Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story (1993)

Good story, Not enough for a whole film

Excellent but underrated film

Crappy film

The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

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.

This is a interesting movie the details the life and death of martial arts star Bruce Lee. Dramatic and action-packed, it is good piece of action cinema that many action fans might find fun to watch.I thought Jason Scott Lee did a fine job portraying Bruce Lee, his moves and characteristics matching the late martial arts star's persona. Lauren Holly did an OK job portraying Linda Lee and I think she had good on-screen chemistry with Lee. Their relationship provided a strong subplot and kept the movie interesting.This movie really gives you the impression that Lee, in addition to his love for Kung-Fu and his hyperactive attitude, had a mysterious side to him, as depicted in the sequences where he is bothered by personal and inner demons. I thought this plot element was a little confusing in the movie in some parts, and one might have to watch certain segments over and over in order to understand it. However, I think it provides intrigue into the film overall.To cap it off, the cinematography was beautiful and the music score was uplifting. The pace of the plot is steady, and does drag in some parts. The story may not accurately detail Lee's life 100%, but it's still a pretty good action movie.Grade B-

Bruce Lee was an amazing man and Jason Scott Lee was pretty convincing as Bruce even though he doesn't really resemble Bruce. He's a little bigger than Bruce and maybe even a little darker (Bruce was part German). His personality is very similar to Bruce even his voice. Besides his similar mannerisms to Bruce, the movie dramatizes the struggles Bruce Lee had to deal with such as racism. I don't know how much of the drama from the film actually happened in real life, but it seems so real that you really feel sorry for him. I know most of the film was made up and even the synopses about the film says loosely based on Bruce.Some of the reviews I've been reading seems kind of overly critical and harsh. I have to agree that the fight scenes for example were too long considering Bruce Lee's philosophy about fighting was to simplify and use the most effective way to come out of a fight. Bruce Lee after all was a street fighter. He started training when he was 13 and not as a young kid because he kept getting beat up in street fights as a teenager. Also, Bruce Lee was an actor since he was an infant. His dad used him in one of his plays. There were many black and white films of Bruce as a kid. So Bruce Lee was a child star and the film focuses more on his martial art abilities for some reason (I guess for Hollywood glamor). Besides ignoring Bruce as an actor as a young kid, I remember reading about his frustration when he was an instructor teaching his martial art style Jeet Kune Do. His students thought there was an ultimate technique but he tried to explain to his students there is no ultimate technique and that you are the one to figure things out for yourself. His students didn't understand it and at one point he closed his schools.Even though this film is a made up story about Bruce, this isn't the only biopic that's not accurate. Many biopic films focus more on the dramatization than actual events for artistic reasons. Filmmakers are artists as well remember. The soundtrack to this film is excellent. I enjoyed this film simply for the fact Bruce Lee was one of a kind man besides just a martial artist. He is such an influential icon that I can't imagine the movies we watch these days (especially with actions films) would've become without him.

Lost track of how many times I have seen this movie. A multitude of times growing up and is still one of my favorites.Jason Scott Lee does an amazing job of portraying Bruce Lee. An epic tail, great story, the hardships, and love, making this a great all around film.Being an Asian male born and raised in the western world may be one of the reasons I have a certain connection to the film more than others but I can't see why others wouldn't be able to relate.None the less, this movie has given me lots of inspiration, and recommend this film for anyone else who is seeking some great vision or just wondering who Bruce Lee was; because this film does an excellent job of displaying his life.