![]() ![]() Lo and Bruce get your attention and keep it with their many intense fight sequences. There's some pretty delicious gore in this lively affair, which goes on a bit long at one hour and 47 minutes, but it still has much to recommend it. He takes on all comers, while the carnage mounts. Naturally, Chen swears to solve the crime and get some revenge. Not only that, but he just might have been murdered, to boot. Taking place at the turn of the 20th century, it stars Bruce as Chen Zhen, a student who returns to his school to learn that the beloved "Master" has died. It's a tale of bigotry, as the Japanese in Shanghai treat their Chinese counterparts with contempt, and demean them. This also features some funny comedy, and some particularly potent drama. But there's more here going on than that. It of course serves its purpose of dishing out lots of great combat (complete with hilarious over use of "impact" sounds). Given that Legend of the Fist: Return of Chen Zhen blends the superhero and martial arts movie genres, the Donnie Yen vehicle stands out as the biggest deviation from the blueprint laid out by Bruce Lee's Fist of Fury.Written & directed by Wei Lo (who also plays the role of The Inspector), "The Chinese Connection" is simply a classic Bruce Lee martial arts film. Taking on a superhero-like role (complete with a costume and a secret identity), Chen takes part in the resistance devoted to opposing the Japanese military. Apparently, Chen helped the Allies fight the Germans in World War I before coming home to Shanghai. Written by Fist of Legend director Gordon Chan, Donnie Yen's Legend of the Fist movie goes into what happened after Chen's " death" in the film's predecessor. Legend of the Fist, though, ignores the show's events and is set only in Fist of Legend's continuity. Sharing its name with the film, the show starred Yen as Chen. Curiously, Yen already had a link to Fist of Fury via a 1995 Hong Kong TV series based on the movie. With Legend of the Fist, Donnie Yen became the fourth actor to play the freedom fighter in a movie and one of a handful of major stars tied to Fist of Fury's legacy. Rather than continue the story of Lee's movie, Legend of the Fist is a sequel to the 1994 remake. The most recent movie to feature the iconic Bruce Lee character is 2010's Legend of the Fist: The Return of Chen Zhen. To this day, New Fist of Fury is one of a select few movies to kill off a Jackie Chan character. In keeping with one of the defining themes of the original film, New Fist of Fury ended with the hero charging to his death as Japanese soldiers bombarded him with gunfire. Similar to Bruce Lee's character, Chan's protagonist had to endure oppression from the Japanese and inspire the Chinese to fight back against their enemies. In his first-ever lead role in a movie, Jackie Chan was brought in to headline the picture. Presumably because Chen Zhen died in a blaze of gunfire at the end of Fist of Fury, the sequel saw a new character step up to battle the Japanese villains. Once again, Maio was tapped to play the main character's love interest. ![]() Deepening its connection to the first film was the addition of actress Nora Miao, who was the female lead in the original movie. Titled New Fist of Fury, the movie was designed to build off Lee's image and act as a spiritual successor to Fist of Fury. ![]() RELATED: 1 Underwhelming Bruce Lee Movie Shows Off His Greatness The MostĪ few years after Lee's death, Fist of Fury director Lo Wei decided to produce a sequel to the film. In addition to a number of TV adaptations, Fist of Fury's story has been revived in six movies. Of course, this approach called for other actors to replace Lee either by taking over the role or by continuing his fight with a new character. In response to its success, filmmakers found more to do with Chen Zhen and the struggle faced by the people in the movie. The patriotic symbolism attached to Lee's character made Fist of Fury an impactful film in the Hong Kong movie industry. In the film, the actor played Chen Zhen, a Chinese martial artist who rises up to fight the Japanese after his master dies. Released in 1971, Fist of Fury was the second of five kung fu movies Lee worked on in his lifetime. Since it hit theaters in 1971, the story has served as the foundation for several more martial arts films. Enter the Dragon is without question the actor's most popular film, but Fist of Fury has a unique legacy unrivaled by any of Lee's other movies. None of Bruce Lee's movies have been revisited on the big screen more than Fist of Fury. ![]()
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