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Return of Bruce
During the late 1970's and early 1980's, director Joseph Kong helmed a series of Bruceploitation films. For those of you not versed in the art, these releases attempted to capitalize on the post-death popularity of Bruce Lee by placing a series of lookalikes in plots that were either totally generic or unabashed ripoffs of one of the Little Dragon's "real" movies. In his Bruceploitation exploits, Kong showed some glimmers of low-budget brilliance with the wacky The Clones of Bruce Lee, but his 1977 entry Return of Bruce (which is probably better known to western audiences under the alternate title Ninja Vs. Bruce Lee) falls squarely into the generic portion of the Bruceploitation spectrum.
The film stars Kong's longtime collaborator Bruce Le as Bruce Wong, a Hong Kong cop who is sent to Korea to find a flask that was stolen by some gangsters. Why is this flask special? Don't bother asking. It's just one of many plot points here that are never really explained. Anyway, Bruce strikes out even though he's decked in his best leisure suit and oversized sunglasses, so he heads to the Philippines to bust a white slavery ring. Why? Again, don't ask. Then he heads back to Korea, beats up a lot of people, has a laugh, and the movie ends without anyone finding that damn flask or explaining why they were looking for it in the first place.
Even for a movie released in the low-budget haphazard world of Bruceploitation, Return of Bruce has a really slip-shod nature to it. There is no rhyme or reason to the film, with the elements almost seemingly thrown in at random, giving this release a Godfrey Ho flavor to it. For some of you out there, this may provide some enticement, but for the majority of potential viewers reading this, this means it's rough to be a rough time sitting through this picture.
There are a few moments where Return of Bruce provides some entertainment, albeit it's probably not in the way the film-makers intended. Mostly, it's in the method where Kong just apparently says "to hell with it" and throws in something like Bruce wearing a Game of Death style tracksuit for no fathomable reason, other than he's going for a leisurely jog when he should be on the hunt for some killers or that damn flask. There is also some decent eye candy from one of the co-stars, a comely young Korean lass that's not too bad in the kung fu department either. But these peaks of actual fun are few and far between, making this truly a cult release. There are some of you out there that will eat this movie up, and you already know who you are. The rest of you out there would be better off leaving this movie at the bottom of the bargain bin in your local dollar store. RATING: 3 This movie is available from Amazon. |
