FIST OF FURY 3

Now what would you do if you were a great martial artists / stuntman, who bore a striking resemblance to Bruce Lee? Would you make funny yelping noises whilst dressed in a tight-fitting yellow jump-suit? Or would you star in this 90-minute movie made in 1979, Directed by Lee Tso Nam; and Starring Bruce Li? I know what option I'd choose. Haiii-Yaaaaa!!!!


Fists of Fury III


THE STORY:
Oh, sh*t! Why do I always get myself into these sorts of situations? During my last adventure I had to avenging my brother death, Chen Juen (Bruce Lee), all because her pissed off some drug lords previously. And now -- now -- after returning home to Macau to take care of my blind Mother, me -- Chen Shen (Bruce Li) -- has to do the same old thing all over again.

Yeah. I'm not waxing your Wok, fella! Some local Japanese Crime Boss bares a grudge against my family, and he hires a Chinese interpreter to stir up a jealous rivalry between me, my gal-pal, and a martial arts instructor who practices at my uncle's martial arts school. Furthermore, this b*stard of an interpreter does his job so well, over time he manages to goad the martial arts instructor to get drunk, fight strangers on the street, and finally lash out against me in the process.

But don't worry your pretty little head off, folks. I'm a much better fighter than the instructor. Yeah. Of course I am. And using all of my skills I'm able to beat him like a two dollar hooker, whilst making friends with a darling daughter / father combo, called the Yuens.

Still. That's most probably why what next transpires all kicks off when I get arrested for murder. As friends lend a helping hand - plans aren't as flexible as a rubber band - two rival mob bosses have a great brawl - and at the end of the day, baby, I'm nobodies fool.

THE REVIEW:
I have a problem on my hands, folks. A rather strange problem I need to address before I can continue reviewing 'Fist of Fury 3'. On the one hand I didn't mind watching this adventure despite all of its obvious pit falls. Whilst on the other hand I wasn't too fond of it for exactly the same reason.

Well, lets face it! How can I sit here and tell you that I thoroughly enjoyed this movie even though its dubbing was dire, it's story-line was all over the place, and that it's production values were rather valueless to say the least!

I can't, can I! Yet in the same breath this is one of those flicks I wanted to like because I'm a big fan of Bruce Li and this rather topsy turvy film franchise.

Honesty. I can remember when I first saw this escapade during my teens, and even then I wasn't very sure about it either. 'Is he supposed to be Bruce Lee?' I once yelped. 'What the hell is going on now?' I then continued. And ''Wow! That's rather dramatic!' I said to myself throughout numerous parts of this picture.

Yeah! That's right. I actually used the word 'dramatic' to describe certain scenes in this muddled story-line. Still do actually. And this is mainly because the last section of this flick has a real heightened edge to it. With the rain and the thunder erupting all over the streets of Macau, whilst our hero walks stoically towards the bad guy, ready to avenger his mothers death. 

Oh! And while I'm on the subject of death -- yeah -- there were some pretty decent fight sequences choreographed within this movie too. Especially the last one plus that one involving the Yuens. Cause in a round about way they did have a humanistic side to these sections, showing that not everything can smell of flowers and roses when the soil is filled with manure. Hint-Hint!

Now I best stop myself there, methinks. Because if I go on any longer, I fear I may drift into negative territory with my summation. So just to change the pace for a moment, what I'll do, is to present you with the following facts pertaining to the main reason you should watch this movie, Bruce Li. (1) Bruce began his career as a Taiwanese stuntman named James Ho. (2) When he was offered to star as the lead in Bruce Lee's unmade movie, 'Game of Death', Li eventually turned it down because he didn't want to abase Lee's good name. (3) Jimmy Shaw was the producer who christened Bruce Li with his exploitative name, and he wasn't bestowed with it until after this very flick. (4) Bruce starred in three 'Bruce Lee related' bio-pic's, which are: 'The Young Bruce Lee', 'The Man The Myth', and 'Goodbye Bruce Lee: His Last Game Of Death'. (5) Because Bruce Li's career really picked up once he was called by this name, the producers then decided to market him once again by actually calling him 'Bruce Lee'. No. It didn't work. (6) After the death of his wife in 1985, Bruce was fed up with playing 'a wannabe Lee', and decided to stop making these types of films anymore. He is now a martial artists instructor living in America.

Overall I'd say 'Fist of Fury 3' is a rather middle of the road, budget driven, seventies piece of kung-fu*k. And that it's only redeeming feature is because Bruce Li pulls off a pretty decent job of being a wannabe Lee, plus some scattered dramatic scenes makes it well worth seeing.

It's a shame really. A bloody same. As I’m sure this ‘Fist of Film’ could have been a lot of ‘Fist of Fun’ if it had some more ‘Fist of Funds and Focus’ behind it. What do you say about that, James Ho?

Nuff said.

THE RATING: B-