Way of the Dragon (1972)

There are a great many reasons why the name of Bruce Lee still resounds firmly to this day. Not only was the man one of the most accomplished martial artists of, well, ever, he also oozed charisma and had this unquestionable presence. True, his untimely death will have also contributed to his legendary status, but there is no denying that it was he who brought the West into contact with Oriental fighting styles. And especially Hollywood was enamoured by it all.

Before Bruce Lee had his massive breakthrough with 'Enter the Dragon', he had already starred in a slew of Hong Kong action films, but this one is his directorial debut.

Lee plays Tang Lung, a man who is sent from Hong Kong to Rome in order to help a friend of the family with their restaurant. They are beset by hoodlums who want the restaurant for their own, probably to sell off, as property is rather expensive in a busy city. Tang Lung keeps the gangsters at bay until the boss sees only one option left: to bring in the most lethal martial artist he knows to deal with Tang Lung.

Guess who that guy is.

Chuck Norris.

Yep, this one also got Norris into films and launched his career.

'The Way of the Dragon' is not as polished a film as 'Fist of Fury', 'The Big Boss' or 'Enter the Dragon', but it is admirable that Lee wanted to find his footing in the director's seat as well. The first half of the film is fairly slow and plays more as a comedy where Lee is the odd fish out of water and completely unaware of how things work in Europe.

He also has this weird thing with toilets. I don't know, it's not elaborated on and I don't know if it was a cultural thing in the 70s or if he was just taking the mickey.

It takes quite a while for this one to get up to speed and get to the action, but when it does, it goes full blast and showcases some of Lee's specialties.

Yes, there is a nunchuck-scene. Why do you even ask?

The alley fight with the hoodlums is a lot of fun and has more nutshots in it than I care to count, but it's always fun to see Bruce Lee up against several enemies at once. The karate fight on the sand against two fighters is also pretty intense and on several occasions you get the feeling they really hit each other full blast. It all comes to that climactic battle of Lee versus Norris in the Colosseum of all places. You may have seen this alone on the Internet. It's just as good as you think it is without any dialogue, but two performers at their peak. It's a joy to watch, even if you don't like martial arts.

That being said, the plot of the film is thinner than rice paper and the jokes don't always land. Also, the pacing is a little off, as this one takes a very long time to get going and then just goes full blast. Sometimes, it also feels as though the first half of the film doesn't quite mesh with the more action filled second part. There is a twist near the ending that comes completely out of nowhere and makes absolutely no sense, so be warned.

Also, the dubbing is horrendous, both in English and Cantonese. But that seems to be a staple of 70s martial arts-films, so you might not be put off by this. I know I usually am not.

All in all, 'Way of the Dragon' is not exactly an essential Bruce Lee-film, even though it has its moments. But in all honesty, if you've seen the two major fights, you have seen the best parts. This is one I would only recommend to devout Bruce Lee-fans or martial arts-aficionados. For those not so versed in this matter, I would suggest they check out 'Enter the Dragon' first, as that is a quintessential film anyway.