Fist of Fury, Wei Lo, Film Review: Cinephilia

Synopsis: In 1930’s Shanghai two martial arts schools are at war. A peaceful Chinese martial arts school is under threat from the Japanese. Chen (Bruce Lee) is distraught when his teacher is murdered and sets about finding who committed the crime. He soon discovers that the Japanese want him and his fellow scholars out of Shanghai and will stop at nothing to have him killed. He sets out on a vengeful one-man crusade that leaves many dead and it becomes clear that ultimately peace will never be achieved while Chen is alive.

Bruce Lee is one of the biggest cult stars the world has ever seen. He was a poster icon of the 70s, a massive box office draw and the world’s greatest martial artist. He had good looks, charm and wasn’t a bad actor but the screen came alive when he picked a fight. He could fight hundreds of adversaries at once, was the master of the nunchukas and had a way with the ladies; the bottom line, every teenage boy of the decade wanted to be as cool as Bruce Lee.

Fist of Fury was known in the USA as The Chinese Connection, not only to cash in on the success of The French Connection starring Gene Hackman, but because, bizarrely enough, the US release of Lee’s first starring film The Big Boss had been re-named Fists of Fury. Over the years all his films have only been released in poorly dubbed and often cut videos so it’s wonderful that we can now see the films in crystal clear, uncut prints with their original soundtrack intact.

Watching Fist of Fury one can see why he became such a huge star. His skills as a martial artist are breathtaking, the speed in which he flies across the screen, punching, kicking and screaming as he destroys his enemies make the action stars of today look very shabby indeed. Even the modern day stars of Hong Kong action films rely on wires and CGI to achieve what Lee could do with only his mind and body. He had developed his body into a perfect fighting machine, so finely tuned that it couldn’t cope and resulted in his untimely death.

His later films like Way of the Dragon and Enter the Dragon had more style and panache but Fist of Fury has heart and Lee excels in the emotional scenes as he deals with his mentor's demise. The film deals with the racism between the Chinese and the Japanese and tries to authentically depict the turmoil of Shanghai during that era. It’s these moments that elevate Fist of Fury beyond your usual martial arts film.