The Films Of Bruce Lee: Fist of Fury

Directed by: Wei Lo
Written by: Wei Lo
Stars: Bruce Lee, Maria Yi, James Tien

Returning to Shanghai to marry his fiancée, Chen Zhen (Bruce Lee) a student of renowned martial arts teacher Huo Yuanjia, discovers his sifu has died. During the funeral, members of a local Japanese dojo show up and insult the Chinese students. The bullying continues, with Chen fighting back, but when he discovers the truth - that his teacher was poisoned on the orders of the dojo's master - he sets off on a doomed mission of revenge. (IMDB) When I heard the plot for Fist of Fury, I thought that the story seemed a little similar to The Big Boss (1971), Bruce Lee's earlier role, due to him seeking revenge for murder. This was also the first Bruce Lee film I saw that was completely dubbed in English.

I loved Fist of Fury, a lot of improvement between this and The Big Boss. From the opening theme song (one of the best songs I've heard in a movie), to the amazing fight scenes, the movie never had a dull moment. The acting is great in this film, most notably Bruce Lee. The fight choreography by
Han Ying Chieh was quite impressive. One of my favorite scenes was Bruce Lee fighting with nun chucks. The moments where there were romantic tensions between Chen and his love was great, and not forced. I loved that at times, the film seemed like a slasher flick, when Chen got revenge on each one of the dojo, and left them hanging on a wire dead. The film also starred a young Jackie Chan, in one of his earlier roles. Jackie Chan would go on to star in the film's sequel, New Fist of Fury (1976). Overall, I think this is an awesome film. See it!

The Films of Bruce Lee: The Big Boss

Directed by: Lo Wei
Written by: Lo Wei
Stars: Bruce Lee, Maria Yi, James Tien

Cheng is a city boy who moves with his cousins to work at a ice factory. He does this with a family promise never to get involved in any fight. However, when members of his family begin disappearing after meeting the management of the factor, the resulting mystery and pressures forces him to break that vow and take on the villainy of the Big Boss.

It's your pretty standard MA film in the 1970s'. The film is essentially an audition tape for Bruce Lee. The acting in the film is pretty cheesy, but the film is enjoyable. Bruce Lee doesn't start fighting until the 45 minute mark, and when he does, it's awesome. The main reason he doesn't fight is because he has a jade amulet from his mother. However, at that 45 minute mark, his amulet breaks, and then the fun begins. When he is fighting, the camera goes wide to show that he doesn't require edits while fighting.

Good revenge story with some great action scenes. My favorite scene was near the end, when Bruce Lee faces off against a gang.  One con, the ending of the movie feels a bit abrupt. I was expecting a better ending, honestly. But the ending shows that actions have consequences. As a first time viewer of Bruce Lee films, I definitely enjoyed myself.

The Invisible Man

Directed by: Leigh Whannell
Written by: Leigh Whannell
Stars: Elizabeth Moss, Oliver Jackson-Cohen, Harriet Dyer
Plot: When Cecilia's abusive ex takes his own life and leaves her his fortune, she suspects his death was a hoax. As a series of coincidences turn lethal, Cecilia works to prove that she is being hunted by someone nobody can see. (IMDB)

From Leigh Whannell, the writer behind Insidious and Saw, comes a fresh take on H.G. Wells' classic monster movie character The Invisible Man.

Elizabeth Moss (The Handmaid's Tale) stars as Cecilia Kass, an architect who is deeply traumatized by her brilliant but harmful and controlling optics engineer boyfriend Adrian Griffin (Cohen, The Haunting of Hill House). Kass manages to sneak away from his beach house in a very tense-filled opening sequence. But no place, no matter how far away, is safe from manipulative Adrian, and Cecilia knows that she will have to confront him again, only to find out 2 weeks later that Griffin has died in an apparent suicide. Cecilia feels free at the moment, and finds refuge in the house of a family friend (Aldis Hodge) and his teenage daughter (Storm Reid). However, Cecilia begins to suspect that Adrian isn't dead, as eerie instances of an unseen presence haunting and watching her every step.

With a budget of only 7 million, this was a really well-made horror film. Whannell's direction is tense, and slow-paced at some points, but leads to very effective scares. Moss gives a very good performance as Cecilia (Latin for blind), and you really feel the paranoia that she experiences throughout the movie. There's a great sequence where she's being thrown around by the invisible presence, and that scene had me on the edge of my seat. The themes in the movie, which include traumatic abuse in relationships, mixed well with the classic monster movie feel.

Again, parts of the movie are slow, so not everyone will enjoy the film. But as a fan of the director's other works, I really enjoyed this film.

The Films of Bruce Lee: The Way of the Dragon

Directed by: Bruce Lee
Written by: Bruce Lee
Stars: Bruce Lee, Chuck Norris, Nora Miao
Plot: A man visits his relatives at their restaurant in Italy and has to help them defend against brutal gangsters harassing them.(IMDB)

In Bruce Lee's only directorial film, he plays Tang Lung. who arrives in Rome to help his cousins in the restaurant business. They are being pressured to sell their property to the syndicate, who will stop at nothing to get what they want. When Tang arrives he poses a new threat to the syndicate, and they are unable to defeat him. The syndicate boss hires the best Japanese and European martial artists to fight Tang, but he easily finishes them off. The American martial artist Colt (Chuck Norris) is hired and has a showdown with Tang in Rome's famous Colosseum.

This film was decent, not as good as Fist of Fury or The Big Boss, but I still enjoyed aspects of the film. Positives for the film include Lee's fighting in the film was well done. I liked that he used nun chucks to fight off goons in one scene. Chuck Norris makes his debut in this film, which was fun to see. There was an iconic scene near the end with Lee and Norris facing off in the Colosseum. I would recommend watching this film for that particular scene, although it is near the end.

As for negative points of the film, I felt that some of the pacing was slow. In contrast to Fist of Fury, the film doesn't contain any action till 30 minutes in. For the first 30 minutes, I felt that the film was trying to be a comedy. One of the recurring jokes in the film involved Lee's character Tang Lung wanting to use the bathroom, and it came across as cringe more than anything. I didn't enjoy the comedy that was in this film.

Despite the film's flaws, I still recommend seeing The Way of the Dragon if you're a Bruce Lee fan. I would also recommend watching the fight between Bruce Lee and Chuck Norris on YouTube.

The Bourne Saga Part 4: The Bourne Legacy

Directed by: Tony Gilroy
Written by: Tony Gilroy & Dan Gilroy
Stars: Jeremy Renner, Rachel Weisz, Edward Norton
Plot: An expansion of the universe from Robert Ludlum's novels, centered on a new hero whose stakes have been triggered by the events of the previous three films. (IMDB)

Tony Gilroy, the writer of the last 3 Bourne films, takes the helm to direct this 4th installment. The film is a little different than its precessedors, however, as Matt Damon is not a part of this film. He was replaced by Jeremy Renner. Apparently, the producers wanted to create a new character, but set in the same universe. By that, the events in this movie take place at the same time during the events in the previous movie "The Bourne Ultimatum", thus making this movie a spin-off to the Bourne trilogy. And while the film has elements that make it a decent follow-up to the Bourne legacy, the film doesn't quite work all that much as a stand-alone film.

Aaron Cross (Jeremy Renner) is a member of Operation Outcome, one of the Department of Defense's black ops programs, which provides its agents with green pills that enhance physical abilities and blue pills that enhance mental abilities. He is given the moniker of "Number Five" and is deployed to Alaska for a training assignment, where he meets another Outcome operative, Number Three (Oscar Isaac). Their exchange is initially intense, as Number Three questions Cross as to why he is two days ahead of schedule for their rendezvous. Cross explains to him that he had to take a shortcut through a mountain ridge after having lost his chems while pursued by wolves, along with the requisite bloodwork he draws on schedule to send back to Outcome for analysis.

Meanwhile, Jason Bourne is in New York City exposing Operation Blackbriar and the Treadstone Project, leading to CIA Deputy Director Pamela Landy (Joan Allen) and Operation Blackbriar supervisor Noah Vosen (David Strathairn) being investigated by the FBI. Upon learning of this, CIA Director Ezra Kramer (Scott Glenn), also under investigation, calls Eric Byer (Edward Norton), a retired USAF Colonel responsible for overseeing the CIA's clandestine operations, for help. To eliminate evidence of the Blackbriar program, Byer decides to eliminate all Outcome assets. He orders new meds distributed to the agents, a triangular yellow pills that unknown to them kills them within a few hours.

Cross escapes from harm's way, and runs into Dr. Marta Shearing (Rachel Weisz), who tells him that he was genetically modified to retain the benefits of the green pills without need of continuous consumption, a process they call "viralling off". Because he hasn't taken a blue pill in several days, Cross realizes that he will soon lose his mental enhancement. He then convinces Shearing to travel to Manila with him, as the pills are manufactured there, in the hopes of being able to viral off the blue pills in the same manner he did the green.

The film contains all the fun from the original Bourne films, but the film lacks Jason Bourne himself. He's only visible through photos on the walls and news screens. Also, the first half of the film does falter a little bit. The film moves at a slow pace during the first 30 or so minutes, and it does take a while to pick up the pace. That, combined with the lack of Damon, make the film less enjoyable than the others. Jeremy Renner holds his own, though, as he is great in the role of the new character. He carries the same demenor of his character from The Hurt Locker in the role, and he pulls it off. Rachel Weisz is equally good, playing his counterpart and romantic interest (?). The film has 3 chase scenes, one in particular involving a motorcycle chase through Manila. It is also nice to see cameos from other Bourne characters, such as Noah Vosen, and Pamela Landy. Oscar Isaac is great, although his part in the movie is brief. Edward Norton is also good in the film, playing the villain. The cinematography is good as well, although it lacks the documentary-style filmmaking of the previous films.

Overall, the fourth installment of the Bourne films is a decent film. Just don't expect it to shine like the other ones.

7/10

The Bourne Saga Part 3: The Bourne Ultimatum

Director: Paul Greengrass
Writers: Tony Gilroy, Scott Z. Burns, George Nolfi
Stars: Matt Damon, Julia Stiles, Edgar Ramirez, Joan Allen

Jason Bourne is once again brought out of hiding, this time by reporter Simon Ross, who is trying to reveal the secrets of Operation Blackbriar, a new version of Treadstone, in newspaper columns. Information from Ross stirs up new memories for Jason, and he must finally uncover his dark past, all while evading CIA Deputy Director Noah Vosen. He has support this time, coming from Pamela Landy and Nicky Parsons. Paul Greengrass returns to direct in the 3rd film based on Robert Ledlum's novel series. After watching the Bourne Identity and The Bourne Supremacy, I was geared and ready to watch The Bourne Ultimatum. My favorite film in the original trilogy was Supremacy, mostly because Paul Greengrass can film a movie (his shaky cam filmmaking is great), but the original Identity is equally fun. I went into Ultimatum with the same expectations as the first two. And man, was I not disappointed!

Tony Gilroy had intended Supremacy to emphasise Bourne's repentance and atonement for his murders, but felt that the released film omitted this focus. Gilroy was persuaded to write an initial draft of Ultimatum, but did not participate further, and as of 2009 had not watched the finished film. Gilroy's screenplay draft was subsequently criticized by Matt Damon. The “Ultimatum” shoot was famously hectic, with writers George Nolfi (who directed Damon in “The Adjustment Bureau”) and Scott Z. Burns called in for emergency re-writes.

According to Paul Greengrass, when discussing Ultimatum and Bourne's role in it, "Bourne is a real man in a real world in pursuit of a mythic quest. What's wonderful is that it's an oppositional story. Is he a killer, or was he made to be a killer? There is an underlying feeling that Bourne is one of us, and he's running away from "them." He's trying to get answers, and he doesn't trust them. They're all bad, and the system's corrupted. To convey that with a sense of excitement in a very contemporary land-scape is great fun. If you opened your door in New York or Paris or London or whatever, you've got to believe that whatever the story it is that Bourne's engaged in [,something] could be happening there. What attracts me to Bourne's world is that it is a real world and I think I'm most comfortable there." And that's exactly the vision that Greengrass was trying to emulate in this 3rd and supposedly last film in the original trilogy.

The film has a lot more action than the latter film. The film literally begins with a chase scene, where Damon evades Moscow police. There are numerous punching scenes, all violent and brutal, a bike chase as well as a foot chase, and a car chase scene. Greengrass once again delivers with a realistic, documentary style of film-making. The shaky camera angles are fine to me, because it makes the audience feel like they are in the film, going through the action with the characters. Damon is once again magnificent in the role. He was born for the role of Bourne (fun pun!). He plays his role with a quiet intensity that draws you in instantly. David Strathairn is a newcomer to this series as Noah Vosen, and he's definitely having a blast playing the role of the villain. Julia Stiles is equally good here, playing Bourne's partner in this film. Joan Allen is also good as this film, reprising her role as Pamela Landy. Overall, a great third film in the franchise. All of the original Bourne films are great fun!

8/10

The Bourne Saga: Part 2 The Bourne Supremacy

 

Directed by: Paul Greengrass
Written by: Tony Gilroy
Stars: Matt Damon, Franka Potente, Joan Allen

In the follow-up sequel to The Bourne Identity, The Bourne Supremacy, Jason Bourne (Damon) and Marie (Potente) are in hiding in Goa, India, trying to live a normal life and stay low from Treadstone and the CIA. However, when an assassination attempt on Bourne goes wrong, he must once again take up his life as a trained assassin to survive.

There were no plans to make a sequel to The Bourne Identity (2002) when it was conceived. Matt Damon commented, "When The Bourne Identity came out I said, 'There is very little chance we will do a second film, just because nobody on the team who made the first wants to make another movie if it can't be as good as, or better than, the first one.'" According to producer Frank Marshall, the plot for the sequel was not based on the novel The Bourne Supremacy but also by Bourne's threat in the first film to come after the CIA if it targeted him. Producer Paul L. Sandberg felt that screenwriter Tony Gilroy's deviating so much from the book was necessary "because so much of the world has changed" since 1986, when the sequel was first published. Marshall said that Gilroy thought of an idea that Bourne "would go on what amounts to the samurai's journey, this journey of atonement."

The producers replaced Doug Liman, who directed The Bourne Identity. This was mainly due to the difficulties Liman had with the studio when making the first film, and their unwillingness to work with him again. British director Paul Greengrass was selected to direct the film after the producers saw Bloody Sunday (2002), Greengrass' depiction of the Bloody Sunday shootings in Northern Ireland, at Gilroy's suggestion. Producer Patrick Crowley liked Greengrass' "sense of the camera as participatory viewer", a visual style Crowley thought would work well for The Bourne Supremacy. The film was shot in reverse order of its settings: some portions of the car chase and the film's ending were shot in Moscow, then most of the rest of the film was shot in and around Berlin, and the opening scenes in Goa, India were filmed last.

According to a June 2008 article from The Guardian, "Two weeks before [the film's] release, [Greengrass] got together with its star, Matt Damon, came up with a new ending and phoned the producers saying the new idea was way better. And it would cost $200,000 and involve pulling Damon from the set of Ocean's Twelve for a re-shoot. Reluctantly the producers agreed—the movie tested 10 points higher with the new ending"

Paul Greengrass did an outstanding job directing. At times, the film felt like a documentary, being filmed all gritty and realistic. This film was great. I really enjoyed the action sequences in this film, more than the first. I thought Matt Damon was great once again. Joan Allen was a great welcome addition to the saga, playing the Deputy Director of the CIA. She plays a good villain to Bourne. I also loved the hand-to-hand combat scene in the middle portion of the film, with Damon facing off against the only remaining member of Treadstone, the corporation from the last film. The film has 2 awesome car chase scenes, one at the beginning, and at the end, both between Matt Damon and Karl Urban. My opinion, this film is a notch above The Bourne Identity, pretty great sequel.


8/10