Kung Fu Movies

In this case, time + tragedy does not equal comedy. The spate of “Brucesploitation” movies released after the one and only Bruce Lee’s death can get confusing to anyone on the outside looking in. The important thing to know, of course, is that the real Bruce Lee does not appear in any of them. Bruce Lee We Miss You stars “Bruce Li”, who is not to be confused with the other (and in my opinion much better) pseudo-Dragon Bruce Le, even though Li’s name appears on the credits here as Lei Hsiao Lung (and, if that’s not confusing enough, I don’t think even this is his real name). Both actors changed their names to Bruce Le and Bruce Li, respectively, after the real Bruce Lee’s death.
This particular film walks a fine line because it dares make Bruce Lee’s death a cog in its rather rickety story machine. Bruce Le plays a guy named Stone, a martial arts teacher and big fan of the real Bruce Lee; when he finds out that his hero has just died, he goes into a drunken tailspin, during which he is visited by the spirit of Bruce Lee and wakes up determined to learn the truth about Lee’s death. He goes to the temple to seek advice and wisdom, is tested by four martial artist monks, and has another vision of Bruce Lee during meditation. He then sets out to find Betty Tin, in whose apartment Bruce Lee died; there is an awkward moment here as Betty gets woozy thinking that Stone is actually Bruce Lee. This is important for later on, even though Wilt Chamberlain looks more like Bruce Lee than Bruce Li does, his character is supposedly a dead ringer for the legend. Anyway, Stone soon finds himself tailed by some guys, gets in some fights, gets his brother in some fights, you get the idea. The bad guys are scared he will find out too much, even though it’s never clear what these people have to do with Lee’s death and Stone is by no means a natural born detective.
If it’s Kung Fu you want, though, you’ve got a lot of material to entertain yourself with here. Just don’t expect to see or learn anything about the real Bruce Lee in this film; Bruce Lee fanatics may even find this particular film a bit offensive. I recommend watching this film for posterity’s sake. Enjoy.