Director: Rob Cohen
Starring: Jason Scott Lee,Lauren Holly,Robert Wagner
I remember when Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story first came out. Everyone
was telling me, "Hey, you look like Bruce Lee." To which I would
reply, "I look nothing like Bruce Lee, you f**kin' racist." And that
was to my dad. Actually, I was in shock that Hollywood decided to make a biopic
about an Asian star. Well, if you define Asia broadly, there was Gandhi,
starring the very Indian-looking Ben Kingley, and Genghis Khan starring
John Wayne. I often mistook John Wayne for a Mongol. I was surprised that an
Asian was cast for the role of Bruce Lee. Granted, Jason Scott Lee looks nothing
like the Little Dragon, but then again, they all look the same. Heck, if I had
the body, I could have probably been in the movie.
So this movie is based on Linda Lee's account of her late husband's life. Of
course, her version takes many editorial liberties. First, she concludes that
she looks like Lauren Holly. C'mon. Who are we kidding? Linda Lee is a
plain-looking gal; Lauren Holly is hot. Linda has dopey body; Lauren has a body
that her ex-husband would say is "Smokin'." As long as we can suspend
reality, this is an excellent film.
This movie is a fictional tale about Bruce Lee (Jason Scott Lee), a young
street punk who must learn kung-fu because he is the number one cha-cha dancer
in Hong Kong. Yes, if you are a good cha-cha dancer in Asia or (anywhere for
that matter), you must learn to defend yourself. His father sends him to
America, where he meets a hot co-ed named Linda (Holly). They fall in love. They
have kids. They are victims of racism. And then he dies a month before this
author's birth and transports his spirit into him. Oh yeah, he gets his break in
Hollywood. After he fights local fat dudes, gets his ass kicked by dream
warriors, and starts his kung-fu, he auditions for the role of Kato, OJ's
houseguest. After a few episodes of kicking Marcia Clark and Judge Ito's ass,
Bruce goes to Hong Kong to make a few movies, including Enter the Dragon.
The movie forgets some details…such as the fact that Bruce Lee was found
dead on the bed of a female co-star. It also adds random details, including one
where he is paralyzed. You are left to wonder if Linda was on drugs during the
sixties. But there are some eerie moments in this movie. Bruce fights this
phantom warrior and wants to protect Brandon Lee from this demon. After the
phantom warrior kicks Bruce's ass, he goes after little Brandon. About two weeks
before this movie came out, Brandon Lee was accidentally fatally shot while
filming The Crow. As C+C Music Factory would say, things that make you go
hmm.
Overall, this movie, if you can suspend reality, is a great movie. Dragon
has a great musical score that was used during the last three Olympics. It also
has some cool fighting scenes. And it also gave Jason Scott Lee a career of
playing Bruce Lee. Yes, he is signed on for Hollywood's The Green Hornet where
he plays Kato. Hopefully, he is next on the phantom warrior's list.
