Goodbye Bruce Lee

Rating:
Summary: NOT REALLY BRUCE LEE
Review: I saw this film when it was released in 1977, and wrote my master's thesis on films like this. This "Game of Death" is a somewhat entertaining, yet low budget rip off of the REAL Bruce Lee's game of death. made at a time when Bruce's film was still unreleased, it offered unsuspecting movie goers an ooportunity to see what they had not seen: Bruce Lee's last film. Alas, this is BRUCE LI, the best Bruce lee look-alike, suited up in Bruce Lee's yellow and black tracksuit. Li does a decent job, and it is actually better than the original, pasted together, disgraceful "real" Bruce Lee version released in '79 because it doesn't attempt to fool you or embarrass the filmmakers by using poorly edited cutaways to the real Bruce Lee, and b grade half dead American actors (Sorry Dean Jagger). The great theme song "He's the king of kung fu" is a brilliant tie in that was never fully exploited. So, don't believe the hype. This ain't the REAL BRUCE, But if you like an entertaining fight film filled with the same ridiculous crap we all love in kung fu movies, it's a good time. Two fists up!

Rating:
Summary: ABSOLOUTELY...Not!!!
Review: Sigh...all I can say behind purchasing this film is that this is a fine example of BRUCEploitation at it's WORST! I'd recently purchased Chinese Connection 2 and Bruce Li blew my socks off(he was being HIMSELF), so I bought Goodbye Bruce Lee, having decided to give him the benefit of the doubt. Having watched the film for the first time in over 20 years, all I can say is SAVE YOUR MONEY,FOLKS. The only reason I was able to give this film ONE star was because it attempted to stay true to Lee's vision for G.O.Death(Death Tower, fighters from all over the world), however, from start to finish I had to endure an attempt to pass Bruce Li off as the "Bruce Lee the 2nd," terrible fight scenes, mediocre martial arts displays, and poor choreography. All in all, what we have here is another low-budget Wannabee Lee flick that leaves devoted Bruce Lee fans(and fans of Bruce Li's better works) wishing that the real Bruce were still here. If you're into Bruce Li...I recommend Chinese Connection 2 and Exit the Dragon,Enter the Tiger...period.

Rating:
Summary: Finally a Properly Re-Mastered Bruce Li DVD!!!
Review: This is not a very good movie, but I take my hat off to Anchor Bay for finally producing a clean, remastered and letterboxed Bruce Li DVD. Those of us who have come to love Bruce Li (aka Ho Chung Tao), the king of Bruce-Lee-A-Likes, have had to suffer through terrible VHS and DVD treatments of his films in the past. Most of his movies are available only in fullscreen versions with tons of scratches and out of frame action. This GOODBYE BRUCE LEE DVD looks beautiful. The film itself, unfortunately, is not one of Bruce Li's best. The story is passable, a Bruce Lee look-a-like is asked to complete Bruce Lee's final unfinished film. The film is a pretty unskilled production with plenty of poor directing, editing and a cast filled with unthreatening-looking henchmen. Bruce Li, himself, is doubled in some corny gymnastic scenes at the beginning of the film which shouldn't fool anyone. He also, for some reason, appears to be wearing a bad looking wig throughout the film, and the almost mandatory yellow track suit he wears later on looks baggy. Some lofty reviewer might say this is because he's not a big enough personality to fill the vacancy left by the real Bruce Lee, but I will just place the blame on a sloppy make-up and costume designer. Bruce Li is competent in all of the fight scenes, but none of them here are very complex, and as I mentioned before many of his opponents are laughably unskilled both as fighters and actors (dig that man-boobed boxer, that 70's shorts-wearing wrestler, and that clean-shaven caucasian who looks like he's about to laugh everytime he throws a punch!). I also love the film's pagoda interior set with it's fake blue sky which appears over and over again from different angles to make it look like different rooms on the various levels. I hope, at least, that Anchor Bay and others will continue to give this kind of treatment to other Bruce Li and lesser budgeted kung fu flicks. Sure some of them stink, but quite a few of them are pretty good, and either way it's nice to see them without having to strain your eyes. Oh, and apart from Bruce Li's capable acting and martial arts delivery in this particular film, the theme song IS very catchy indeed! "He' the King of Kung Fu!" It'd make a great addition to anybody's kung fu fighting songs collection.