Post by josephkuby on Jan 30, 2010 21:13:36 GMT
The title is an oddity when you consider that the U.K. DVD has the nunchaku footage omitted. As far as I'm aware, there were two nunchaku scenes. I saw one nunchaku scene in the trailer (where Bruce Ly uses two nunchakus) and you can see Bruce Ly about to use one in a fight that takes place on someone's lawn.
On the topic of deleted footage, I think one or more rape scenes may have got the chop because the blurb on the DVD describes the nasty henchmen as "terrorising the villagers and taking over their land, crops and raping their women" - the last part is not referred to verbally so it makes me think that something must have been left out. The film does have a choppy narrative, after all. Example: a woman suggests "You could always call in Bruce Lee" to which she gets the response "We can't contact him a..."
Dialogue quotation being the agenda, I find it funny when a kid says an incessant remark about Bruce being the "great best fighter in the world" - why say great if you're going to use best?
The film, itself, is an oddity when you consider that Bruce Ly is referred to as Bruce Lee in name and in joke. It's as if the people behind the camera weren't sure whether Ly is meant to be Bruce or someone like Bruce.
One of the film's strangest scenes sees Ly encounter a bunch of afro-wearing Filipinos who act black but are not black. To add to the eccentric vibe they elicit, the main thug suggests that Ly is "crazy upstairs" (who's ever referred to someone's mind like that before?). To the film's advantage, the main thug eats a razorblade - an act that sets the tone for the rest of the film.
Bruce Ly is probably the closest we'll get to seeing a filipino Bruce Lee but the hastily written script has thwarted any chances of the film being taken seriously. One scene takes place which, if it was in any other movie, would have been heart-wrenching but because we don't know the characters that well (lack of bonding scenes), we don't care as much as we should.
This is all the more striking when you consider that the aforementioned blurb reads "...they massacre one of Bruce's closest friends", in spite of there not much of a bond being developed (or even established) between the two.
There's a raunchy encounter between Ly and some woman that defies categorization. You can't call it a sex scene because there's no nudity or penetration but you can't really call it a love scene because there's no bond that's been built between them. The funny thing about it is that when she does fellatio, we're treated to shots of animals (e.g. a literal cock representing the metaphysical one).
After she's fallen asleep, Ly not only leaves her (bearing in mind that this is outdoors and she's not in the safety of being in a room) but he steals her car.
What's also dubious is that one of the main villains knows about Bruce before he's even made his mark in town.
I found the dubbing to be strange but not so much in the acting...rather in the arrangement. Despite this not being a Hong Kong film, the actors we're listening to are people Kung Fu movie fans are familiar with. Whereas with 'Bruce and the Shaolin Bronzemen', that had a few Hong Kong people involved but the dubbing seemed strangely foreign. You'd think the situation would be vice-versa.
Amusingly, there is a Karateka - towards the end of the film - that looks like a cross between Donnie Yen and Anthony Wong (he kind of looks like Mark Long).
Even more amusing is the foreword that begins this film:
"Chaku Master" is unselfishly dedicated to all the stars, staff and crew who risked their lives in several occasions to give this film authenticity and realism!
I'd hate to think gangsters were involved (read: blackmail, extortion, rape and other kinds of assault).
The finale is quite amusing in its Game of Death-esque scenario. Ly confronts a judoka, a sumo and a samurai. The fights, as a whole, are good enough that the film is not too bad for its own good. Not implying that I think he worked on the fights but they reminded me of what Corey Yuen Kwai would do. Bruce Ly proves to be as talented at martial arts as his true lookalike - not Lee but Ngai Sing (a.k.a. Collin Chou). ;D
Had Ly gone to Hong Kong, he could have proved to be a useful nemesis for the likes of Donnie Yen or Michelle Yeoh.
Oh...and another thing - the ending is awfully abrupt.
6.6/10
On the topic of deleted footage, I think one or more rape scenes may have got the chop because the blurb on the DVD describes the nasty henchmen as "terrorising the villagers and taking over their land, crops and raping their women" - the last part is not referred to verbally so it makes me think that something must have been left out. The film does have a choppy narrative, after all. Example: a woman suggests "You could always call in Bruce Lee" to which she gets the response "We can't contact him a..."
Dialogue quotation being the agenda, I find it funny when a kid says an incessant remark about Bruce being the "great best fighter in the world" - why say great if you're going to use best?
The film, itself, is an oddity when you consider that Bruce Ly is referred to as Bruce Lee in name and in joke. It's as if the people behind the camera weren't sure whether Ly is meant to be Bruce or someone like Bruce.
One of the film's strangest scenes sees Ly encounter a bunch of afro-wearing Filipinos who act black but are not black. To add to the eccentric vibe they elicit, the main thug suggests that Ly is "crazy upstairs" (who's ever referred to someone's mind like that before?). To the film's advantage, the main thug eats a razorblade - an act that sets the tone for the rest of the film.
Bruce Ly is probably the closest we'll get to seeing a filipino Bruce Lee but the hastily written script has thwarted any chances of the film being taken seriously. One scene takes place which, if it was in any other movie, would have been heart-wrenching but because we don't know the characters that well (lack of bonding scenes), we don't care as much as we should.
This is all the more striking when you consider that the aforementioned blurb reads "...they massacre one of Bruce's closest friends", in spite of there not much of a bond being developed (or even established) between the two.
There's a raunchy encounter between Ly and some woman that defies categorization. You can't call it a sex scene because there's no nudity or penetration but you can't really call it a love scene because there's no bond that's been built between them. The funny thing about it is that when she does fellatio, we're treated to shots of animals (e.g. a literal cock representing the metaphysical one).
After she's fallen asleep, Ly not only leaves her (bearing in mind that this is outdoors and she's not in the safety of being in a room) but he steals her car.
What's also dubious is that one of the main villains knows about Bruce before he's even made his mark in town.
I found the dubbing to be strange but not so much in the acting...rather in the arrangement. Despite this not being a Hong Kong film, the actors we're listening to are people Kung Fu movie fans are familiar with. Whereas with 'Bruce and the Shaolin Bronzemen', that had a few Hong Kong people involved but the dubbing seemed strangely foreign. You'd think the situation would be vice-versa.
Amusingly, there is a Karateka - towards the end of the film - that looks like a cross between Donnie Yen and Anthony Wong (he kind of looks like Mark Long).
Even more amusing is the foreword that begins this film:
"Chaku Master" is unselfishly dedicated to all the stars, staff and crew who risked their lives in several occasions to give this film authenticity and realism!
I'd hate to think gangsters were involved (read: blackmail, extortion, rape and other kinds of assault).
The finale is quite amusing in its Game of Death-esque scenario. Ly confronts a judoka, a sumo and a samurai. The fights, as a whole, are good enough that the film is not too bad for its own good. Not implying that I think he worked on the fights but they reminded me of what Corey Yuen Kwai would do. Bruce Ly proves to be as talented at martial arts as his true lookalike - not Lee but Ngai Sing (a.k.a. Collin Chou). ;D
Had Ly gone to Hong Kong, he could have proved to be a useful nemesis for the likes of Donnie Yen or Michelle Yeoh.
Oh...and another thing - the ending is awfully abrupt.
6.6/10