Enter the Dragon (1973)

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The first film in the "All Night Chop Socky" marathon, part of the festival celebrating the closing of Electric Shadows, Canberra's only indepedent cinema.

Much better than I'd remembered, Enter the Dragon was the prototype for all those martial arts flicks using the "mysterious fighting tournament" excuse to get the combat started. This particular shindig includes inveterate gambler Roper (John Saxon), Mod Squad reject Williams (Jim Kelly), a nod at the then-thriving Blaxploitation genre, and, of course, Lee (Bruce Lee), some kind of shaolin monk on a revenge kick.

It's hilariously dated, but the cheese makes it all the more enjoyable. You can just sit back, relax, and laugh that Bruce Lee's assorted squeals and squawks could become the stuff of cinema legend. Unashamedly B-grade, but a lot of fun.

- Sam - 2006-12-09 16:43:08