(7/13/2005) Back when my dad took me to see "Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story" when I was 10 years old, before I really started to get into martial arts films (and Asian film in general), I just liked the movie based on the story it told, the fighting, the music, and so on and so forth. "Dragon" is a very well-made movie. Jason Scott Lee came as close as I think anybody could to portraying Bruce Lee...the man, if maybe not the fighter. Lauren Holly is the perfect foil to Jason Scott Lee, really anchoring the movie as Linda (Emery) Lee (Caldwell).

The best thing about "Dragon", though (and probably the least observed thing) is that it ultimately inspires viewers to seek out the true (meaning "accurate") story of Bruce Lee's life. It certainly inspired me to do so, and in doing so spawned a love of Asian culture that continues to this day.

A lot of noise has been made about all the artistic license taken by director Rob Cohen and the writers in bringing Bruce Lee's life to the screen (e.g., making his hometown San Francisco instead of Seattle; making him appear to be the lone child of a single father when, in fact, he had two loving parents and a few siblings; etc., etc.). Well, in my opinion, it's hypocritical to call foul on American filmmakers and say they don't care, when certain Chinese filmmakers (and I use that term lightly) have used and abused Bruce Lee's name more than anybody. Movies like "Bruce Lee: His Last Days, His Last Nights", for example, which purports to show his relationship with his alleged mistress, Betty Ting-Pei. It was made in 1976, only 3 short years after Bruce Lee's untimely death... I'm sure the Lee family really appreciated that.

For the casual movie fan who doesn't give a hoot about the true details of Bruce Lee's life, "Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story" is a good enough film in its own right to merit a viewing. It has romance, action, philosophy, drama, and even some humorous bits.
For younger viewers or people who are interested in learning about Bruce Lee, however, "Dragon" is a nice introduction, as long as they don't make the mistake of stopping at the movie.

Interested in buying this? Support Writing.Com by making your purchase of Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story   from Amazon.Com!

Created May 05, 2009 at 9:26pm • Submit your own review...