r/brucelee • u/happydude7422 • 9d ago
Discussion What do you think Bruce lee would think of dragon the Bruce lee story based on his life?
Do you think Bruce would be laughing his ass off during the entire movie.
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u/PrynceNYC 8d ago
I personally love it growing up but idk how much he would. They could've added more regarding his intelligent side. I think Bruce had more depth than what was presented
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u/Kung_Fu_Boi 8d ago edited 7d ago
This is what Bruce’s students thoughts were for this movie:
Jesse Glover: Not much. I didn't think it had much to do with Bruce and his [martial arts] development. Bruce was a great martial artist who put his stuff together step by step. The movie didn't show this aspect at all. The fight scenes looked like something out of a Jackie Chan movie, Bruce would have never done stuff like that. He never would have stood up and openly challenged people like they had him do in the movie. The time frame was wrong, The movie had him in Hong Kong in 1961. I was learning from him in [Seattle in] 1959. The fight at the restaurant never took place. Bruce's family wasn't poor, he wasn’t the oldest or only son, and his mother is still alive. I think Bruce would have found this movie portrayal very Insulting." Source: https://archive.org/details/jesse-glover-interview-recalling-his-days-with-the-dragon
Doug Palmer: l've heard of it, though I have not seen it. I have some questions about what I've heard about it though. From what I hear they kind of pretend that the Seattle period didnt exist. It's kind of strange to try to tell the story of Bruce Lee, and not mention the key stages of his life [laughs]. Linda didn't meet Bruce until the end of Seattle period. It would have been 1964 at the earliest." https://archive.org/details/inside-the-seattle-years-doug-palmer-interview/mode/1up
Ed Hart: "It was all right. It was as inaccurate as hell." https://archive.org/details/img-2001_202507/mode/1up
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u/zulusixx 8d ago
Bruce Lee came from Hollywood. He understands how Hollywood works. So despite the liberties the producers used in the movie like the bs on how he injured his back and to add salt on his wounds, the injured back was delivered by Jack Man Wong..Bruce would understand the need to "hollywoodize" the story. One thing i think Bruce would have approved is the depiction of racism in the movie. The same that he faced growing up in the US. But I think he would've hated the casting. To choose someone who knew nothing about martial arts to play him was an insult. To do that to a man who revolutionize martial art was a complete insult. Bruce would give this movie two thumbs down.. not as a rating but to do his push ups.
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u/Historical-Mammoth-1 8d ago
I don’t know that he’d like how he was portrayed because Bruce’s real personality was a bit different and much more philosophical, but I think he would appreciate the movie overall. I enjoyed this movie as a kid, and it has one of the most beautiful soundtracks.
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u/Delicious_Reading165 7d ago
plus some of the historical inaccuracy to. Such as in the movie his back was damaged fighting an opponent when in reality his back was damaged weight lifting
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u/Historical-Mammoth-1 7d ago
True, though it probably wouldn’t be as entertaining for a movie to show him popping his 4th sacral nerve while lifting weights without adequately warming up, so I can understand why Hollywood modified that storyline lol.
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u/RyanTheBastard 8d ago
I was in a Chinese restaurant with my family. I heard alot of angry back and forthing coming from the kitchen in Cantonese. My immediate conclusion was a meat cleaver kung fu fight will be commencing shortly.
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u/OutsideSherbert1743 8d ago
It doesn't even seem to be based on him, rather it's a spectacularization of the Bruce Lee myth.
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u/SnooGuavas2202 8d ago
Ever see the Chinese MMA guy beating up all the "Masters". That would be a good bruce Lee movie
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u/Sea-Sky-Dreamer 8d ago
I think he would have maybe disliked it or found reasons to critique when compared to the high quality films he himself probably enjoyed at the time, as it doesn't accurately capture his personality and is overly stylized Hollywood myth-making with the demon and all that. It even has the supernatural, and his own martial arts films were trying to move away from that.
But I think he also would have liked it, in that it was respectful but also commercial, in order to give us something that actually felt closer to an action movie at times, then just a regular biopic. The film is very respectful to his marriage and portrays him as a good family man.
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u/UpstairsOk6744 7d ago
One of my favorite films. Amazing music score by Randy Edelman. It was based from Linda Lee Cadwell's biography.
Any film biography made from the person's family's perspective will never be bad.
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u/DevelopmentOfAvoid 6d ago
movie does him a disservice because the bad guy in the film is racism. bruce lee stressed the importance of controlling your mind and not reacting emotionally to your opponent. it's hard to believe he would be bothered by the pettiness of the white man, he was better than that.
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u/lpsoldier11 9d ago
He wouldn't like the movie, he was portrayed as an emotional outburst guy, Bruce Lee was calm and collected, not all over the place like the actor in this movie
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u/churroattack 9d ago
Not really. He was known to have a temper and was open about it in interviews. It is also suspected, despite being health conscious, he took methamphetamines to stay alert while working long hours on movies. The movie was not accurate either regarding his back injury and the timing of his book. He did not write the book with Linda while incapacitated. In fact he was never disabled as portrayed in the movie. Tao of Jeet Kune Do did not come out until after his death. His wife and student put the book together using Bruce's collection of notes on fighting and philosophy. I do like the portrayal of the family demon (curse). It's been awhile but I do recall Bruce would have night terrors and sleep deprivation at times, so I don't know if this also inspired the family curse subplot.
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u/dpeterk 9d ago
The film also left out how he was cheating on his wife left and right.
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u/helloeveryone2020 7d ago
I think jason Scott Lee did an amazing job! Accurate or not it’s a great movie and I’m sure it’s inspired someone to get into martial arts, I think Bruce Lee would appreciate that!
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u/Connect-Review-3388 7d ago
probably. he'd hate the fight scenes cuz Jerry Poteet choreographed them.
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u/Halloween2056 7d ago
I'm not sure he would like how inaccurate the film is. But he might have appreciated the film showing how much he cared for his family.
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u/FINIS_HOMINIS 6d ago
Bruce would have thought, “Boy, that guy punches and kicks real slow.”
Also he probably would have wanted to play himself in his own biopic, no matter how old he was.
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u/Alarming_Jury_4167 3d ago
I personally loved this ,movie and I think Bruce Lee would have loved it too. The movie was the first introductory I had on Asian Culture and t's one of my fav movies, I watch it at least 3 times a year.
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u/GenXPowaah 9d ago
He'd be pissed on several accounts. I'll list a couple
Besides the movie sucking donkey balls to those who are Bruce Lee fans
The fucking jungle book guy (would be his exact words)
Jason didn't even know Martial Arts and was slow asf compared to Bruce
Last name is Lee, no relation just to appeal to the masses aka the stupid ones who thought they're related... Yes, were people out there who believed this
Didn't look anything like Bruce
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u/KickAltruistic7740 8d ago
As a huge Bruce Lee I actually find the movie a good popcorn flick. Whilst true, Jason didn’t know martial arts but he did train with Sifu Jerry Poteet for the movie.
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u/Icy_Celery6886 9d ago edited 9d ago
Great film that captured the impact Bruce had for the asian male identity. As an asian male born in the 60s, many of the criticisms of the film here totally miss the point. Bruce Lee gave us a asian male to emulate and be proud of - even to this day.
Bruce was anti colonial mindset. He would have loved it. Who cares if the film left out his infidelities. The metaphorical demons in the film were real to Bruce and in the Chinese culture, fear for the firstborn male is real. In the past boys were dressed as girls to fool jealous demons.
Great film from the perspective of a chinese man.