Movie Review: Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story

Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story 

Raffaella De Laurentiis Productions, Universal Pictures, Hong Kong, USA, 1993. 

The movie is based on the hard-to-find book "Bruce Lee: The Man Only I Knew" written by Bruce Lee's widow, Linda Lee Cadwell. 

Young Bruce Lee (Sam Hau) and his father (Ric Young) live in Hong Kong. Father sees a nightmare of demon chasing Bruce. Father puts Bruce in martial arts school. Later Bruce (Jason Scott Lee, not related to Bruce) uses his skills to defend girls from lusty sailors. Father fears that Bruce will die in Hong Kong so he sends him to USA. 

Bruce Lee

The life in America is not easy, and he makes a living by washing dishes. He keeps training martial arts and fights with angry cooks and racist bullies. Restaurant owner Mrs Yang (Nancy Kwan) forces him to think what he wants to do with his life. Bruce begins to study philosophy and starts to give kung fu lessons. He then meets his future wife Linda (Lauren Holly).

Bruce fights the cooks

Linda

However other Chinese do not like that he is teaching martial arts to whites. Bruce has to duel with martial arts master Johnny Sun (Johnny Cheung) (in real history Wong Jack Man) to earn his right to teach. The lost opponent cowardly breaks Bruce's back (did not happen in real life! Bruce hurt his back years later when he was lifting weights. The injury possibly contributed to his death as he began using painkillers and cannabis.) 

Bruce's first kung fu school

Johnny Sun

Linda helps him to recover. Bruce develops his own martial arts style Jeet Kune Do. They get children and Bruce starts his film career. However the Hollywood career falls short because the audience does not want Asian actors. The studio also steals his idea for TV-series "Kung Fu." Bruce returns to Hong Kong and becomes a celebrated movie star. After filming "Enter the Dragon" he dies. 

Bruce with his kids Brandon (Iain M. Parker) and Shannon (Michelle Tennant)

Jason Lee does a fine job as Bruce, portraying well his gestures and facial expressions. Also Lauren Holly is good as supporting and strong wife. The story is partially true and partially fiction, there are many inaccuracies or inclusion of things that just did not happen in real history. In the movie Bruce is the only child of single parent. In reality Bruce had both parents and four siblings. Also many controversial areas of Bruce's life are omitted (drug use, relationship with Betty Ting). Still the movie makes a good portrait of a young man who has to fight his inner demons and external prejudices to gain his place in the sun. Bruce also pushed boundaries in Hollywood by portraying strong Chinese characters instead of the typical for the era caricature Asian movie characters. The main focus of the sentimental story is the romance of Bruce and Linda, and the difficulties the mixed race couple has to go through in the 1960s.

Rating: Good

Starring: Jason Scott Lee, Lauren Holly, Robert Wagner, Michael Learned, Nancy Kwan, Kay Tong Lim, Ric Young, Luoyong Wang, Sterling Macer Jr., Sven-Ole Thorsen, Ong Soo Han, Eric Bruskotter, Aki Aleong, Chao Li Chi, Sam Hau, Iain M. Parker, Michelle Tennant, Clyde Kusatsu, Alicia Tao, Kwong-Keung Kong, John Cheung, Anthony Carpio, Tat-Kwong Chan, John Lacy, Harry Stanback, Michael Cudlitz, Forry Smith, Sean Stanek, Van Williams, Alan Eugster, Paul Raci, Ed Parker Jr., Shannon Lee, Robert Garrett, Lala Sloatman, Fu Suk Han, Nick Brandon, Louis Turenne, Paul Mantee, Jonathan Penner, Jan Solomita, Shannon Uno, Rob Cohen, Lau Pak Lam, Pamela Holt, Mark King, Johnny Mask, Steve Spry 

Director: Rob Cohen