Birth of the Dragon Review
By: Nik S
Director: George Nolfi
Producer(s): Michael London, Janice Williams, James H. Pang, Leo Shi Young
Starring: Philip Ng, Xia Yu, Billy Magnussen
Production Company: Groundswell Productions, Kylin Pictures, Anomaly Entertainment
Distributor(s): Blumhouse Tilt, WWE Studios
Runtime: 89 minutes
Bruce Lee is usually the first name to come to mind when you think martial arts. His name has almost become synonymous with martial arts movies and television of the past, from The Green Hornet to Enter the Dragon. Birth of the Dragon tries to give a pivotal moment of Bruce Lee's life the cinematic treatment, though is hindered by trying to be too many genres in one movie.
Back in 1965, two giants of the martial arts Bruce Lee and Wong Jack Man had a private match, though neither one agreed who the winner was. Birth of the Dragon takes inspiration from this titular fight. The movie advertises itself as a biopic about Bruce Lee, being front and center on the cover with Wong Jack Man, but he's more of a secondary character in the film.
The movie takes place in the late '60s in San Francisco where Bruce Lee (Philip Ng) is teaching kung fu (though in real life it was Oakland). Lee is an avid believer that anyone can learn martial arts regardless of their race. Lee is starting to become arrogant with his popularity, being picked to act in movies and TV. Wong Jack Man (Yu Xia) arrives by boat and is the polar opposite of Lee, more spiritual and humble. Wong is rumored to be coming stateside to witness how America is practicing the arts, but doesn't believe it should be practiced outside of China. A starstruck student of Lee's, Steve (Billy Magnussen), wants to learn from Wong. While hopping back and forth from wanting to learn from both masters, Steve falls in love with an Asian immigrant who is being forced to work at a restaurant by a local mafia. Steve figures that he isn't strong enough to fight for her, but one of the female mafia bosses makes a deal to release the love interest if Wong and Lee fight. The fight then becomes a life lesson for Lee, but the question for the audience if he'll be able to get it.
Lee and Wong's build up to the fight feels like a side story to Steve's storyline which feels like it was taken straight from West Side Story. Steve's presence feels like he was placed in to be the token white guy character and unbalances the rest of the movie which should have focused on the two masters. You see how Steve views Lee and Wong throughout the movie, but it ends up making Lee look more like a jerk than anything else. Steve doesn't really drive much of the plot other than creating tension between Lee and Wong which could have been replaced by them exchanging dialogue.
The duel between Lee and Wong starts off visually nice, the choreography of the fight is the greatest strength of the whole movie. Yu Xia's movements are very fluid and quick, and Philip Ng lightning fast and powerful actions were a good mimic of Lee's own. Since we're not sure how the fight actually concluded the duel just ends on a low note. The conclusion also has a grand fight scene where Wong and Lee become an unstoppable force against the mafia and it just feels corny compared to the rest of the movie.
The film really felt like it couldn't rely on Lee and Wong's fight so it had to through in a token story with bland characters to create drama. The movie made me want to stop the movie and put in a real Bruce Lee flick instead. The movie could have honestly been so much more but was hindered by a nonsensical story, unneeded characters, and lack of good ol' fashioned martial art fights.
Director: George Nolfi
Producer(s): Michael London, Janice Williams, James H. Pang, Leo Shi Young
Starring: Philip Ng, Xia Yu, Billy Magnussen
Production Company: Groundswell Productions, Kylin Pictures, Anomaly Entertainment
Distributor(s): Blumhouse Tilt, WWE Studios
Runtime: 89 minutes
Bruce Lee is usually the first name to come to mind when you think martial arts. His name has almost become synonymous with martial arts movies and television of the past, from The Green Hornet to Enter the Dragon. Birth of the Dragon tries to give a pivotal moment of Bruce Lee's life the cinematic treatment, though is hindered by trying to be too many genres in one movie.
Back in 1965, two giants of the martial arts Bruce Lee and Wong Jack Man had a private match, though neither one agreed who the winner was. Birth of the Dragon takes inspiration from this titular fight. The movie advertises itself as a biopic about Bruce Lee, being front and center on the cover with Wong Jack Man, but he's more of a secondary character in the film.
The movie takes place in the late '60s in San Francisco where Bruce Lee (Philip Ng) is teaching kung fu (though in real life it was Oakland). Lee is an avid believer that anyone can learn martial arts regardless of their race. Lee is starting to become arrogant with his popularity, being picked to act in movies and TV. Wong Jack Man (Yu Xia) arrives by boat and is the polar opposite of Lee, more spiritual and humble. Wong is rumored to be coming stateside to witness how America is practicing the arts, but doesn't believe it should be practiced outside of China. A starstruck student of Lee's, Steve (Billy Magnussen), wants to learn from Wong. While hopping back and forth from wanting to learn from both masters, Steve falls in love with an Asian immigrant who is being forced to work at a restaurant by a local mafia. Steve figures that he isn't strong enough to fight for her, but one of the female mafia bosses makes a deal to release the love interest if Wong and Lee fight. The fight then becomes a life lesson for Lee, but the question for the audience if he'll be able to get it.
Lee and Wong's build up to the fight feels like a side story to Steve's storyline which feels like it was taken straight from West Side Story. Steve's presence feels like he was placed in to be the token white guy character and unbalances the rest of the movie which should have focused on the two masters. You see how Steve views Lee and Wong throughout the movie, but it ends up making Lee look more like a jerk than anything else. Steve doesn't really drive much of the plot other than creating tension between Lee and Wong which could have been replaced by them exchanging dialogue.
The duel between Lee and Wong starts off visually nice, the choreography of the fight is the greatest strength of the whole movie. Yu Xia's movements are very fluid and quick, and Philip Ng lightning fast and powerful actions were a good mimic of Lee's own. Since we're not sure how the fight actually concluded the duel just ends on a low note. The conclusion also has a grand fight scene where Wong and Lee become an unstoppable force against the mafia and it just feels corny compared to the rest of the movie.
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