Summary : Inspiring story and characters, excellent leads, decent action, rushed training, well developed teaching arc, thoughtful mysticism, fan candy, interesting racism
Score : 8/10
I'm more a Jackie Chan fan than a Bruce Lee one but it didn't make Dragon less inspiring. Indeed even if it's only a fictionalized biographical film the story and its characters feel real enough. Jason Scott Lee is great as the legendary Bruce Lee and Lauren Holly perfect as Linda Emery, his future wife. In fact their romance is far much more interesting than the action scenes. Their choreography is over the top and weakens the humanist bond other sequences try to develop between him and the audience. Some are relatively good but the precious minutes wasted with the crazy cooks could have been spent on his training for instance. One minute he's a kid, the next he's a young adult and martial artist. It could also apply to the part covering the opening of his first school but the teaching elements are great. From his tragic accident to the writing of his famous book, The Tao of Jeet Kune Do, it can only warm the heart and soul. There's also something dramatic about the confrontation of his dream to reality. It's probably symbolized by the samurai who chases him in his nightmares. This mystic element is actually one of my favorite with the empathic Linda. Their connection is magnified by the cult labyrinth of mirrors sequence and such a strong and beautiful woman is every man's dream. So Holly did an excellent job and it also applies to the athletic Scott Lee because from the screams to the moves from beginning to end it's almost like watching the master. To entertain and appeal the fans there're also plenty of fan service, like the hilarious The Green Hornet stunt. It leads us to racism because the issue has a major element and witnessing Bruce struggling to succeed and change the way people see things, only in white or yellow, is quite moving and thoughtful. So it has a few weaknesses but overall it's a mandatory experience for martial arts fans. Moreover it can only convince you to learn more about Bruce Lee and appreciate the tremendous impact his life had on millions of people around the world. The Dragon is eternal and its constellation shines every night !
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