Story: Tang (Bruce Lee) has just arrived in Rome, but he isn’t on a holiday, instead he has come to help his cousins in the family business. A restaurant run by his family is doing well and making profits, but they’ve attracted the attention of an organized crime syndicate. The mobsters want to take over the business and property for their own empire, but Tang’s family is trying to hold their ground. Since Tang is a martial arts expert, he plans to not only defend the business himself if he needs to but to also train his cousins to stand up to the criminals. But even with his immense skills in battle and his dedication to his family, can Tang and his cousins fend off an entire crew of professional crooks?
Entertainment Value: This time around, Bruce Lee serves as writer and director, in addition to being the star of course and his presence in the creative elements is obvious. This movie has a different feel than The Big Boss or Fist of Fury, with more realistic martial arts fights, a shift in location to Europe, and an enhanced sense of humor. The dialed up humor is a positive, as Lee has a good feel for comedy on both sides of the camera, so even when the fight scenes get a tinge of humor, it works so well. The fight scenes aren’t as over the top as some in his previous films, but rest assured, they’re action packed and still get wild. Bruce brings out the nunchakus and does serious damage, while he also has a showdown with Chuck Norris. This epic sequence has the two battle it out in an extended fashion with some brutal strikes and both men really bring out the big guns to make sure it is a memorable scene. Also of note is the little kitten who shares the screen with these action icons during their clash, as the tiny feline certainly steals the show when on screen. The story is competent, the martial arts are fantastic, and Bruce Lee is, well, Bruce Lee, so The Way of the Dragon earns a high recommendation.
As I said above, you can tell there is a shift in this movie with Bruce Lee working as the writer and director, as well as the lead. He embraces the sense of humor we had seen flashes of, making it more prominent and letting himself explore more on that front. I love that he isn’t afraid to laugh at himself either, often making himself the butt of a joke, always with a big smile. A few of the action scenes even show some humor and while it might sound out of place, it works. As an actor, Bruce is great fun to watch in The Way of the Dragon and shows more of his charm than before, likely because he was able to show personality with his increase creative control. He thrives in the martial arts scenes and is peak form here, while his showdown with Chuck Norris is one for the martial arts cinema hall of fame. The cast also includes Tony Liu, Nora Miao, Robert Baker, and Robert Wall.
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