Chen Zhen returns to Shanghai to marry his fiance, but is devastated when he learns of the death of his teacher. Not being prepared to accept the circumstances surrounding the death of his teacher Chen sets to work in finding out how his teacher really died and soon learns that 'foul play' was involved...
Whilst I thought that The Big Boss was an enjoyable film it's fair to say that it was a bit sloppy; it was a bit on the slow side and the villain was a bit ridiculous. Fist of Fury is a slight improvement...
As I've already stated, the story is better here and it cuts to the action and allows Bruce to do what he does best much sooner. The culture-clash between the Japanese and Chinese provided a nice framework to the story and was both interesting and unique. Bruce Lee was never really known for his acting skills, but in this film he was given more to do than you would expect; having to put on various disguises to evade capture showed that he could act a bit when given the appropriate opportunity.
The only slightly puzzling element to the story lies with the teacher's death; the doctor apparently tells his students that he died of pneumonia, but it later transpires that he was poisoned. Unless the doctor was bribed or paid off how could he/she possibly make that sort of misdiagnosis after completing the post-mortem?? It's highly likely that the Japanese may have got the doctor to lie to the teacher's students, but I don't recall this being confirmed at any time.
Anyway that aside and apart from the scrappy editing, shoddy dubbing and lousy villain (the Russian was built up a lot, but the fight between him and Chen was disappointingly short and one-sided) there's still lots to like about Fist of Fury. As I've already said Bruce Lee gives a slightly better acting performance here than in the Big Boss. It's also admirable that he effectively took one for the team in order to make sure that his teacher's school didn't close down.
Overall it's good stuff and if my memory serves me correct even better was to follow.
Whilst I thought that The Big Boss was an enjoyable film it's fair to say that it was a bit sloppy; it was a bit on the slow side and the villain was a bit ridiculous. Fist of Fury is a slight improvement...
As I've already stated, the story is better here and it cuts to the action and allows Bruce to do what he does best much sooner. The culture-clash between the Japanese and Chinese provided a nice framework to the story and was both interesting and unique. Bruce Lee was never really known for his acting skills, but in this film he was given more to do than you would expect; having to put on various disguises to evade capture showed that he could act a bit when given the appropriate opportunity.
The only slightly puzzling element to the story lies with the teacher's death; the doctor apparently tells his students that he died of pneumonia, but it later transpires that he was poisoned. Unless the doctor was bribed or paid off how could he/she possibly make that sort of misdiagnosis after completing the post-mortem?? It's highly likely that the Japanese may have got the doctor to lie to the teacher's students, but I don't recall this being confirmed at any time.
Anyway that aside and apart from the scrappy editing, shoddy dubbing and lousy villain (the Russian was built up a lot, but the fight between him and Chen was disappointingly short and one-sided) there's still lots to like about Fist of Fury. As I've already said Bruce Lee gives a slightly better acting performance here than in the Big Boss. It's also admirable that he effectively took one for the team in order to make sure that his teacher's school didn't close down.
Overall it's good stuff and if my memory serves me correct even better was to follow.