Fist of Legend (1994)

Absolutely Brilliant!

A Masterpiece!

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

Blistering performances.

Dodgy dubbing aside, Jet Li's FIST OF LEGEND is movie making par excellence. Essentially a remake of the 1972 Bruce Lee film FIST OF FURY, this updated version sees a more complex struggle between the Chinese and Japanese authorities (both sides are shown to be racist and unreasonable at times instead of the Japanese-hating 1972 film) and far more in-depth characters than the straightforward parts that Bruce and his buddies played twenty years previously. Not that the plot is very important; being a martial arts film the emphasis is on the action, as always, and I'm happy to say that FIST OF LEGEND offers some of the most intense battles out there.Jet Li himself is at the unstoppable peak of his powers, delivering some incredible kicks and punches, and twisting his body into various impossible positions to help him take down his multiple opponents more easily. The more I see of Li (this being the fourth film, for those who care), the more impressed I am, and his strength, agility, flexibility, and skill make him one of the finest screen martial artists in the world. Watching him fight is compulsive stuff.Amid the various plot twists and turns, the action sequences flow smoothly along, helped greatly by the fight choreography of the famous Yuen Woo Ping who thankfully keeps his wirework to a minimum here so that the fights are kept hard and realistic. FIST OF LEGEND is a jaw-droppingly violent movie that begins with a bone-breaking bout in a classroom and culminates in a magnificent ten minute fight between Li and the chief villain, a sadistic and cruel Japanese General as played by the impassive Billy Chau.This final fight is one of the best I've seen and has some great moments, like when Li gets his shoulder dislocated and when he uses his own belt as a makeshift weapon against a sword! The rest of the action is also exciting, suspenseful, and most importantly makes for great entertainment. Production values are top-notch and the acting - behind the dubbing - to a very good standard. Another Li classic and another superior Hong Kong fight flick; it makes competition like Van Damme's TIMECOP from the same year seem like child's play.

Upon learning that his martial arts teacher has been killed a Chinese student in Kyoto named "Chen Zhen" (Jet Li) leaves his Japanese girlfriend, "Mitsuko Yamada" (Shinobu Nakayama) and heads back to Shanghai to pay his respects. However, when he gets there he finds that the official reason for his master's death wasn't quite accurate and that he was poisoned by someone within the martial arts school. He further discovers that a rival Japanese martial arts school may also have been involved as well. Now rather than reveal any more I will just say that this film is essentially a high-quality remake of the Bruce Lee film, "The Chinese Connection". Although the original film was certainly good for its day, this particular movie boasts better acting, more martial arts scenes and a higher sound and film quality as well. Yet, even with all of these assets, the familiar plot and some of the rather long fighting sequences detracted a bit from the overall enjoyment factor. At least for me. Likewise, although Jet Li performed very well, it's still hard--even to this day--to duplicate Bruce Lee. Slightly above average.

Jet Li at his prime. Jet Li's remake of THE CHINEESE CONNECTION by Bruce Lee not The Fist Of Fury by Bruce Lee is well done and slightly alterted so its not the exact same thing although Jet Li's and Bruce Lee's name is the same in the movie. Anyone who is a fan of Jet Li or old kung fu movies should love this movie and is on my top ten list of greatest kung fu movies. Very good fighting scenes that are realistic and not a lot of other fake things in them like wire fu and other things like that. Its a very pure kung fu movie and is a great homage to Bruce Lee's CHINEESE CONNECTION not Fist of Fury (although that is a great Bruce Lee movie).

"Fist of Legend" is a great movie. Really great. Jet Li plays Chen Zhen, a character played by Bruce Lee in "Chinese Connection", and he does it perfect. Bruce Lee's Chen is a character filled with anger, hate and wish for revenge. Jet Li's Chen is much different. He is cold blooded, there is no anger in him. The difference between Jet Li and Bruce Lee is the same as the difference between "Fist of Legend" and "Chinese Connection". Bruce Lee's character hates Japan and everything Japanese. Jet Li's Chen wishes his revenge but he respects Japanese culture and there isn't hate. If "Chinese Connection" is a movie of the hate and the anger, "Fist of Legend" is a movie of the peace and the respect.