40 minutes make Game of Death II one of the most entertaining action films ever made. I discovered after watching the film that the one and only Yuen Woo Ping choreographed all of the fight scenes and this explains everything. Ping turns even the crappiest of material into a jaw dropping masterpiece thanks to his masterful fight choreography.

Once Bobby reaches the underground tower of death, the film feels like a science fiction movie mixed with a video game. Bobby arrives in a huge room filled with blinking lights and pools of boiling red acid. Numerous henchmen in silver suits attack Bobby and all fall at his mighty hands. One henchman even falls into the boiling acid and burns to death! Sliding doors reveal more enemies and eventually a man in a ridiculous tiger print suit. I don't even know how to explain this. Game of Death II stops giving a crap and turns into pure adrenaline pumping action non-sense. 

Watch out for those pits of acid!

If that wasn't entertaining enough, Bobby than has to make his way across a hallway with an exploding floor! If anything touches the bottom of the floor, it sets on fire and explodes! After making his way across the hallway, Bobby than has to fight a monk. As I watched this film I asked myself, "This has to be the final fight scene right? There can't be more?" But alas, there is still more action! After the battle with the monk, Bobby discovers the master planner who has been behind all of the killings. What follows is an epic 10 minute fight between Bobby and the final villain. It's like something out of a video game! You fight hundreds of henchmen, take on several mini-bosses, work your way across a booby trapped hallway, and than take on the final boss in an epic showdown.

Game of Death II is a lousy film with a ridiculous plot, worse acting, and horrible English dubbing (I did not have access to the original dub). However, the insanity of the final half of the film makes up for everything that comes before it. Even the fight scenes in the first half of the film are excellent too. The original Game of Death had decent fight scenes and a few excellent ones leading up to the true Bruce Lee footage. Robert Clouse tried his hardest to come up with solid martial arts fights and action scenes that could match the quality of Lee's incomplete Game of Death footage. But Game of Death II has quality action from frame one! Every single fight scene is out of this world.

Exploding hallway rope climbing.

The most bizarre scene in the film takes place near the end. When Bobby is relaxing in his room, Lewis sends a prostitute into his room to pleasure him. As she and Bobby start to kiss, she tries to stick him with a needle from her ring. When Bobby blocks her attack, a freakin' kung fu lion breaks into the room! At first, I couldn't figure out if it was just an attacker in a lion suit or if it was actually a lion fighting Bobby! I didn't know what the film wanted us to believe. After watching the scene, I am sure that in the context of the film's universe that we were to think that it was a man in a lion suit. But why should I doubt that it is a kung fu lion when though there are so many other crazy things going on in the film?

I think that this film should have been called Tower of Death and not Game of Death II. There is some incredible quality action in this film and it is a shame that it is attached to the title of Game of Death II. The film features no new footage of Bruce Lee (minus the deleted Dragon footage) and is only called Game of Death II because the English dub calls the main character Billy Lo, the protagonist of Game of Death. It's all a shameful cash grab but I completely understand. Raymond Chow produced all of Bruce Lee's films. Therefore, it makes sense that the guy wanted to cash in on Bruce Lee's name even after his death. I am just arguing that the second half of the film is so bonkers and insane that I wish it stood on its own as Tower of Death and not Game of Death II. Besides, Billy Lo is killed 40 minutes into the film. It essentially stops being a Game of Death film (if that is even a term) once he dies.

World domination? You guessed it!

Unlike the original Game of Death, there isn't much to say about this film. The incredible action scenes speak for themselves. Just look up the fight scenes on YouTube or purchased the out of print Fortune Star Bruce Lee Ultimate Collection on DVD if you want to get your hands on the film (as well as the recommended Game of Death). See Yuen-Ng and Golden Harvest made a helluva action film with Game of Death II. However, the boring opening act and lousy storytelling prevents me from ranking this film very high. Never the less, I still highly recommend the film to action enthusiasts who go bananas for fight scenes like I do.

Rating: 7/10 - A horrible mess of a film blessed with some of the best action in movie history.

Franchise:

Game of Death (1978, dir. Robert Clouse)

Game of Death II (1981, dir. See Yuen-Ng)

Game of Death (1978)

Director: Robert Clouse (w/ segments by Bruce Lee and Sammo Hung)

Cast: Bruce Lee, Yuen Biao, and Kim Tai-jong as "Billy Lo", Gig Young, Colleen Camp, Robert Wall, Dean Jagger, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Chuck Norris (stock footage)

Country: Hong Kong

Production Company: Golden Harvest

Rating: R

Run Time: 100 minutes

From 1971 to 1972, Bruce Lee starred in three of the best martial arts films of all time (The Big Boss, Fists of Fury, Way of the Dragon). After Way of the Dragon, Bruce immediately began production on his newest film, The Game of Death. While working on the film, Bruce received an offer from America to come to the U.S. and to star in the biggest budgeted martial arts film of the time, Enter the Dragon. Therefore, Bruce suspended production on The Game of Death and went to America to film Robert Clouse's Enter the Dragon. The plan for Bruce was to film Dragon and than return to Hong Kong to complete The Game of Death. Unfortunately, Bruce died of cerebral edema before being able to continue his work on the incomplete film and was pronounced dead at the age of 32 in 1973.

After Bruce's passing, The Game of Death was taken over by Dragon director Robert Clouse (now retitled Game of Death). He shot numerous scenes, reworked the script, and used body doubles and stock footage to stand in for the actual Bruce Lee. Even though I am sure that Clouse and Golden Harvest had the best of intentions with honoring Bruce, Game of Death is a lousy mess of a film. None of the acting is any good, all of the action scenes are decent in comparison to Bruce's actual work, and the attempts to convince the audience that the "real" Bruce Lee is in the film is preposterous. And yet, all of these things make Game of Death a horrible but enjoyable mess of an action film. I know some action fans disown this film and consider it an insult to Bruce Lee. And in all honesty, those fans are completely right. Why try to create a new film with body doubles that also uses old footage of a deceased actor? However, if you can overlook that insult and look at it as an honest but laughable attempt to complete Bruce's final film, than you will have a great time watching it.

"Hey! It's Bruce...wait."

Game of Death opens with an awesome title card sequence that makes you think you are about to watch some kind of lost James Bond film. Unfortunately, it's just Game of Death. The film opens with stock footage of Bruce Lee and Chuck Norris fighting from the end of Way of the Dragon. Apparently, this footage is a new fight scene that actor Billy Lo is shooting. After Billy Lo completes the fight, a light falls and almost crushes him. Lo quickly finds out that gangsters are threatening his life because they want to sign him to their entertainment company. When Lo disagrees, the gangsters try to kill him on the set of his next scene (which is just more stock footage from Fists of Fury). After getting shot by an actor, Billy stages his death and convinces the public that he is deceased. The film even uses actual footage from Bruce Le's real funeral to portray this! 

Now that Lo has convinced the public he is dead, he decides to go after the gangsters who threatened him and his girlfriend's life. He even dons a "very convincing" beard to disguise his identity from the gangsters and their many henchmen (including Way and Enter the Dragon's Robert Wall). This plan doesn't really make much sense but we might as well go along with it. The film finally becomes exciting when Billy fights a bunch of motorcycle riding henchmen in a warehouse. This action scene leads into the actual footage that Bruce Lee shot in 1973 in Hong Kong. The real Bruce Lee works his way up a multi-leveled restaurant and fights a new henchman on each level. It's something straight out of a video game and it's the real highlight of the film. Bruce continues to work his way up the building until he takes out each and every henchman and gangster he can get his hands on.

"There's the real Bruce...with a superimposed towel around his neck."

I normally don't go into as many plot details as I just did but Game of Death has no real spoilers. It's an attempt at completing an incomplete film anyways so it's not like the plot was going to blow your minds away. I admire Clouse's attempt at trying to work the original footage into this new film but the whole film is just a mess. Every time the film cuts to a close up of Bruce Lee and tries to pass it off as footage from the current fight scene, it looks terrible. It's really distracting when the film shows a close up of Bruce Lee from a previous film and than cuts to a shot of the stand in actor who clearly is not Bruce Lee. I really thought about how they could have saved this film and I came up with two answers.

1) Don't use any stock footage or any real Bruce footage until the very end of the film. This way the entire film looks like a new movie even though it is clearly not the real Bruce Lee until the very end.

2) Don't film any new footage. Simply charge a lower ticket price and show the original yet short amount of footage shot and edited by Bruce Lee. This way, people can see the last pieces of the very last movie that Bruce ever worked on and appreciate the little work that he left us with.

This half-assed attempt at using stock footage, superimposing heads and towels onto an actor, using stand in actors, shooting actors from behind their head, using footage from Bruce's actual funeral, dubbing in dialog whenever a character's face isn't shown, and combining it all with footage of the actual Bruce Lee can't be taken seriously. However, all of this also makes Game of Death one of the most interesting action films ever made. It's not often that we get a film as baffling and chopped up as this. It's a glorious mess and I enjoyed every second of it.

The real corpse of Bruce Lee actually makes an appearance.

Stand in actors Yuen Biao and Kim Tai-jong try their best to emulate Bruce Lee but fail miserably. They seem to have Bruce's mannerisms down during the fight scenes but can't emulate his charm or personality during the dialog and dramatic scenes. Bruce wasn't just an action powerhouse. He was a funny, charming, and lovable screen presence that few action icons have been able to match. The horrible wigs, sunglasses, and fake beards that the stand ins wear are also laughable. Especially the beard! What were they thinking?

Almost every newly shot actor in the film is either decent, bad, or really bad. The worst offender is Billy Lo's girlfriend played by Colleen Camp. Even though she looks adorable, her screaming, crying, and yelling comes off as hilarious and over the top. All of the American villains are pretty weak too. My favorite was main villain Dr. Land. He's an old unpredictable man who enjoys feeding little fish to his killer scorpion fishes. He continually asks throughout the film, "What about Billy Lo? What's going on with him?" It's so funny whenever he asks this, I can't get enough of this guy. It's as if he has no clue what is going on even though he has ordered his henchmen to attack Billy numerous times.

There are several notable supporting players in the film. Robert Wall has a pretty large role as one of Dr. Land's best henchmen. He and Billy Lo have the best newly shot fight scene for the film in a locker room and it shines thanks to some great slow motion editing and solid choreography. Wall had previous fights with Lee in Way of the Dragon and Enter the Dragon so it makes sense that his big fight scene would be a solid one. Legendary martial artist Sammo Hung (Eastern Condors, SPL) even gets to fight Wall in an organized match in a boxing ring. The fight has nothing to do with the plot but it's a great showcase of action and it's always great to see a young and plump Sammo do his thing. James Tien (The Big Boss) also appears in some of the original footage from 1973.

David vs Goliath

The best acting and performing in the whole movie takes place in the footage actually shot by Bruce Lee. Bruce is as lovable and bad ass as ever in these short 11 minutes of action packed greatness. Bruce gets to fight three different henchmen and each one has a different fighting ability. The first one fights using red nun-chucks, the second fights with just his fists, and the third is the towering Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Each of these fighters possess a unique personality and shine in their few minutes of screen time. The fights here are some of the best fight scenes in Bruce's career, especially the one between him and Kareem. It's a shame the film was never properly finished because these excellent fights would have gone great with the originally intended film.

All of the action that Robert Clouse shot for the film ranges from decent to excellent. As I stated before, the two fights that Robert Wall has are very good. The other standout action scene is the big motorcycle fight in the warehouse. It's an extravaganza of slow motion kicking, jumping bikes, and henchmen flying into cardboard boxes. This is easily the best action scene of the film shot by Clouse. John Woo must have gotten his love for motorcycle driving henchmen from this film (check out Hard Boiled, Hard Target, Black Jack, Mission Impossible 2, and Paycheck).

The most iconic aspect of the entire film lies in Bruce Lee's yellow and black track suit. This track suit has appeared in numerous other martial arts films (High Risk, Shaolin Soccer, Kill Bill Vol. 1, and City Hunter) and stands as Lee's most memorable costume from any of his films. The yellow track suit is homaged to this day and has appeared in comic books, music videos, and even video games.

More slow motion would have been appreciated.

I think you could classify Game of Death as a "Bruce-ploitation" film even though it contained brand new footage of Bruce Lee at the time of its release. It's definitely playing off of Lee's success and fandom and uses other actors who try to look like "Bruce Lee." The poster should have advertised the other stand in actors because it's unfair to solely advertise Bruce Lee as the star of the film. Not counting stock footage, Bruce is only in 11 minutes of new footage.

It is most unfortunate that Bruce Lee was never able to complete The Game of Death as originally planned. The original plot deals with Bruce and some friends trying to discover what is located atop a large pagoda. To get to the top of the pagoda, Bruce and friends have to make their way through the henchmen who appear in the 11 minutes of real Bruce Lee footage in Game of Death. Bruce had originally planned to film scenes with Nora Miao, Robert Wall, George Lazenby, Shih Kien, Bolo Yeung, Sammo Hung, Yuen Biao, Betty Ting, and even Jackie Chan! It's a shame Bruce passed because I would have loved to have seen this line up.

For those who are curious, the original surviving footage of The Game of Death can be found on the Enter the Dragon DVD. It is in the middle of a documentary on Bruce's life. The footage is as originally intended by Bruce and not the way it is found in Clouse's Game of Death. I highly recommend all action fans seek out these surviving minutes of the film because they are better on their own than the entirety of this film.

Will the real Bruce Lee please stand up?

Robert Clouse's Game of Death is a mish mash of three things: stock footage of Bruce Lee, about an hour and 30 minutes of newly shot material by Clouse, and 11 minutes of footage from Bruce Lee's originally intended The Game of Death. It all adds up to a mess of a film but it's darn fun to watch. You'll find yourself laughing at the ways the filmmakers thought they could convince the audience that Bruce Lee is in the film whether it be through stock footage or actors standing in for him. Underneath it all, Game of Death is a silly, dumb, and serviceable 70's action thriller with lots of martial arts in it. Even though it's not very good, I am going to recommend this film. It's such an unbelievable piece of cinema that you have to check it out in order to believe it. Bruce Lee's original intact footage is amazing and honestly the only thing worth watching. However, a group of action fans might have a hoot checking out the whole movie. 

Rating: 6/10 - A mess, but a fun mess. I wonder how great the film would have turned out if Bruce hadn't passed away.

Franchise:

Game of Death (1978, dir. Robert Clouse)

Game of Death II (1981, dir. See Yuen-Ng)

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.