The Way of the Dragon (1972)

Bruce Lee's third film doesn't just star the martial arts legend, it was written and directed by him as well. And boy, is it a ton of fun. The action is a lot more grounded in this film, but the humor is cranked up to 11. This movie is hilarious, and not accidentally, either. Bruce Lee was an entertainer who clearly wanted the audience to have fun at the movies, and as a writer/director, he made a movie that does exactly that. Chuck Norris plays the American villain, Colt. He doesn't say much, but he has a great physical presence. The final fight between him and Bruce Lee in the Colosseum is iconic, and is one of my favorite final battles in any marital arts action film. Overall, with a fun, lighthearted story mixed with fun characters and wonderfully directed action, Way of the Dragon is my favorite Bruce Lee movie.

Fmovies: As a Bruce Lee fan, I refuse to believe that he wrote Return of the Dragon. But if he did, he probably knew that he could spit on any piece of paper, package it and people would adore him. Fans of cinema do not remember Tony, Jimmy, Thomas or Robert, nor do they care about the bizarre twist near the end of this film, let alone the fate of the restaurant that prompted Tang Lung to arrive in the first place. Every actor bumbles through this script straight to the fight between Chuck Norris and Bruce Lee, which is the only dangling carrot to get this film, in the hallways of Rome's Colosseum. God bless DVD's Scene Selection for this movie, but there are some other things of note...

Tang Lung is sent from Hong Kong to Rome, to help Uncle Wang and his daughter from a 'syndicate,' who wants to take over their restaurant for reasons we can only ponder.

You get a real sense of what Hong Kong theater must be like from this movie. There are moments in the dubbing, where you have to consider that Return of the Dragon would be a million times better without it. Bruce Lee and his waiter buddies share some Larry, Curly, Moe moments between themselves and the best part of the movie is not the Lung/Colt fight, but outside the restaurant where Lee uses his nunchuks against over a half dozen foes, prompting one of them to shout, "Mamma Mia!" I severely recommend Return of the Dragon to fans of the genre and the star actor only. If you are just recognizing Bruce Lee, or want to watch his movies, I recommend you watch this film perhaps later on, when you've seen his other work.

The United States and the world would discover Martial Arts actor Bruce Lee until 1973 with the release of his first (and only) Hollywood film, "Enter the Dragon", a masterpiece of the Martial Arts genre and arguably the film that started the trend of Kung-Fu films. However, before making "Enter the Dragon", Lee had already participated in three major films in Hong Kong, two of them under the direction of Wei Lo and the third the only film of his where he had complete control under everything, "Meng Long Guojian", the "Way of the Dragon". Better known as "Return of the Dragon" in the U.S. (where it was released as a sequel to "Enter the Dragon"), "Meng Long Guojiang" was Lee's first film as a director, and like his following two final films, a movie where he was able to express not only his physical abilities, but also the philosophy he developed to achieve them.

In "Way of the Dragon", Bruce Lee plays Tang Lung, a young man from Hong Kong who is sent to Rome by his uncle in order to help a family friend, "Uncle" Wang (Chung-Hsin Huang). At his arrival, he is informed that the problem is that the Italian Mafia wants the family's restaurant, and uses violent intimidation to pressure the owner. While at first not everyone is convinced that Tang Lung would be of any help (as he is not used to the city), soon they discover that Tang is in fact a talented Martial Artist. With Tang Lung's help, the Restaurant's waiters manage to defend themselves from the gangsters, but the Mafia Boss is completely decided to get the Restaurant, so he hires a group of Martial Arts experts, including the famous Colt (Chuck Norris) to eliminate Tang Lung.

After proving he was a bankable star, Bruce Lee finally got the opportunity of not only writing, but also directing his own film. Free at last to make his vision of a Martial Arts film come true, Lee builds up a film focused on two very personal themes for him. On one hand, his very own experience as a stranger in a strange land, and the feelings of being like a fish out of the water; and on the other, his ideal of the hero who uses his very own technique to fight against the established disciplines. While the plot is very straight forward, and a bit typical, Lee uses it effectively to showcase his own ideals and philosophies as martial artist, delivering finally an action film with some depth beyond watching the character overcome the enemies.

Borrowing heavily from Spaghetti Westerns (even some score by Morricone is used), Lee creates a magnificent epic set on the beautiful locations of Rome, where his lonely hero Tang Lung arrives as a modern day cowboy to right some wrongs. While of course not an expert filmmaker (it was after all, his first film as a director), Lee shows a great eye for visuals, as the camera becomes an essential part in the creation of the sublimely choreographed fights, and the highly stylish set pieces (again, influenced by Sergio Leone's westerns). "Meng Long Guojiang is definitely the basics for what Lee conceived as a Martial Arts film, and many of what he developed for this movie would become of great influence for future directors of the genre.

Due to his character in "Enter the Dragon", most people remember Bruce Lee's acting as a serious, dark personification of the perfect martial arts warrior, however, "Meng Long Guojiang" is a chance to discover a way different side of Lee's persona, as he allows h

The Way of the Dragon fmovies. It may have Bruce Lee and Chuck Norris in it - but those are the only bright spots on an otherwise laughable film.

Was this film made by an Italian tourism board? On the way to the restaurant at the heart of the film, they happen to drive past every Roman monument. Furthermore, the film is terribly lit and shot. More than once, the film is out of focus. There are needless zoom-ins and zoom-outs. These film techniques work in fight sequences but not more low-key scenes.

Maybe humour is just lost in translation, but the jokes where Bruce Lee has to go to the toilet (which ceased to be amusing quick) are laughably embarrassing to watch. The pace of the movie is very bad. One of the aforementioned toilet scenes has the girl of the film waiting for Bruce Lee while he's in her bathroom. I also fail to see how any assassin would use a shotgun for taking someone out from afar. The cinematography is also very poor.

Thankfully, the fighting scenes deliver and Bruce Lee is on form. His fight scene with Chuck Norris is the film's highlight, but even that is filled with nonsense. Why, exactly, is there a little cat that the director feels compelled to cut to every 30 seconds? When there is a dramatic zoom-in, zoom-out on Lee and Norris, we get another close-up of the cat, ZOOMING IN AND OUT OF IT! Why?! (And thankfully, Chuck Norris would realize he looks better in a beard, and spare us shots of his hairy shoulders.) In terms of fighting, Way of the Dragon is a good watch, but so many pointless shots could simply have been, and should have been, cut. I'm almost positive the makers of The Hangover watched this film, as the main henchman could very well be Leslie Chow's cousin. He adds some comedic elements, but apart from him and the fighting scenes, Way of the Dragon isn't even an unravelled patch on Enter The Dragon.

Even though this movie was dubbed, and the dubbing isn't that great. the whole movie is great. I actually find this movie way better then Enter the Dragon. Plus, you got Bruce Lee, writing, starring and directing it, and he knew what to do to make this kung fu movie awesome. I reccomend this one to any kung fu fan who has not seen this one yet... i give it 9 out of 10.

Bruce Lee really rules. Before this I had seen only "enter the dragon". It is usually considered to bee his best film, so I didn´t really know what to expect from "way of the dragon". I liked it very much. Biggest problem I had with it was that I had to watch the english dubbed version. I prefer the original language! Lee really knew how to entertain the audience. He was funny, but not too funny. I particulary enjoyed the last fighting scene when "Colt" was defeated. For once the bad guy went down with honour! I recommend this to anyone who likes a good kung-fu movie. There might be better ones, but no complains. 8/10