A film which successfully manages to tell the life story of superstar Bruce Lee in an interesting, exciting way; not a bad effort considering the dozens of low-budget similarities which followed in the '70s after the death of the Chinese legend. DRAGON: THE BRUCE LEE STORY differs somewhat by including a number of purely fictional moments but these also make the story a bit more surprising to established fans of the actor who already know his life story anyway. In the end, the film admirably works as both a biopic and an action-thriller, which is no mean feat at all. The action scenes (of which there are plenty, martial arts fans will be pleased to hear) are invariably well-shot and offer maximum hard-hitting violence and cool choreography, with every punch in devastating detail and every kick captured in loving slow motion.
Jason Scott Lee), who plays Bruce, may well offer the most noticeable performance in his career; as the kung fu legend he succeeds admirably. The difference from other Bruce Lee impersonators like Bruce Li and Bruce Le is that Jason Scott Lee displays a keen understanding of the factors that made up the man and puts them to use in his performance here, and at times the realism is uncanny. Lauren Holly is also more than adequate as Linda, Bruce's wife, and although a lot of screen time is spent on the pair's developing relationship it never becomes boring. It's also nice to see a substantial and memorable role for Sven-Ole Thorsen as nightmare creature The Demon, after years of playing only supporting roles.
The overall effort of the film is to convey the good qualities of Bruce, from his physical prowess to his strong personality and his characteristics of bravery and inner strength. The negative aspects - including his dodgy death - are skipped over, but really this is no great loss. Scenes in which Lee combats racism are excellently done, and the combination of film clips, interspersed with Jason Scott Lee playing Bruce Lee in the process of making his movies, comes off well. Not the best martial arts flick out there, but definitely a commendable and enjoyable one, and perhaps definitive when it comes to Bruce.
Jason Scott Lee), who plays Bruce, may well offer the most noticeable performance in his career; as the kung fu legend he succeeds admirably. The difference from other Bruce Lee impersonators like Bruce Li and Bruce Le is that Jason Scott Lee displays a keen understanding of the factors that made up the man and puts them to use in his performance here, and at times the realism is uncanny. Lauren Holly is also more than adequate as Linda, Bruce's wife, and although a lot of screen time is spent on the pair's developing relationship it never becomes boring. It's also nice to see a substantial and memorable role for Sven-Ole Thorsen as nightmare creature The Demon, after years of playing only supporting roles.
The overall effort of the film is to convey the good qualities of Bruce, from his physical prowess to his strong personality and his characteristics of bravery and inner strength. The negative aspects - including his dodgy death - are skipped over, but really this is no great loss. Scenes in which Lee combats racism are excellently done, and the combination of film clips, interspersed with Jason Scott Lee playing Bruce Lee in the process of making his movies, comes off well. Not the best martial arts flick out there, but definitely a commendable and enjoyable one, and perhaps definitive when it comes to Bruce.