Country: Hong Kong
Genre(s): Action
Director: Michael
Allin
Cast: Bruce Lee /
John Saxon / Kien Shih
Plot
A Shao Lin monk
agrees to enter a martial arts tournament held on a private island controlled
by a mysterious drug lord named Han.
What I Liked
“Enter the Dragon” is
the “Gone with the Wind” of Hong Kong martial arts films, surpassing all
previous conceptions of what was possible in terms of budget, scope, and
production values. As such, it is also
the magnum opus of that icon of all icons in the martial arts genre, Bruce Lee,
who died before this film was released.
For all its
advancements over the standard Hong Kong martial arts flicks of its day, all
the enhanced production really just serves as framework for the true source of
the movie’s strength, Lee. I can’t think
of a single action hero that can compare with Bruce Lee for either charisma or ability. He is confidence and cool
combined with true physical formidability and an entertainer’s sense of dazzle. Beyond that he was a master fight choreographer
and had a great sense of the camera and its placement in a scene to produce the
greatest effect. No one has really
surpassed him for that combination of gifts and talents. “Enter the Dragon” features him at the peak
of his powers, making his death all the more disappointing.
What I Disliked
That it broke the
mold in many areas for Hong Kong action flicks doesn’t mean it didn’t still
suffer from many of the same weaknesses of other films in the genre. Most noticeable is the dialogue. Filled with hokey half-assed philosophy that
was probably meant to add some Eastern exoticism to the film that was supposed
to be Lee’s major breakthrough with U.S. filmgoing audiences, these lines, with
a few exceptions, just seem mostly trite and stereotypical now.
The lackluster character
development is also characteristic of the genre. Jim Kelly plays a black man who can’t help
but run into problems with the law, has a big mouth, and a voracious sexual
appetite. He walks around with a big, perfectly
round afro and any time he’s on screen some funky bass and wa-wa guitar start
playing. It’s exploitation at its
worse. But even Williams can’t believe
how one-dimensional the villain, Han, is.
Complete with widows peak hair, a missing hand, a pet cat, and hundreds
of incompetent minions, Han is indeed “straight out of a comic book,” as
Williams mocks at one point.
Most Memorable Scene
Bruce Lee was a
master of physical movement, whether he was fighting or not. So the whole film is like a highlight reel of
sorts, but never more so than when he is trapped in a maze of mirrors in his
final showdown with Han. Here the cool
factor jumps a few notches as Han and Lee (and the filmmakers) use many
disorienting tricks to great effect on each other (and the audience). It’s probably the most famous sequence of Lee’s
entire career, beautiful and brutal all at once.
My Rating: 3.5 out of 5
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