After Bruce Lee’s death in July 1973, there were several unofficial Lee biopics made exploiting his talents per se to tell the real truth.
Rob Cohen, who directed the first of the FAST & FURIOUS films as well as working with director John Badham on several films, put together this biopic of Lee, based on the biography by his widow Linda Lee Cadwell and produced by Rafaella De Laurentiis, the daughter of the legendary Italian producer Dino, who produced the likes of FLASH GORDON and the 1976 remake of KING KONG, which Peter Jackson later realised with CGI starring Naomi Watts.
DRAGON: THE BRUCE LEE STORY focuses on Lee’s upbringing in Hong Kong, where he is a bit of a trouble-maker getting involved with fights, notably when a group of British sailors gate crash a Chinese dance and take advantage of a young woman. Lee’s father has visions of him dying in Hong Kong, so he sends him by boat to America, given that he was born there and has the birth certificate to prove it.
Finding a job as a dishwasher, he still makes trouble and is fired by his boss (Nancy Kwan) who gives him an all-purpose loan which he uses to study at a local university. It is here that he meets Linda (Lauren Holly, DUMB AND DUMBER, BEAUTIFUL GIRLS), whom he marries and creates his own school of Martial Arts. However the local community is against it and challenge him to a fight with one of their top fighters, who initially paralyses him in the back.
The love of this couple is about to be tested and the next stage of his evolution to the legend he became is about to begin….
Jason Scott Lee excels in the title role in a movie that captures perfectly the spirit of Lee, even if purists seemed to be a little against it at times. Holly is also great as Linda and the film is more a cinematic celebration than a direct biography, but still watchable enough.