Chinese Title: Meng nan da zei yan zhi hu
1978 Color 91 min
Starring: Bruce Li, Chang Leih, Dana Lei, Bolo Yeung, John Cheung, Ging Man Fung, Yin-Chieh Han, Yee San Hon, Pak-Kwong Ho.
Directed by: Kuen Yeung
I have been sitting here racking my brain, trying to think of a good way to start this review and I can’t seem to think of anything. It’s almost like I’m distracted by something, but I’m not sure what it could be. Maybe I left the oven on, or maybe I forgot an appointment. Oh wait, I know what it is. I can’t remember anything about this movie because Dana Lei, our female lead, had the odd habit of getting naked every 15 minutes. It was very distracting to say the least.
“Okay, everybody synchronize watches…oh, I’m all alone.”The Image of Bruce Lee is one of about 45,789 movies made to cash in on Bruce Lee’s good name after his death. These films are collectively referred to as “Bruceploitation” films and range from the very good (Enter the Fat Dragon, Starring none other than Sammo Hung) to the utterly absurd (The other 45,788 films that aren’t Enter the Fat Dragon). The Image of Bruce Lee manages to stand above most of the standard Bruceploitation fare but let’s be honest, that really isn’t saying much.
I will not make a “Farewell to Arms” joke.One thing that The Image of Bruce Lee does have going for it is the presence of kung-fu legend Bolo Yeung. Bolo has been in more films than I care to name and is well known to anyone who has even a passing interest in the kung-fu genre. I tend to give any movie that features Mr. Yeung the benefit of the doubt, so I decided to pick this film up. Plus it only set me back 2 bucks, so what did I have to lose, really?
How to pick up chicks, the Bolo Yeung way. Unfortunately, Dana Lei’s antics tend to take precedence over the rest of the movie. I’m not really sure if the movie is as incoherent as I remember it, or if I was simply distracted by Dana Lei. Instead of paying attention to the film, I found myself wondering when Ms. Lei was going to naked yet again. Instead of being an integral part of the film, the plot simply became “That stuff that happened between the nudity.” It’s a pity, because there are quite a few decent fights in this film, highlighted by Bruce Li taking on an entire kung fu school (Almost an obligatory scene in kung fu movies), Bolo Yeung’s epic death scene, and Bruce’s final fight with the main baddie.
I won’t spend a lot of time dealing with the plot because, as I said earlier, it really doesn’t matter. If you absolutely must know, it involves counterfeiters and diamonds and lots of nudity. Bolo Yeung kicks some ass, Bruce Li kicks some ass, Dana Lei misplaces her clothes on several occasions, and the bad guys (One of whom can kill people with quarters. Neat huh?) gets what’s coming to them. The End.
When it’s all said and done, there are certainly many worse kung fu films than The Image of Bruce Lee. Many, many, many worse films, actually. Granted, this film has absolutely nothing to do with Bruce Lee; other than the scene where Dana Lei mentions in passing that Dragon (Bruce Li) resembles Bruce Lee. Of course, Bruce Li also has to wear the obligatory yellow jumpsuit from The Game of Death (I guess nobody bothered to tell Quentin Tarantino that the yellow jumpsuit thing was old hat back in 1978, over 30 years before Kill Bill. Oh well…). The movie does manage move along fairly well and has some decent martial arts action, as well. Plus there is a character named “Moustache” Wang, and any movie that features a character named “Moustache” Wang, gets a few points in my book.
Bruce Li
Of all the “Bruceploitation” actors out there, I feel that Bruce Li was the best (If you don’t count Jackie Chan, who early on in his career was being groomed to be the next Bruce Lee. He even starred in a few “Bruceploitation” flicks himself). All of his movies that I have seen, I have enjoyed. My favorite being The Blind Fists of Bruce, although my fondness for that particular movie can more accurately be attributed to the presence of Simon Yuen (aka: Siu Tien Yuen. Crazy Chinese and their 20 different pseudonyms…) than to the skills of one Bruce Li. That said, Bruce Li has always been, for me at least, the most entertaining of all the Bruce Lee clones. Sure his martial arts skills don’t quite live up to the real deal, but whose do? Hell, he even bears a passing resemblance to Bruce Lee, and that’s a lot more than I can say about his Bruceploitation counterparts Dragon Lee or Bruce Le. It’s really a shame that he was pigeonholed so early in his career as a Bruce Lee clone, because Bruce Li (James Ho Chung Tao, his real name) probably could’ve been a star in the Kung-fu genre on his own merits.
“James Ho Chung Tao is Bruce Li as Bruce Lee in The Image of Bruce Lee!!!” Reviewed by Derek Miller
Posted 4/7/06
