Missing in Action Double Feature - Missing in Action (1984) + Missing in Action 2: The Beginning (1985)

Director: Joseph Zito

Cast: Chuck Norris, M. Emmet Walsh, James Hong, Lenore Kasdorf

Country: United States

Rating: R

Run Time: 100 min

Missing in Action is a fairly solid, albeit clunky and cheap, attempt by Cannon Pictures at a Rambo picture. Famed Cannon Pictures producers, Menaham Golan and Yoram Globus, had gotten a peak at James Cameron's script for the eventual Rambo: First Blood Part II while it was floating around studios. Therefore, the two decided to film not one, but two films inspired by the script, concurrently with one another. Although Missing in Action is a blatant Rambo rip-off, it technically came out before First Blood Part II, thereby making it legally not a rip-off. Regardless, Missing in Action is the B-grade rendition of George P. Cosmatos and Sylvester Stallone's Vietnam film, with B-grade replacements such as director Joseph Zito (Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter) and Chuck Norris (The Way of the Dragon). The two would eventually go on to collaborate with Invasion U.S.A., a ridiculously offensive (but awesome) film against the Russians. However, the two's xenophobic rampage against American's enemies started here with Missing in Action, a Cannon classic with a rather serious tone. While a definite far cry from First Blood Part II, Missing in Action offers up the kind of low grade action entertainment that B-movie hounds love, courtesy of Golan's low budget proceedings and Norris' grizzled beard.

The film opens with a dream sequence in which Colonel James Braddock (Chuck Norris) remembers the horrors of the Vietnam War. When he scores the opportunity to go with a team to Vietnam in order to investigate whether or not American M.I.A.'s are still being held there, Braddock takes matters into his own hands by searching the country on his own time. He eventually teams up with Tuck (M. Emmett Walsh), an old friend of his, and sets off into the jungle to wage a one man war against the Vietnamese and rescue any Americans who may still be out there.

The first chapter in the Missing in Action saga was originally envisioned as the second chapter. After shooting two films back to back, Golan and Globus decided that their second picture offered up the action packed excitement that would ensure them box office dollars. Therefore, they turned the originally envisioned second film into the first film, and the originally envisioned first film into the eventual prequel, Missing in Action 2: The Beginning. While that strategy sounds like suicidal storytelling, the plan paid off, as Missing in Action swept up the box office, scoring $22 million off of a $1.5 million budget. It still stands as Norris' highest earning vehicle to date, as well as one of Cannon Pictures' highest earners. Both Missing in Action and Rambo: First Blood Part II's box office receipts prove that Americans were eager to bask in the fantastical revenge that the films offered.

Don't mess with the Braddock.

Braddock is a pretty solid franchise character, especially for one played by Chuck Norris. He knows how to negotiate a deal with people, has an awesome beard, and puts everything on the line simply to save a few American soldiers. Most solo 'Men on a Mission/One Man Army' films, especially the ones set in Vietnam, typically don't resonate with me because they are fairly gross and redundant. Thankfully, Missing in Action shakes up the formula a bit by incorporating some variety, as Braddock investigates as to where the U.S. soldiers are being kept while fighting off assassins in urban locations. He doesn't gun down Vietnamese soldiers in the jungle until the very end, which is essentially all First Blood Part II was.

From an action stand point, Missing in Action is exactly what you would expect from a Cannon production. The fist fights and shootouts are always entertaining, but mostly clunky and cheap in the classic Cannon mold. Although I declared the film a weak action picture due to its poor direction, I wouldn't be surprised if Zito was given the bare minimum of a budget and time to prepare the film's plentiful action sequences. After all, he is the same director who blew my mind with 1989's Red Scorpion, a highly underrated Dolph Lundgren picture that makes his Cannon work look like child's play. 

Although Missing in Action is nothing but predictable, the film surprised me by building up to an extremely dramatic and satisfying finale that could have made up for the weaker elements of the film. Unfortunately, the film ends on a freeze frame and brings all dramatic momentum to a halt. If the ending had been allowed to play out in a satisfying and pleasing manner, than Missing in Action easily could have scored another point on its rating scale. However, Cannon does what Cannon wants, and Missing in Action is nothing more than an entertaining, but rushed, take on the Rambo formula.

Rating: 5/10 - Norris' fair acting abilities and Zito's weak direction hold Missing in Action back from being as good as Rambo: First Blood Part II, the creme de la creme of the Vietnam 'One Man Army' films.

Director: Lance Hool

Cast: Chuck Norris, Soon-Tek Oh, Steven Williams, Bennett Ohta

Country: United States

Rating: R

Run Time: 95 min

Believe it or not, Missing in Action 2: The Beginning, is a far superior action/thriller in every regard when stacked up against its predecessor. Although I understand why Cannon went with the first film, as it featured far more action and could guarantee box office dollars, the "prequel" is a vastly better film. Instead of being a solo "Man on a Mission/One Man Army" flick with nothing but routine action to offer, Missing in Action 2 is actually a decent prison film with memorable characters, solid action, and genuine tension. It's still as clunky as most of Cannon's efforts, but it might just be the very best B-Vietnam picture ever made, as well as one of the best examples of Norris' abilities as an actor.

It's prequel time, as Missing in Action 2 takes place in 1972 in North Vietnam. After Colonel Braddock (Chuck Norris) and several of his men attempt to rescue some American soldiers during a battle, their helicopter is shot down and the men taken prisoner. However, the men are not released after the war is declared over, as the cruel Colonel Yin (Soon-Tek Oh) decides to use them for manual labor. He also psychologically tortures them in an attempt to make Braddock himself confess to his war crimes against the Vietnamese. As with most prisoner of war stories, the Americans eventually escape and wage a war of vengeance against their captors in what makes for one of Cannon Group's most dramatically compelling films.

The Beginning is immediately better than the first film because it is a character driven prison film, and not just a senseless action picture with little attention to character or story. The prequel conjures up an immense amount of tension and suspense throughout, thereby making the eventual action all of the more satisfying and worthwhile once arrived upon. Viewers will find themselves immensely engrossed in the various prisoner characters because they will feel for their plights and hope for their escape. Confining the events of the entire film to once location was clearly a budgetary strategy, but it also makes the film far better, as it crafts a claustrophobic and tense atmosphere that makes the prequel an entirely different film altogether from its predecessor. You still get your xenophobic/jingoistic action and revenge, but it's far more satisfying and less ridiculous because of the drawn out build up to it all.

Cool Guys Don't Look at Explosions: The Beginning

The bulk of the tension in the prequel is based around Colonel Yin's pursuit to get Braddock to confess to his war crimes, which were referenced in the first film. As the film progresses, Yin religiously tortures and teases Braddock with various temptations and physical wounds. This psychological warfare between the two extends beyond politics and becomes down right personal at a point. Yin is truly a villain that you love to hate because he dominates nearly every scene of the film and stands as the ultimate tormentor to end all tormentors. However, Yin ultimately meets his match by dueling with Colonel Braddock, the most intensely American patriot you could find. If one can separate the politics from the matter, the crux of Missing in Action 2's tension makes for some great thematic conflict.

Norris is far better here in the sequel, as he shows a more vulnerable side to Braddock. He has to keep his mouth shut at times and swallow his pride. He even physically suffers, such as when he is hung upside down with a rat filled bag tied upon his head, in order to protect others. While Braddock may be far from deep, his immense loyalty to his fellow men and soldiers makes him an admirable franchise character, and one made all the manlier and more badass thanks to Norris' portrayal of the guy. The prequel also has a solid supporting cast of players who are well used throughout, a key element missing in the first film.

The action is far better this go around mainly due to the build up and tension that precedes it all. Still, that clunky Cannon execution prevents it from being nearly as affective as it could have been, such as when a British spy is executed in a close up that quickly fades to black. Missing in Action 2 also finds a way to incorporate Norris' trademark martial arts abilities into a grounded and personal final fight that ultimately makes the film far more watchable and satisfying than the first. Thanks to the film's human touch and slow build up, I would compare the prequel to Cannon's own Death Wish 2, as both films take their time in building up to the action but also have the clunky silliness of a low budget B-picture. All in all, Missing in Action 2: The Beginning is a solid action thriller that stands as one of Cannon Group's very best productions, as well as one of Norris' most enjoyable action films.

Rating: 7/10 - Due to a surprising amount of tension and suspense, Missing in Action 2 stands tall as a recommendable B-Vietnam picture.

The Expendables 2 (2012) - Retrospective Review

Director: Simon West

Cast: Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham, Jean Claude Van Damme, Scott Adkins, Chuck Norris

Country: United States

Rating: R

Run Time: 103 min

The Expendables 2 is a fun but albeit flawed sequel to the equally flawed but noticeably more serious The Expendables. Stripped of the previous film's bleak tone and character driven nature, The Expendables is an all out action and cameo fest with little attention to character or common sense. The sequel does exactly what one expects from a sequel to such a franchise: amp up the stakes, deliver bigger set pieces, and introduce more action icons. However, the film's quality takes a hit due to such things. Even though the film's action scenes and stars are bigger and more plentiful, that doesn't necessarily mean that the sequel is a better film. 

With Stallone no longer at the helm of the director's chair, The Expendables 2 is a noticeably lighter affair that aims purely for action and nothing more. If the first film was made mostly for die hard action fans, than the sequel is made exclusively for action fans, as non-action fans and esteemed critics alike will find nothing to enjoy here. If Stallone, Statham, and Schwarzenegger aren't your buddies, than this is not the film for you. Action fans will be pleased to discover that the sequel features a stronger duo of villains and nearly triple the body count in exactly the same run time. 

The boys are back and ready to kick more ass.

The Expendables 2 opens with an insanely long and ridiculous action scene that trumps the finale of first film within minutes. One can immediately sense the difference between this film and its predecessor as characters crack jokes as they gun down nameless henchmen. After the Expendables survive said mission and head home, Barney is confronted by a very pissed Church (Bruce Willis) who is upset over the events of the first film. Church is frustrated that Barney and friends destroyed half of Vilena in the process of eliminating James Munroe. Therefore, Church tells Barney that he must retrieve a computer device from a downed plane in Albania or else he and the entire team are going to jail. Church also appoints an advisor, Maggie Chan (Yu Nan), to the team. After successfully retrieving the computer device, the mission goes from sour to worse when the mysterious Jean Vilain (Jean-Claude Van Damme) murders one of the Expendables and steals the device. Barney's simple retrieval mission quickly turns into a full blown quest for revenge as the Expendables team up with several old and new faces to take down Vilain.

The cracks in the Expendables franchise appear within minutes of sequel's start as the jokes and cameos come quicker than ever before. It's clear that with Stallone no longer directing, the Expendables franchise has more or less turned into a pure action fest, plain and simple. The bleak tone and mournful nature of Stallone's somewhat mature original is completely absent in this picture. Viewers are instead treated to a ridiculous amount of self referential comedy and lame humor that will only get a kick out of the dads in the audience. Here are some lines from The Expendables 2 that make me cringe in my seat:

"Fine, but if I don't get this back, your ass is terminated!" - Crews to Schwarzenegger

"Now that's what I call Chinese takeout!" - Statham to Jet Li parachuting out of plane

"I could really go for some Chinese food." - Lundgren to Nan

"After five hours of excruciating pain, the cobra died." - Norris literally making a Chuck Norris joke

"I now pronounce you, man and knife." - Statham as he throws a knife into a guy

"You've been back enough, I'll be back." - Willis to Schwarzenegger

"Yippe Ki-Yay." - Schwarzenegger to Willis

"Who's next, Rambo?" - Schwarzenegger to Norris

These are truly some of the worst lines of dialog that I have ever heard in a feature film. The biggest problem with cracking jokes like these during action sequences is that it deflates all of the tension out of the film's otherwise violent and gory proceedings. In the original Expendables, Stallone and friends only cracked jokes during down time or when they were away from their missions. This made sense, as trained mercenaries are nothing more than human. In the sequel however, no moment or action scene is sacred. A character can crack a joke or laugh about killing someone at a moment's notice and ruin what was otherwise a fun and awesome action scene. It is for reasons like these that The Expendables 2 is a noticeably weaker film than the original.

The action Gods smile upon us by reuniting both Van Damme and Adkins!

However, The Expendables 2 makes up for its flaws in certain areas that ultimately makes the film as watchable as Stallone's original. The sequel introduces a plethora of new characters and action icons that puts the original film's cast completely to shame. However, the screen time for each character seems more unbalanced this time around than ever before. After all, only so much screen time can be given to the same characters from before, along with the new ones, within a 103 minute film.

Sylvester Stallone completely phones in his performance this time around with a lazy and emotionless turn as the once bleak and human Barney Ross. Stallone barely conveys an honest human emotion throughout the film. He seems fit to maintain the same mildly tense attitude throughout the entire film. It's clear that Stallone's heart was not in the sequel as much as it was in the original.

Besides Mickey Rourke, all of the surviving members of the original film return with worse material to work with than before. One odd element of the sequel is that Jet Li is downgraded from being a significant supporting player to that of a mere cameo. It's a damn shame too, as Li is one of the few members of the franchise who can actually carry an action scene on his own. The Expendables 2 also introduces the first female ass kicker of the franchise, played by Yu Nan. Nan is given very little to do throughout the film and barely leaves an impression. Newcomer Liam Hemsworth, formerly Miley Cyrus' fiance, gives a surprisingly great performance as the teams' newest member. It's a shame that his character is killed off so soon, as Billy the Kid showcases more humanity and likability than any other Expendable in the entire sequel. Therefore, the sequel introduces very few new members to the core Expendables team.

"I now pronounce you, man and knife."

However, the sequel does step up both its cameo and villain game even more than the original film. Chuck Norris (Invasion U.S.A.) of all action stars makes a cameo appearance during the middle and end of the film as a lone mercenary who joins in on the action because...why not? His cameo is pretty ridiculous, but at least it gives Norris one last chance to up his total career kill count if anything else. Both Arnold and Bruce get in on the action this time around too. After merely standing still in the original film and cracking awful jokes, the two get to mow down bad guys this time while also cracking awful jokes. Upgraded from merely cameos, the two sort of become honorary members of the Expendables team. I am particularly embarrassed to admit it, but I kind of love the smart car bit where the two cram into a car and drive around shooting bad guys. It's incredibly silly but also bad ass at the same time. I especially love the shots of Arnie and Bruce leaning out of the car to pick up more guns to fire. However, The Expendables 2 drops the mic when it comes to its villain duo played by none other than Jean-Claude Van Damme (Hard Target) and Scott Adkins (Ninja, El Gringo). 

Van Damme and Adkins had already appeared in action films such as The Shepherd: Border Patrol, The Assassination Games, and Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning together. Adkins is more or less the new Jean-Claude Van Damme too. Therefore, their pairing in The Expendables 2 was a stroke of genius. Van Damme plays a villain literally named 'Vilain." You can't get more silly and on the nose than that. Van Damme steals the show and gives one of the best performances of his career as a psychotic and sadistic criminal who takes pleasure in killing people and admires the symbol of the goat. Adkins plays Van Damme's right hand man and makes for a nice foil to Statham's Lee Christmas. The two have an especially intense moment early on in the film where Statham disrepects Adkins, only to be forced to respect him back right afterwords. Van Damme and Adkins, two of my favorite action stars working today, are the main reason that I find myself returning to The Expendables 2 every now and than, not Stallone and Statham. 

And yet, for all of The Expendables 2 silliness, there is still an underlying story about redemption amongst its revenge plot. Barney sees Billy the Kid as himself, only younger and smarter. Billy admits early on in the film that the Expendables life is not for him, and that he is going to leave the team in order to be with his girlfriend. Barney admires this because he wish he had done the same early on in his life instead of wasting the years away killing people. Therefore, when Vilain kills Billy, Barney feels responsible and saddened because Billy had a chance to live a good life. Barney's quest to avenge Billy's death is more than just simple revenge, but a personal journey about redemption for himself and Billy's lost life.

Willis and Arnie get in on the fun.

From an action stand point, The Expendables 2 is pretty solid. The film is jam packed with more action than even the first film. In fact, the final hour of the film is more or less one action scene after another until the credits roll. Unfortunately, the sequel lacks the small scale and personal nature of the first film. The sequel's massive set pieces lack a considerable amount of direction or purpose and tend to come off as montages of violence at points. The final air port battle, while entertaining and jam packed with as much fan service as possible, is honestly a mess of an action scene. Characters simply pop up out of nowhere and gun down nameless henchmen even though they rarely take cover and leave themselves open to gun fire. What kind of trained mercenary would make such an error?

The sequel also opens with an insane action scene where every character must kill 10 to 100 people each. Statham alone kills more people here than most other actors get too in their entire careers. The film's action tends to be at its strongest when the attention is shifted towards a small scaled fight that takes place during a larger battle. For example, Jet Li's fight against a number of guards in a kitchen during the opening mission is infinitely more satisfying and awesome than the entire mission itself. The same can also be said for Statham's fight against the Sangs inside of a church while the rest of the Expendables gun down the various intruders in a village. Small scaled fights like steal the show every time.

One of my problems with the first Expendables is that the film didn't feature any great one on one fights. Nobody wanted to see Dolph go up against Jet Li or Stallone go up against Steve Austin. These fights are fine, but they in no way take advantage of the previous history or skills attached to said fighters. Dolph is too tall to fight a skilled martial artists like Jet Li and Stallone is the last person who should be taking on a professional wrestler. This is why I think that the three way fight between Jet Li, Statham, and Gary Daniels is the best fight in the original film because all three of those actors are middle aged martial arts centric actors who should be fighting one another. Fortunately, The Expendables 2 gets this aspect right and features two awesome fights that pit four separate icons of action against one another.

The first notable fight that takes place during the finale pits Statham against Adkins. Both Statham and Adkins are young action stars who perform martial arts in many of their films. Therefore, it makes sense for the two to duke it out at the end of the sequel. While it is unfortunate that their fight is exceptionally short, I'll take a short fight between the two any day over no fight. The Expendables 2 also pits two of action cinema's greatest titans, Stallone and Van Damme, against one another in the final fight of the film. Both Stallone and Van Damme are particularly elder actors who have been working in the genre for several decades now. Therefore, the two more or less brawl it out with one another and resort to lots of gut punches and takedowns in a fight that benefits from some excellent build up. This is exactly what the first Expendables film was lacking, a significant and long awaited one on one fight between two of action cinema's greatest titans. Fortunately, The Expendables 2 understands this and delivers.

"Do you wanna fight me like a man or like a sheep?"

Simon West's sequel to Stallone's ode to action packs in more action and cameos than previously thought imaginable. The face offs are better, the body count is higher, and the villains are even more memorable. Even Brian Tyler's excellent score from the first film is back too. Unfortunately, the film falls hard in other areas of the picture, thereby making The Expendables 2 a weaker but still satisfying sequel. The horrendous digital effects are back and even worse this time. Computerized helicopters have never looked so terrible. The sequel also features an added helping of comedy, but at the expense of the film's tension. 

The Expendables 2 aims purely for action and comedy, but nothing more than that. If the sequel had kept its focus on the characters and scaled down the action, than its testosterone infused proceedings might have been more enjoyable and gripping. How many times are viewers expected to join these guys on these adventures if no attention is given to the characters and no filmmaker takes the material seriously? Let that be a warning to all future filmmakers of this franchise. Otherwise, The Expendables 2 is a flawed but highly enjoyable sequel that all action fans have probably already seen two or three times already.

Rating: 6/10 - A noticeably weaker albeit more fun and action packed sequel to the most testosterone infused franchise around.

Franchise:

The Expendables (dir. Sylvester Stallone, 2010)

The Expendables 2 (dir. Simon West, 2012)

The Expendables 3 (dir. Patrick Hughes, 2014)

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.