Image of Bruce Lee

Rating:
Summary: Pretty Entertaining Bruceploitation
Review: "The Image of Bruce Lee," contrary to what most cut-rate DVD companies will try to make you think, does not star Bruce Lee. Instead, it stars his most famous imitator, Bruce Li, who is an adequate martial artist but not a very riveting actor in the way that Lee was. This movie is a bit better than average because of the sheer amount of fight scenes. There's action everywhere, including a nifty scene where Li takes on an entire gym of opponents. There's also a memorably strange opening scene in which Li, dressed in "Game of Death" tracksuit, tries to save a suicidal man, as well as leading lady Dana (what she lacks in acting ability, she makes up for in nudity).
The DVD from Front Row Entertainment is, like most Bruceploitation movies on DVD, in full frame pan-and-scan. The image, if not too scratchy, is fuzzy with faded colours. The dubbed sound is what you'd expect. As a special feature, some information about kung fu in popular culture (movies, television) is included, set to the backdrop of the concluding scene of "Blind Fist of Bruce." A biography about Bruce Li is advertised, but when clicked on, it merely switches to the kung fu info.

Rating:
Summary: AN EMBARASSMENT TO BRUCE LEE
Review: A JEWELER IS ROBBED OF A MILLION DOLLARS WORTH OF DIAMONDS AND BRUCE LI GOES AFTER THE THIEVES. JUST ANOTHER POOR EXCUSE FOR A MARTIAL ARTS FILM. THE MOVIE OPENS WITH A SENSELESS SUICIDE AND IT NEVER SEEMS TO GO MUCH OF ANYWHERE. THE SAD PART IS THAT EVEN THE FIGHT SCENES ARE BORING. BRUCE LI MAY LOOK LIKE BRUCE LEE, BUT HE'LL NEVER BE HALF THE MAN BRUCE LEE WAS. MAKES ''NEW FIST OF FURY'' LOOK LIKE ''ENTER THE DRAGON''.

Rating:
Summary: A mediocre Bruce clone film saved by the amazing Dana Lei
Review: Like the vast majority of Bruceploitation films, 1978's Image of Bruce Lee (with the exception of one throwaway line) has absolutely nothing at all to do with Bruce Lee. This film stars Bruce Li, the best known of the Bruce Lee clones of the 70s, and it's quite unlike any other Bruce Li film I have seen up to this point. Bruce and his sidekick "Moustache" (who looks for all the world like Tony Orlando to me, meaning I couldn't take him the least bit seriously) are detectives - to be more specific, they are probably the worst detectives in Hong Kong. These guys couldn't sneak up on a dead log in the middle of a hurricane, which means they end up fighting all the time. The movie opens with some guy threatening to jump off a building (the end result of which is quite comical in a sadistic sort of way); there is something about jewelry smuggling mentioned here and there, but the only real purpose the scene seems to serve is to make Bruce Li dress up in a hideous yellow jumpsuit like that worn by Bruce Lee in Game of Death. The real crime here is counterfeiting, and the men behind it are Han Ying Kit (whom martial arts fans will easily recognize as the The Big Boss from Bruce Lee's Fist of Fury aka The Big Boss) and his buff son Stephen. Bolo Yeung, another familiar face to Bruce Lee fans, plays Kimura, a Japanese criminal who brings his own agenda to his dealings with the counterfeiters. This film is by and large pretty boring, with some of the most uninspired fight scenes I've ever seen (at least until the final showdowns); I couldn't tell if the guys were fighting or dancing half the time.

Image of Bruce Lee has an ace up its sleeve, though, in the form of Dana Lei. She is the most gorgeous Asian lady I've ever seen in my life. She, much to my surprise, also does a couple of completely nude scenes in this movie, thereby making up for a lot of the inane plot points and boring stretches of non-action. This movie is all about Dana Lei as far as I'm concerned; beautiful, smart, much more than meets the eye, and she can fight too. What a woman! She even supplies the big twist that helps get Image of Bruce Lee over the hump. Of course, it is up to Bruce Li to supply the climactic action sequence at the end, and we finally get some decent fighting to enjoy. There's a silly little comedic epilogue-type ending, but Dana Lei's performance plus the memorable final kung fu conflict earns an otherwise mediocre film four stars in my book.

Rating:
Summary: A mediocre Bruce clone film saved by the amazing Dana Lei
Review: Like the vast majority of Bruceploitation films, 1978's Image of Bruce Lee (with the exception of one throwaway line) has absolutely nothing at all to do with Bruce Lee. This film stars Bruce Li, the best known of the Bruce Lee clones of the 70s, and it's quite unlike any other Bruce Li film I have seen up to this point. Bruce and his sidekick "Moustache" (who looks for all the world like Tony Orlando to me, meaning I couldn't take him the least bit seriously) are detectives - to be more specific, they are probably the worst detectives in Hong Kong. These guys couldn't sneak up on a dead log in the middle of a hurricane, which means they end up fighting all the time. The movie opens with some guy threatening to jump off a building (the end result of which is quite comical in a sadistic sort of way); there is something about jewelry smuggling mentioned here and there, but the only real purpose the scene seems to serve is to make Bruce Li dress up in a hideous yellow jumpsuit like that worn by Bruce Lee in Game of Death. The real crime here is counterfeiting, and the men behind it are Han Ying Kit (whom martial arts fans will easily recognize as the The Big Boss from Bruce Lee's Fist of Fury aka The Big Boss) and his buff son Stephen. Bolo Yeung, another familiar face to Bruce Lee fans, plays Kimura, a Japanese criminal who brings his own agenda to his dealings with the counterfeiters. This film is by and large pretty boring, with some of the most uninspired fight scenes I've ever seen (at least until the final showdowns); I couldn't tell if the guys were fighting or dancing half the time.

Image of Bruce Lee has an ace up its sleeve, though, in the form of Dana Lei. She is the most gorgeous Asian lady I've ever seen in my life. She, much to my surprise, also does a couple of completely nude scenes in this movie, thereby making up for a lot of the inane plot points and boring stretches of non-action. This movie is all about Dana Lei as far as I'm concerned; beautiful, smart, much more than meets the eye, and she can fight too. What a woman! She even supplies the big twist that helps get Image of Bruce Lee over the hump. Of course, it is up to Bruce Li to supply the climactic action sequence at the end, and we finally get some decent fighting to enjoy. There's a silly little comedic epilogue-type ending, but Dana Lei's performance plus the memorable final kung fu conflict earns an otherwise mediocre film four stars in my book.

Rating:
Summary: SOME OF THE BEST MARTIAL ARTS EVER CAUHT ON FILM
Review: This movie is the James Bond skool of martial arts. A slick HK triller that features cars, naked women and ground breaking fight scenes. Fake bank notes are making their way into Hong Kong after the suicide of a diamond cutter. The police chief (Bruce Lee), another cop and a female interpole agent intend to put an end to the madness. Obviously Bruce Lee isn't playing Bruce Lee in this movie and this leads to a classic line. The female interpole agent says to Bruce, "You ought to be in movies you look exactly like Bruce Lee". Was this Bruce Lee's idea? The main reason why this movie is so great is because of it's amazing fight choreography.The movie also features to villains from previous Bruce Lee movies. These guys are Han Yin Kit and the popular Bolo Yeung. I dare say this movie probably has better fights than Enter the Dragon. Dubbed and in color.