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Challenge of the Tiger Reviews

1980
1 hr 30 mins
Action & Adventure
NR

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Challenge of the Tiger is one of the more notorious members of the "Bruce-sploitation" subgenre of martial arts movies, a loose label referring to exploitative quickies that cashed in on the untimely death of Bruce Lee. Such films often featured a lookalike martial artist billed with a name and likeness close to that of Bruce Lee and Challenge of the Tiger doesn't disappoint in this respect -- it stars one Bruce Le, who also directs this bizarre outing. Le plays C.I.A. agent Wong Leung, who teams up with fellow agent Richard Cannon (played by European exploitation star Richard Harrison) to keep the forces of evil from getting their hands on a serum that makes its users sterile. The film uses this premise as springboard for plenty of sex and violence, including such memorable highlights as Harrison playing tennis with a bevy of topless women (in slow motion, no less) and Le using his martial arts skills to fight a bull. Between the premise and such scenes, Challenge of the Tiger has earned a legendary reputation amongst fans of exploitation fare. Genre devotees should note that the film was also released on video as Gymkata Killer and received a formal DVD reissue in 2005 by Mondo Macabro.

Reviewed By: Donald Guarisco

Few entries in the field of "Brucesploitation" are as bizarrely enjoyable as Challenge of the Tiger. Sure, the film is cinematic junk food: the international settings are pretty threadbare, the spy-movie plot is as goofy as it is underdeveloped, and the action has a hastily improvised look to it. That said, Challenge of the Tiger makes up what it lacks in resources and aesthetic appeal through sheer eccentricity. Director/star Bruce Le keeps the pace lean and throws something exploitable at the screen every few minutes; whether it is topless girls playing tennis or Le himself using his kung fu skills on an attacking bull, the proceedings are rarely dull. Viewers should also keep their eyes peeled for unexpected cameos from Jack Klugman, Jane Seymour, and Morgan Fairchild during a crowd scene! In short, Challenge of the Tiger is the kind of exploitative quickie that is best left to the bad-movie buffs -- but they will surely revel in the film's tacky excesses.