Fist of Fury (1972)

Tagline: Bruce Lee has done the impossible... ...HE’S SURPASSED HIMSELF!!!

Curiosity: I’ve seen Bruce Lee kick people. But how good is he at… punching?!

Plot: Set in China circa 1908, Chen Zhen (Lee) returns to his martial arts school to marry his fiancé Yuan Le-erh (Nora Miao), only to learn that his master has died! Er’rybody swears he died of natural causes, but Zhen does not believe them. He suspects this was murder… most foul! His suspicions are further raised by the Japanese d-bags from another dojo who show up to the memorial service and totally make fun of them for having a dead teacher. What dicks! Zhen can’t prove they’re behind the murder using evidence, though, so he’ll have to resort to the next best thing: FISTS MADE ENTIRELY OUT OF FURY.

Thoughts: While Fist of Fury more prominently features Lee than his breakout film The Big Boss, it comes off as the weaker flick. The wardrobe department randomly disregards the movie’s early 1900s setting and settles for conventional ’70s attire for extras. Stunt men miss their marks, making someone as gifted as Lee look, well, not so good. But it’s also less creepy (r.e. – No incest! Yay!). Better yet, the film is more evenly paced, with each successive fight scene building towards greater and greater heights.

Looking back on it, I can say that Big Boss is more satisfying, but Fist of Fury’s intensity grows and grows. By the time Chen gets into his final boss battle the film throws out one “holy hey hey” moment after another, whereas Big Boss arguably peaks in the middle, during the factory fight scene. Fist, however, builds to a cavalcade of throat-punchings and swords and Nunchaku and more throat-punchings. I’m still all about Enter the Dragon, but Big Boss and Fist of Fury both validate Lee’s legendary status.

Reflection: Not to get all spoiler-y, but Lee sure did hate happy endings.