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Rating: 4.5 out of 5
When Bruce Lee left this world, he made sure to go out with a BANG! With his last movie, Enter the Dragon became one of the best martial arts films of all time. This movie, by far, is one of Bruce Lee’s best work. The popular video game, Mortal Kombat, was influenced by Enter the Dragon. If it weren’t for this film, there almost would be no Scorpion saying, “Get over Here!” or when you defeat an opponent, “Finish Him!” Enter the Dragon is a film that brings the thrill of martial arts, the coolness of Blaxploitation while showing the athletic greatness and mastery of its star, Bruce Lee.
Enter the Dragon introduces Lee (Bruce Lee) as a respected member of a Shaolin Temple. He is a master of the physical and spiritual disciplines of the martial arts. He teaches his students to think beyond anything they can see and feel. As he states to one student in some iconic words of wisdom, “Don’t think! FEEL. It is like a finger pointing a way to the moon…Don’t concentrate on the finger, or you will miss all that heavenly glory.”
Lee is visited by Braithwaite (Weeks), a British law officer who wants Lee to obtain a person of high interest named Han (Kien). Han is a reclusive billionaire who was once a member of the same temple Lee was a part of but now has become a defector. Lee is persuaded to fight in a tri-annual martial arts tournament held on the private island of Han. Through Braithwaite’s investigation, Han uses his competition as a cover for his narcotic empire. When Lee learns that it was Han’s men and personal guard O’Hare who was responsible for his sister’s death, Lee agrees to fight and sets out for revenge. Lee begins his quest for vengeance by being introduced to two American martial arts experts named John Roper (Saxon) and Kelly Williams (Kelly). Each of the Americans has their own reasons for fighting. Soon they will realize that they are at the mercy of Han and must fight to bring down the mighty kingpin.
The strongest point of this film is Bruce Lee. Just watching Bruce Lee is a God amongst little men with his presence, skills, and uncanny sounds. Lee carries this movie with such charm as he shows little smiles here and there, but yet you KNOW without a shadow of a doubt, Lee is a BADASS! One who skills is so far above anyone else that you just know people about to get their a** handed to them. Pretty much this film only shows how great of a martial arts specimen Lee was. It seems like Lee is actually playing himself in real life. Everything that Lee does seems fluid and natural. One scene is when he pulls a freakin’ cobra out of a bag. You see this thing and think he is going to get bitten, yet, he smacks this deadly animal on the head like it was some child he was trying to teach a lesson to. He also gives out philosophical words of wisdom like he is known for. Case in point, when he is teaching his student at the beginning of the film and his student bows to him. Lee quickly slaps him on the head and states, “Never take your eyes off your opponent, even when you bow.”
Yet the real reason this film works and is so entertaining is the fight scenes. We watch Bruce Lee movies, not for the acting but to see what this legendary man can do. In Enter the Dragon, he delivers some of his best work. As Lee so eloquently stated when talking to his teacher, “A good fight should be like a small play but played seriously. A good martial artist does not become tense but ready. Not thinking, yet not dreaming. Ready for whatever may come. When the opponent expands, I contract. When he contracts, I expand. And when there is an opportunity, I do not hit. It hits all by itself.” One of the best scenes in the film is when he finally fights O’Hare. You just know Lee was waiting to open a major can of whoop a** on O’Hare. Lee was so lightning quick, you almost felt sorry for O’Hare. When Lee super kicks O’Hare, dude flew back knocking over a few others, you knew O’Hare was done. The excellent action scene was when he pretty much fought EVERYONE in the underground facility. When Lee got his hands on some nunchaku, it was pretty much game over. Now, my question is, when dude beats up like everyone, why you still trying to fight? Jackie Chan is even in this movie. Jackie Chan y’all! Lee makes him look like NOTHING. This was before Chan was an international star.
Lee’s two co-stars John Saxon and Jim Kelly, do their part. Even though none of them command the scene like Lee does, they add a dimension of the film that makes them quite unique. Saxon as the woman-loving, but gambler Roper is pretty funny. He doesn’t seem to take things seriously even when he first fights. He knows he can win but loves to gamble and gets beat up for a while before winning to increase the odds against a better. Then we have Jim Kelly! If you have seen the Boondocks, the character Bushido Brown is based on him. Kelly is too cool for school in this film. The brutha is so cool with his mannerisms and acting. When he gets stopped by racists cops, he whips their ass and then steals their car. Boss move! Kelly’s afro is one of legend. Not a strand out of place.
The plot is pretty standard nowadays, but it is a great way to show off the skills and talents of the main character. What better way than to have a former student become an international drug lord and hold a tournament. A plot where many videogames get their plot from. The evil dude who seems like a James Bond villain with a cat holds a competition because he can. Sometimes the most straightforward plot is the best plot. Straight and to the point. Let’s not beat around the bush and make it complicated. That’s why this movie’s plot works so well. We know Lee gets recruited to bring down a former disciple, and he is going to whip a lot of a** on the way.
Enter the Dragon is the last film that we see the late and great Bruce Lee. A film that shot Lee up to stardom and has had a significant influence on the world today. Enter the Dragon has influenced games like Mortal Kombat, Tekken, and Street Fighter but also some films. The film helped Jim Kelly’s career while also being influential to Roper. As time goes on and martial arts becomes more of the norm of many heroes or villains, Bruce Lee will always tower over them.
