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Fist of Fury comes next in our Bruce Lee series. After Enter The Dragon, I was excited to learn about the rest of the movies Bruce Lee was a part of. In my opinion, while Enter the Dragon taught us how to prepare for an enemy, Fist of Fury is much more focused on self-sabotage.
Fist of Fury is the start of another series that saw Chan and Jet Li take on the role of Chen Zhen, but that is a story for another time. In this movie, Bruce Lee once again plays the lead character and Fist of Fury was the second film Lee starred in. Another title used is The Chinese Connection and in this movie we can see how he began to establish his superstar fame in the West.
To be honest, Crane style doesn’t have an intricate plot. Bruce Lee’s character Chen Zhen, along with his gym, has suffered the death of his master. In the midst of confusion and conspiracy, some suspect he died from natural causes, while others aren’t so sure. What is obvious is that something is amiss with the Japanese, and Bruce Lee is determined to get to the bottom of it.
As always, Lee’s films are quite amusing. Bruce Lee, aside from his incredible martial arts skills, is also very good at making people laugh. And that should be enough for everyone to chuckle, from what I saw when a small Japanese man confronted the martial arts master, to Bruce Lee as a telephone technician and an old guy in disguise.
As much as I enjoyed Bruce Lee and the little man dressed up as a telephone mechanic, it will never top me learning that in 2021, Fist of Fury turned into the first Noongar dub. A fun fact for sure.
Let’s be honest, the fight scenes in Fist of Fury are wondrous. That’s his main focus. The fight scenes are plentiful and engaging, and include a variety of action, so even if they feel lengthy, they do keep you engrossed in the film. It’s important to note that the film was first released in Hong Kong in 1972. The audio and film editing film’s technology have since improved, which is something the movie is overdubbed in Mandarin Chinese, so the original is available in English. It is safe to say that even such flaws cannot diminish the greatness of the tape, however.
The plot of Fist of Fury is enthralling, much like the movie itself, it’s why Bruce Lee was probably an awe for many. For example, Lee Loo Chen picking up an entire carriage which gets all the audience to gasp in surprise, yes he indeed uses wires, but other movie cliches call for suspension of disbelief.
To some circles of undetermined distance around the Bushido dojo which I respectfully presume exists there is a, how to put it, well, a bit oversized gentleman age wise who is standing at the height of the ceiling. The man doesn’t meet my standards of “a sensei”. Well, in truth, he indeed has much more body training prowess than the man Lee, so he can really get away with offing him just a little, but c’mon.
But I wonder what served as the basis of the Lee Geisha Dancer scene? It seems totally disconnected. First, Lee battles Lee, the new Russian cast gets introduced into the picture and oh, she’s already half naked dancing. As for disapproval of the Geisha dance, yes no issues, it’s just incredibly unsuitable for the film’s context.
Even in the present, the teachings of Lee still hit the mind. Elements of revenge seeped in with the personal vices and cruelties gives rise to a powerful, dark road. For Bruce, these were not mere concepts but were etched into his marrow, not denying the dark depths of craving and revenge.
The film depicts Chen Zhen’s grief to be more intense than that of his fellow compatriots. He channels his anger and grief into hunting down the Japanese, embarking on a spur of killing which is certainly not beneficial for any martial artist. Lee does well to depict the anger that builds throughout the viewing. He goes from sitting there looking furious, to unleashing a storm of fists on anyone who dares to get in his way, to straight up stabbing someone.
The perdonalistic view of this movie tends to favor China. The enemy Japanese are grossly illustrated as barbaric sadists who make a mockery of Chen Zhen and even go as far as calling him a dog. Even Wu, the Japanese interpreter goes to the extent of saying, “The Chinese are a race of weaklings, no comparison to us Japanese.” This film touches on struggles inflicted on the Chinese Chen Zhen and the proper and improper ways to address it.
Ultimately, Bruce Lee and his master’s reasoning doesn’t justify the actions of the Japanese, and everything can be simplified into matters of morality. Zhen, in a self-defeating manner, reports to the police at his gym and admits to multiple murders, which places him squarely in the definition of a serial killer. While we might presume the ending means he suffers some form of demise, in ‘The New Fist of Fury,’ his legacy somehow prevails.
Expectedly, Fist of Fury is proof that a well-rounded story can provide a lesser known martial arts film released on the 1972 with decent box office returns. Looking back on it now, it is apparent how anti-Japanese sentiment is heavily incorporated into the storyline, which is arguably problematic, but the incredible choreography, some of which was done by Bruce himself is still unrivaled.
For me, the only criticism which I hold concerning this movie is its distinct pro-China and anti-Japan attitude, which is evident in the narrative. Lee also did not agree to this, which is why he chose to part ways with the director Lo Wei after this. According to Jackie Chan, who did stunt work for the film, even got into an argument and Lo Wei had to hide behind his wife when Lee came at him, and she had to smoothen things over with Bruce Lee.
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