The Way of the Dragon (1972)

[猛龍過江]

Director: Bruce Lee
Starring: Bruce Lee, Nora Miao, Paul Wei

Synopsis:
A Hong Kong martial artist travels to Rome to help the niece of a friend deal with the mob.

Impressions:
There's likely one reason you'd want to watch this film and that's the Bruce Lee vs. Chuck Norris fight. Let me tell you, it's reason enough. Honestly, it's the strength of that fight scene alone that bumps up my rating for the film. The movie starts slow with Lee doing more of a comedic take than what he's know for. It's interesting but not all that funny. Maybe with more opportunity, Lee could've polished his comedic chops and developed more of a Jackie Chan side to him. It's a third of the way into the movie before we get our first fight scene and things don't really pick up until the third act. I wasn't really drawn to the characters all that much, but as Nora Miao's Chen warmed up to Tang Lung, I warmed up to her. It's cool seeing Chuck Norris do a villainous turn and there's good buildup to the climactic clash. Yes, you could cheat and just watch the final battle, but I think sitting through the 80 minutes to get to that point makes the payoff more resonant. It's overall a fairly uneven movie, but on the strength of the climax, it's worth a watch.

Rating:
Watch It