The Mystery. The Life. The Love. The Legend.

Linda Emery: "A philosophy major? Now, what can you do with a philosophy major?"
Bruce Lee: "You can think deep thoughts about being unemployed."

I am a fan of Jason Scott Lee, and it is a pleasure to see him as Bruce Lee, with Lauren Holly playing Linda. Never mind that Jason is much bigger than the historical Bruce! The film itself is quite gorgeously shot, with high production values which will certainly help it last. However, in the great tradition of Hollywood biopics it plays fast and loose with the facts: Bruce never broke his back - that is the most glaring liberty taken with the life of the real Bruce in the film. They also get the dates wrong ... how that serves Hollywood's romanticisation of Bruce I can't quite figure out. The broad strokes of Bruce's life are there however.

It seems that the role of Bruce was offered to Brandon Lee, but he never considered doing it. Instead he went on to The Crow, dying three days before the end of filming after being fatally wounded on its set. There is a dream sequence in Dragon in which Bruce battles a demon for his life and the life of his young son. It takes on eerie shades of meaning in the light of Brandon's death.

Bruce Lee was larger than life, there is no need to embellish his story for the big screen. Someone should have explained that to the producers and director Rob Cohen. The film is supposedly based on Bruce Lee: The Man Only I Knew by Linda Lee Cadwell, Bruce's widow. I heard that since someone other than Linda Lee owns the rights to the book they could take any liberties they wanted with it. That would explain the many inaccuracies. Naturally no mention of the fact that Brandon was conceived out of wedlock either *grin*.

Nevertheless, I enjoyed the film tremendously, and I think that it may serve to introduce Bruce to a new generation, or at least remind people of his many accomplishments and lasting influence. It made my interest in Bruce flare up again, for keeps this time! If you saw the film, do yourself a favour and read some of the books listed on this site, to get to know the real Bruce Lee. The film doesn't do him justice. (It would be wonderful if some independent filmmaker one day created a fitting tribute to one of the most famous personages of the twentieth century, warts and all.)

By the way, through the years the BBC has been notorious for ruthlessly cutting scenes containing nunchaku. It seems that they let the video of this film through without cuts, and effected small cuts to the DVD release.

Anyone interested in seeing more of the remarkable Jason Scott Lee should watch Map of the Human Heart and The Jungle Book. He also appeared in Soldier and Rapa Nui.