A short fact-filled review of The Big Boss (1971)

I have to say before watching the first Bruce Lee-led film, I didn’t expect too much of it. It is often said to be the worst of the five, which really did nothing to help my expectations. Now, with the ability to look back on the film having actually watched it, I can say that I was pleasantly surprised with what I found.

That’s probably the best way to explain my opinion. I wasn’t blown away by it. It had the classic charm you would expect from a Bruce Lee vehicle but it is held back throughout by a clearly lacking budget.

It makes sense that the studio wouldn’t want to put too much money into it considering at this point, Lee had only achieved success in the American TV show, ‘The Green Hornet’, hilariously retitled, ‘The Kato Show’, in China after Lee’s character Kato. This low budget manifests itself in multiple aspects of the film. There are a couple of moments in which the special effects are especially ropey as well as some of the extras in fight scenes doing some absolutely unconvincing reactions to being hit. On top of this, the only location that doesn’t look utterly awful is the ice factory where the majority of the action takes place. Interestingly, this also seems to be the film propelled Raymond Chow to success, judging by his filmography. For those of you who don’t know, Raymond Chow is the producer responsible for every martial arts film worth watching between 1970 and 2000. He is someone every fan of Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan and Sammo Hung should thank.

On the positive side of things, there is a huge amount to like about this film. For instance it is a relatively short, cleanly written film. Plot points make sense and it trots along at a fair old pace. This is far more important than any of the budgetary issues and more than counteracts them. Unfortunately I don’t have any interesting historical facts about the writing of The Big Boss other than the fact that Bruce Lee would have preferred some more of the philosophy of Kung Fu to come through. I still liked it though.

Other than that, the fighting was more than on par for a Bruce Lee film and it was a bloody fun time. Check it out!!!!

Fist of Fury (1972) Movie Review

Director: Wei Lo
Writer: Wei Lo
Starring: Bruce Lee, Nora Miao, James Tien

Chen Zhen is furious. He also has fists. That’s why they call him ‘the Furious Fist’. No, they call him the Fist of Fury. That was an awful joke but I really had no idea how to start the review so I thought I’d just write something silly. I hoped it would be funny but it really wasn’t. I suppose I’m well and truly into the review now. It wasn’t good but here we are. Let’s go!

The teacher of Chen Zhen’s martial arts club spontaneously dies in a manner a little too suspicious to have not been caused by the Japanese. The Japs lovingly create a sign calling the Chinese ‘Sick Men of Asia’. Chen Zhen is none too pleased and proceeds to punch and kick every person he sees. This begins an awful feud between the two martial arts clubs.

Fist of Fury is GREAT! In Enter the Dragon, there are so many protagonists that Lee never truly displays his prowess as an action hero. The story is one of revenge (as with the majority of Asian martial arts films). This setup is a perfect platform on which to stage some incredible fight scenes. Having Bruce Lee as the protagonist of your film is a sure-fire way to get the audience behind him. There is not a point during the film when I wasn’t routing for him… even when he literally murders people and hangs them from a lamppost – it’s brutal but justified. Unlike his other films, Lee is given room to shine outside of fight scenes. There is a particularly fantastic scene in which Lee goes undercover as an electrician, fooling every member of the Japanese dojo. It’s an absolute joy to see Lee actually act for once rather than just being cast as the awesome guy who can kick things. He still does kick things very well. Make no mistake.

Look at him! He's fantastic. I'd love to be kicked in the face by him!

Unfortunately, there are some scenes and sub-plots that I didn’t particularly like in the film. Namely, Lee is given a romantic interest. Sure it humanises him but he is plenty human already and it forces extra scenes into the film, which drastically slow the pace. The scene showing Zhen’s more tender side was the only one that didn’t have me with a massive smile on my face. To me it just felt entirely unnecessary. I was never thinking ‘I hope Zhen doesn’t die now or he won’t be able to run away with his girlfriend.’ I really just wanted him to get revenge on some dirty racists.

Perhaps the most important about the film is that it is supremely satisfying. At the beginning, the Japanese martial artists are shown as detestable slime balls. You are never not on the side of Zhen.  This makes the ending all the more beautiful. The final fight with both the Russian and the leader of the Japanese is a double whammy of both fantastic martial artistry and a pre-established hatred of the enemy.

I have not watched a more entertaining martial arts film in a long time. Bruce Lee excellently portrayed what is likely his most complex character of all time, (that’s not particularly hard) not only providing wonderful action but also some comic relief. While there are some moments I would omit, I still enjoyed Fist of Fury an enormous deal.

Fist of Fury receives an: 8/10

This film is sometimes referred to as 'The Chinese Connection'. Don't be confused. It's actually 'Fist of Fury'.