Birth of the Dragon Reviews

Bruce Lee fans expecting to see some fists of fury in Birth of the Dragon will be sorely disappointed in this B (as in boring) movie in which the martial-arts star takes a backseat in his own biopic. The film is ostensibly about Lee’s legendary 1964 no-holds-barred fight with Shaolin monk Wong Jack Man (Xia Yu), which, according to an opening title card, “changed the history of martial arts.” Pushed to the forefront instead is Steve McKee (Billy Magnussen), a Midwestern drifter who takes kung fu lessons from Lee and falls for an indentured waitress (Jingjing Qu) being held captive by a merciless organized-crime queen called Auntie Blossom (Jin Xing). The fateful battle between the two titans does take place late in the story, but it’s rendered with more style than substance by director George Nolfi, and will leave viewers wondering what all the fuss was about.   Lee (Philip Ng), cocky, charismatic, and a bit of a bully, teaches kung fu and is trying to establish himself as an actor in ultra-low-budget action flicks. When he learns Wong Jack Man is in San Francisco, he fears the Shaolin master has arrived to destroy all he has worked so hard to build. Why? Because Lee teaches kung fu to whites and wants to make it “bigger than Coca-Cola,” while his technique focuses on “kicking ass.” By contrast, Wong believes that kung fu belongs exclusively to the Chinese people, and that it should be taught with an emphasis on its spiritual aspects. But, lo and behold, Wong isn’t in the U.S. to take down Lee at all. Rather, he arrives from China to do penance by washing dishes in a local restaurant for a sin he later confesses. And for the first hour of the film’s mercifully short running time, the story is as dull as that setup sounds. Thankfully, McKee brings the two together (very, very late in the game) in an attempt to help rescue his lady love. The duo’s climatic battle with Auntie Blossom’s thugs sizzles with energy that the rest of the movie lacks, and allows its two stars to finally kick some serious butt -- which is, after all, what we go to Bruce Lee films to see.   Ng is terrific as Lee, even though his character, through no fault of his own, remains one-dimensional and is shoved to the sidelines for lengthy stretches. He’s got the late star’s looks, physique, skill, and swagger. Hollywood, which is currently in love with remakes, should snap Ng up and put him in a reboot of Fist of Fury or Enter the Dragon, where he could channel his inner Lee and kick ass for 90 minutes or so. Those would be movies worth seeing, instead of this fake biopic that contains flashes of Lee’s greatness, but sadly little of his fascinating fury.