Fist of Fury (1972) Movie kung-fu classic
Rating: 6/10
Plot: A crazed martial artist tries to solve the mystery of who was behind the murder of his teacher even though it’s fairly obvious who’s behind it. Once he figures out whodunit, he’s more than ready to punch and kick them.
I always knew this as The Chinese Connection and The Big Boss, the first Bruce Lee feature film, as Fists of Fury. I guess they’ve decided that this is Fist of Fury now which is fine by me because it’s a more appropriate title.
Whatever it’s called, it’s really where Bruce Lee became Bruce Lee which is all that matters. Bruce Lee really needed to be Bruce Lee longer. This isn’t his best acting, and you could pick this movie apart and criticize the weak plot all you want. Yi Feng’s death involves a sword that is inexplicably bent. And that character, supposedly a tough guy, is a portly gentlemen with glasses, about as hard to take seriously as that squat guy with glasses who is like the only character who gives Sonny Chiba a hard time in The Streetfighter.
Martial arts movie casting directors must have thought chubby and myopic seemed tough in the early 70s. There are obvious dummies used in the first big fight scene at the enemy dojo, and there’s some funny day/night continuity trouble that makes it seem like Bruce Lee was pulling a rickshaw for about 24 hours.
Bruce Lee fought some goofy-looking white dudes in his career, and Robert Baker just doesn’t seem all that menacing. Maybe it’s the suspenders or maybe it’s because he kind of looks like a giant Gene Wilder. And maybe it’s the subtitles where the person trying to create a Russian accent makes him say idear. And then there are lines like “Take him to the house and let him rest there” after a character’s taken a freakin’ shovel to the head or “Goodness me; what a time we’re having” following one of the goofiest strip teases you’re likely to see in a movie. And there’s all this Japanese/Chinese racism stuff that I have no context for and made very little sense to me.
But you know what? This is a Bruce Lee movie, and you’re just not allowed to nitpick. You just have to appreciate. No, it’s not Lee’s best acting, and he really overdoes things in some early scenes and absurdly transitions from impulsive angry mo-fo to a controlled master of disguise pretending to fix a telephone, but there’s still that charisma that is impossible to ignore and makes him stand out as the star of this thing more than any other kung-fu guy can stand out. You just can’t take your eyes off him. Part of it is that he’s one of the best-looking human beings I have ever seen.
I’m not ashamed or embarrassed to say that I actually welcomed all the times he took off his shirt in this movie. The power and quickness displayed during that scene at the dojo? I don’t see how a person can’t be impressed, even when he’s throwing those aforementioned dummies around. And the bird chirps! Oh, my God, how I love those bird chirps! Then, you get some truly iconic moments where he kills a guy in the kitchen and there’s that lingering trembling titular fist with no sound but cascading cymbals.
So awesome that I had to watch it six times. Later, when he’s facing the giant Gene Wilder, there’s that slow-motion arm moving thing that will always be one of my favorite film moments in film. There’s something really cool about Bruce Lee playing a psychopath, and there’s really no other way to describe him here or explain the ending which might have been inspired by Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. It doesn’t make the ending any less cool though. And c’mon, the two scenes that give Bruce the opportunity to shine with the nunchaku? Those alone make this worth whatever amount of money you spent to see this unless you spend four thousand dollars because then you just got yourself ripped off.
Just cool moment after cool moment, especially in the first and last thirds of the movie. The middle section might have a little too much plot for me. And Baker, with those strong-man antics and his suspender flip and curly hair, really isn’t a bad tough guy. And at least the main baddie has a bitchin’ mustache. Oh, and I also love the theme music, this awful faux-Morricone. This might be a flawed classic, but there’s just too much awesome for it not to be a classic.