Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, May 8, 1993 TAG: 9305080266
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: C7 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: MIKE MAYO CORRESPONDENT
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
The recent untimely death of Brandon Lee, Bruce Lee's son, does add an emotional undercurrent that the film wouldn't have had otherwise, but it stands on its own as a moving martial-arts celebrity biography.
Most moviegoers know that Bruce Lee died in 1973 just as his career was taking off. He had worked in one TV series, "The Green Hornet"; had a cameo in one Hollywood film, "Marlowe"; and starred in a few low-budget kung-fu movies in Hong Kong. But audiences probably don't know much about the man or his beginnings.
Though the details of this version are probably not completely accurate - the script is based on a biography written by his wife, Linda Lee - they make for an inventive, interesting story.
Lee - well-played by Jason Scott Lee (no relation) - was born in San Francisco but moved to Hong Kong as a child. When he was a teen-ager in the early 1960s, his father sent him back to the United States. There he used his training in martial arts, an engaging personality and an education to found a series of kung-fu academies. At the same time, he met and married Linda (Lauren Holly). Then came failure and success in the movies.
On those bare bones, director and co-writer Rob Cohen has fashioned a story of dreams, fears, superstition, racial prejudice and ambition. Working with fight choreographer John Cheung, he put together some nifty action sequences. They're well-staged and photographed, particularly an early one involving four enraged cooks. Jason Scott Lee, not trained as a fighter, handles himself capably, and he certainly looks like the character he's portraying.
But, unlike so many martial arts movies, the film doesn't drag when people aren't kicking each other. The human side of Bruce Lee is really given more attention than the trappings of celebrity. And toward the middle of the film, when his young son, Brandon, becomes an important supporting character, the story becomes doubly ironic.
By the current standards of action films, the violence in the fight scenes is restrained, and the story of this too-short life has so many other facets that "Dragon" should appeal to a broad audience. Martial-arts fans will like it, but so will everyone else.
Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story: *** A Universal release playing at the 117 min. Rated PG-13 for violence, sexual content, strong language.
by CNB