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Enter the Dragon is Bruce Lee’s most popular movie, but is it his best? How it compares with Fist of Fury, Game of Death and Lee’s other films
- Lee was made a superstar by the glossy Hong Kong-Hollywood production Enter the Dragon, and it remains his most loved film, but that doesn’t mean it is his best
- Critics give their opinions on how it stands up next to other Bruce Lee films, considering plot, fight scenes, Lee’s performance, and ‘ugly’ racial stereotypes
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Enter the Dragon, the film that made Bruce Lee a global star, is still the martial arts legend’s most popular movie.
The glossy Hong Kong-Hollywood production in which Lee arrives on a mysterious island to take part in a violent kung fu competition is certainly his most polished and stylish film – but is it his best? Four film experts offer their thoughts.
Grady Hendrix, author of These Fists Break Bricks:
“Bruce Lee made a lot of movies as a child actor, but only four as “Bruce Lee: Action Superstar” and his charisma and screen presence is bigger than any of them.
“His first movie, The Big Boss, is a low-budget cheapie where he doesn’t come to life until the final 20 minutes. He’s able to take over the action choreography completely in Fist of Fury, and a lot of people consider that his best movie, and it’s certainly his most narratively compelling one.
“He directed every frame of The Way of the Dragon, but it’s mostly a comedy with a few action scenes scattered around until his climactic showdown with Chuck Norris.
“Game of Death was finished posthumously and feels awkward and ghoulish, but when you look at Alan Canvan’s re-edit of it, using Lee’s script as a guide and utilising all 39 minutes of footage Bruce actually shot – as opposed to the seven minutes the official movie uses – it’s clear that this was going to be his masterpiece, combining humour and action in ways audiences wouldn’t see for a few more years from the likes of Sammo Hung Kam-bo and Jackie Chan.
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