As the saying goes, “When the legend becomes truth, print the legend.” That seems to be the philosophy of this highly dramatized biography on the life of martial arts icon Bruce Lee. The title says it all. This is The Legend of Bruce Lee, not the true story of Bruce Lee.
There are factual details here, to be sure. Almost everything depicted in the film is loosely based on true events of Lee’s life but with heavy alterations. The timeline of events has been altered for the sake of the plot. Facts are twisted for dramatic effect. The fight scenes are stylized in true cinematic fashion. An evil rival known as “Yellow Skin” is introduced as a lifelong nemesis who features heavily in all the key moments of Lee’s life. Despite this being the story of a real person, none of it feels authentic.
There are many similarities between this Mandarin language production and the Hollywood biopic Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story, which also played fast and loose with the facts. For instance, both films attribute the back injury which left Lee temporarily wheelchair-bound to an ambush from behind by a defeated opponent. According to both films, Lee’s back was broken in the attack. In reality, however, Lee never broke his back. He injured himself in a training accident and had back surgery, leading to several months convalescence.
The Legend of Bruce Lee, not to be confused with the 1976 film of the same name, is an edited version of a CCTV (Chinese Central Television) series about the life of the great martial arts star. The TV series ran 50 episodes, covering Lee’s life from his teen years until his untimely death at age 32. The DVD is edited down to a highly condensed two-and-a-half hours. Considering that this film is barely a cliff-notes version of the CCTV program, it manages to hold together coherently.
“Danny” Kwok Kwon Chan stars as Lee and his physical resemblance to the real Lee is striking. He also manages to successfully capture Lee’s on-screen mannerisms, including his famous bird “caw”. Chan was clearly well rehearsed in Lee’s Jeet Kun Do style of fighting, although he uses it in the early part of the film which covers the years before Lee adopted this style. He does as good a Lee impersonation as I’ve ever seen but he lacks the onscreen charisma and energy that made Lee so fascinating to watch. Chan’s acting ranges from mediocre to wooden.
There are numerous anachronisms in The Legend of Bruce Lee. Although the film takes place between the mid-1950s and early 1970s, modern vehicles and buildings appear throughout the story. At one point, an extra can be seen wearing a Justin Timberlake t-shirt.
Since the CCTV series was approved by the Lee family and since Bruce Lee’s daughter Sharon was the executive producer, The Legend of Bruce Lee is reverential to Bruce and his wife Linda (Michelle Lang). Lee is portrayed as someone who’s only goal in life in the perfection of his art. He’s shown here as a philosopher and seeker of truth, willing to take a beating if he can learn something from the man who defeated him. The real-life Bruce Lee was a very ambitious man who was always looking for his next stepping stone to greater respect and success. Legend tells us that Lee was recruited into show business by eager producers as an adult, never having considered acting before. He accepts the proposal only to promote his art. In the real world, Lee had been a child actor who yearned his whole life for Hollywood stardom and jumped at the chance to play Kato in The Green Hornet, which jump-started his acting career.
This stapled together version of the Chinese TV series is reminiscent of the many low budget “Bruceploitation” films that came out after his death in the 1970s, honoring the martial arts legend as a hero. The annoying aspect of this is that Bruce Lee’s life was an amazing and inspiring story without all the unnecessary alterations and exaggerations. He created the school of Jeet Kun Do, revolutionized the martial arts genre and overcame racial bias to become the first Chinese actor to reach the status of action icon in Hollywood. Isn’t that a good enough story as it is?
DVD Bonus Features
There aren’t many extras on this DVD. There’s a trailer gallery, and the widescreen version with an optional English dub or Spanish subtitles.
"The Legend of Bruce Lee" is on sale September 21, 2010 and is rated PG13. Biopic. Directed by Li Wen Qi. Written by Quian Lin Sen, Zhang Jian Guang & Liu Yan Wu. Starring Danny Chan, Michelle Lang.
