IMAGE OF BRUCE LEE

A mediocre Bruce clone film saved by the amazing Dana Lei
Like the vast majority of Bruceploitation films, 1978's Image of Bruce Lee (with the exception of one throwaway line) has absolutely nothing at all to do with Bruce Lee. This film stars Bruce Li, the best known of the Bruce Lee clones of the 70s, and it's quite unlike any other Bruce Li film I have seen up to this point. Bruce and his sidekick "Moustache" (who looks for all the world like Tony Orlando to me, meaning I couldn't take him the least bit seriously) are detectives - to be more specific, they are probably the worst detectives in Hong Kong. These guys couldn't sneak up on a dead log in the middle of a hurricane, which means they end up fighting all the time. The movie opens with some guy threatening to jump off a building (the end result of which is quite comical in a sadistic sort of way); there is something about jewelry smuggling mentioned here and there, but the only real purpose the scene seems to serve is to make Bruce Li dress up in a hideous yellow jumpsuit like...

Pretty Entertaining Bruceploitation
"The Image of Bruce Lee," contrary to what most cut-rate DVD companies will try to make you think, does not star Bruce Lee. Instead, it stars his most famous imitator, Bruce Li, who is an adequate martial artist but not a very riveting actor in the way that Lee was. This movie is a bit better than average because of the sheer amount of fight scenes. There's action everywhere, including a nifty scene where Li takes on an entire gym of opponents. There's also a memorably strange opening scene in which Li, dressed in "Game of Death" tracksuit, tries to save a suicidal man, as well as leading lady Dana (what she lacks in acting ability, she makes up for in nudity).

The DVD from Front Row Entertainment is, like most Bruceploitation movies on DVD, in full frame pan-and-scan. The image, if not too scratchy, is fuzzy with faded colours. The dubbed sound is what you'd expect. As a special feature, some information about kung fu in popular culture (movies, television) is included,...

Confusing plot but redeemed with some great martial arts sequences
The infamous Bruce Li stars in this Bruceploitation mess as an undercover cop searching for international forgers. Li begins to investigate in bars, hotels etc. the issue with this movie is not the story itself- it's how it was developed. It's just to damn confusing and boring, and like most of these B- Kung fu movies they tend to have incoherency and randomness. such as the beginning which made very little sense; it involves a man attempting suicide when out of nowhere Li comes into save him like Spiderman (seriously) he climbs up the wall wearing the infamous yellow track suit from Game Of Death.

Besides this the movie does offer some good moments which are usually the fight scenes. One awesome fight scene involves Li and a whole karate school; it is actually decent and well choreographed. The director even manages to put some nice angles to improve the fights. the movie also has some reoccurring actors famous for appearing in other real Bruce Lee classics. Such as Yin-...

Click to Editorial Reviews