Fist of Fury (1972)

How sad is this?

Excellent but underrated film

A lot of fun.

This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

Lo Wei's FIST OF FURY is yet another strong, action-fuelled odyssey of danger, treachery, rivalry, and hatred from Bruce Lee, the undisputed king of kung fu cinema who once again gets an opportunity to display the reasons that he is still, even now forty years later, considered to be the best of the best when it comes to martial arts. Drawing on many inspirations, from spaghetti westerns to war films and even romance, the movie satisfies on a number of levels and not least with the violence-fuelled plot which makes ultimate use of the intense hatred of the Japanese by the Chinese (and vice-versa). This time around, Bruce plays a deeply flawed hero who simply cannot control his anger when confronted by a Japanese school who may or may not have had his beloved master killed. In order to satisfy his deep-burning lust for revenge, Bruce goes on a one-man mission of revenge and justice, as the police close in on him and his former comrades lose hope.Lo Wei's movie is well-directed and it goes without saying that the fights are very well choreographed, especially towards the end of the movie. Although the transfer I saw was badly cropped, many of the fight sequences are still highly impressive, showing a more human but no less indestructible side of Bruce. The finale, in which he invades the Japanese camp and takes on a massive Russian fighter, is great stuff and martial arts at its finest.The rest of the film is a mixed bag, containing heavy helpings of social comment, drama and a close examination of the situation in which the helpless characters find themselves. In a way, all of the participants have no control over what they do and so watching the inevitable tragedy play out is often gripping stuff. Although the victim of another bad dubbing job, the often strong acting shines through from the likes of Nora Miao, James Tien, and of course Bruce himself. Thus, both Lee fans and fans of the action genre in general should find much to be enjoyed in this powerful, very human drama which uses the fight scenes as a result of the plot rather than the other way round (as is often the flaw with most cheap kung fu movies). Jet Li's 1994 film FIST OF LEGEND is a very different - but no less impressive - version of the same story.

Chen Zhen (Bruce Lee) returns to Shanghai and is shocked to find his master Huo Yuanjia's funeral. Huo had started the Ching Wu School. The local Japanese dojo intrudes on the funeral and challenge them to a fight. Chen is suspicious of the death and investigates. He answers the challenge alone and takes down everybody forcing them to eat their words. He goes to a park where he's forbidden to enter. A sign reads "NO DOGS AND Chinese ALLOWED". As Chen continues to fight, his Japanese foes push the police to stop him.This is a classic kung fu movie. Bruce Lee is playing the martyr, the terminator, and the underdog. It doesn't get much better than Bruce taking on dozens of enemy. The best is probably him kicking the sign at the park to smithereens. There are some dubbing issues but this is still one of Bruce's best. His charisma shines through. This a real audience pleaser especially for Chinese national pride.

It goes without saying that Bruce Lee gave one hundred percent and was super intense in all of his life endeavors(including film). However, I think in Fists Of Fury, Bruce gives his most intense performance of all of his films. When Chen Zen's master dies under mysterious circumstances and is harassed by a rival Japanese school, Chen(Bruce Lee) kicks the crap out of the Japanese school. This causes conflict between the school, Chen and the Japanese which results in a series of back and forth fighting until the film's conclusion. Bruce is at his most intense and the fighting is almost non stop. Bruce is rage incarnate in this film and his presence and performance is second to none. Fists Of Fury is a most apt title indeed and is my personal favorite of Bruce Lee's movies. Classic and essential viewing for all martial arts fans. Great!

Bruce Lee's second major martial arts picture after The Big Boss, Fist Of Fury confirms him as one of the defining kung fu stars - especially as he choreographed his own fight scenes. Here, he's Chen Zhen, who fights to avenge his master's death while defending the honour of the Chinese against a ruling Japanese government who will do anything to crush the Chinese people's morale. I have to agree this movie is very anti Japanese though then again this movie was made at least 30 years after the Japanese had committed appalling war crimes through out china during the second world war. the fight scenes are superb especially when Chen Zhen takes on the bushido school resulting in him showing his nunchuku skills. overall this movie is a classic possibly the best Bruce Lee film next to enter the dragon.