Golden Harvest contracted Robert Clouse, the director of Enter the Dragon, to write and direct a new film incorporating the scenes Bruce shot in 1972. The plot Bruce developed was discarded since it was no longer feasible to try and complete the original film he had in mind. (He never wrote a screenplay for it in any case.) Chi Hon Tsoi had died in the meantime and James Tien had become a character actor. As it is the final product is padded with many a scene and shot from Way of the Dragon and Fist of Fury . Three doubles are employed for Bruce's character: Tae Kwon Do exponent Kim Tai Chung/Tang Lung, Yuen Biao (for some of the more acrobatic moves), and an unknown man used for non-action close-ups. Samo Hung was responsible for fight choreography and shooting most of the action.

Game of Death is B-movie Hollywood's version of a Hong Kong martial arts film. Actors Dean Jagger (the evil Doctor Land), Gig Young (newspaperman Jim Marshall), Mel Novak (henchman Stick) Hugh O'Brien (Steiner, Land's second in command), Colleen Camp (Billy's girlfriend Anne) and Bob Wall (crooked martial arts champ Carl Miller) were imported along with Clouse. Dan Inosanto and Kareem Abdul Jabbar (Hakim) also appear in scenes in addition to their final fight sequences against the real Bruce. As for Eastern talent, Sammo Hung appears as Wall's championship challenger, and Kim Tai Chung as Billy Lo, the main character.

The film starts with the famous Colisseum scene between Bruce and Chuck Norris (who declined to appear in Golden Harvest's GOD), being filmed by a crew in a film studio. The fight is now a scene from actor Billy Lo's new film. In his dressing room Billy is accosted by Steiner, sent by the Syndicate's Doctor Land to remind him that he has to throw his lot in with them, or ...: "A man has got to have all of his parts to make it. Don't you agree, Billy." These early scenes alternate between the new scenes and jarring reaction shots of Bruce Lee lifted from Way of the Dragon - mostly silent, though new dialogue is dubbed in a few times. (One of the scenes in the dressing room features Steiner threatening what looks like a cardboard cut-out of Bruce's head stuck onto a dummy! Another features a bare-chested Bruce from Way with a towel inserted over his shoulders.) Thankfully these "stolen scenes" disappear for most of the film until the locker room fight with Carl Miller - Billy appears mostly wearing Jackie O sunglasses which obscure his face. He even initially fights wearing them - at night.

The plot is paper thin. Billy is being courted in no uncertain terms by the Syndicate, as is his girlfriend Anne, a singer. At various stages in the film thugs are sent to try and persuade Billy to join the Syndicate, leading to some pretty cool fights. The first of these happens when Billy and Anne are cornered by some catsuited biker henchmen, as well as Dan Inosanto. It ends with Billy beaten up. Billy consults newspaperman Marshall who counsels him to quit acting, which he is not inclined to do. Neither is Anne inclined to go back to the States while Billy sorts out the mess. During the conversation with Marshall in the restaurant there is a flashback to Hakim (Kareem Abdul Jabbar) fighting Charlie Wang (James Tien). Wang is someone who ran afoul of the Syndicate, and Hakim is what happened to him. Marshall uses this as an example of why Billy should quit while he's in one piece. This match is one of the fights Bruce Lee shot.

His uncle, an actor at the Opera, warns him that "integrity can be an expensive thing" and wonders "what is the price of your itegrity? What are you willing to pay?" While at the Opera Billy is ambushed by the bikers, Inosanto and the evil Carl Miller. Since it is now clear to the Syndicate that he will not join them, they decide to rub him out:

Steiner: Rebellion is contagious, Doctor. Let's close the book.
Doctor Land: What an unfortunate waste, casting aside his life like that. What a pity.