Leofwine_draca One of the countless 'Bruce Lee imitator' films that were churned out in the wake of the late actor's demise, THE IMAGE OF BRUCE LEE is neither a good film or a bad one – just a so-so effort that'll be entertaining for those in the right mood. This one adopts a James Bond-style espionage plot as the good guys head off against an evil criminal gang, but it's all a simple excuse for a series of kung fu fights. Out of all the fight films I've watched, this has got to be one of the most action-packed, and the last half an hour is essentially one big showdown. It's a shame, then, that the choreography is only average and the fights seem a bit stilted and wooden. This is one of those films where the actors seem 'stiff', their arms lumps of wood that knock hollowly against each other when they battle it out.Still, kung fu fans will enjoy the scenic battles, especially the final show-off at a ruined building and a beach. There are some moments of inspired lunacy to be had – the opening scene, in which Bruce climbs a building (in Bruce Lee's trademark yellow gym suit from GAME OF DEATH) in an attempt to rescue a guy attempting suicide, only for him to fall when he loses his prosthetic arm, is a classic. This is also one of the most risqué kung fu flicks I've witnessed, as co-star Danna, a Chinese actress, frequently sheds all of her clothing for plenty of protracted nude moments. The cast is pretty interesting, with lots of familiar faces like John Cheung, Han Yin-Chieh, and Hon Yee San appearing in assorted roles, and it's always a pleasure to see Bolo Yeung on screen. Here, Yeung takes part – with his trademark energy – in plenty of battles, only to suffer the same fate as the one in CHALLENGE OF THE TIGER when he ends up being betrayed by the other bad guys.Although Bruce Li looked less like the real thing than Bruce Le, I have the feeling his fighting was slightly better. He's got a lot of energy here, performing a ton of flying kicks and jumps throughout the running time. He also had some natural charisma which helped him in front of the camera, and the clichéd 'copy Bruce's mannerisms' scene only happens once in the entire running time. As for the title? It comes from when Danna tells Bruce he looks just like the real thing – only for him to respond "not interested"! A nice little in-joke for the fans. THE IMAGE OF BRUCE LEE isn't a great flick, but it ain't a bad one either. Fans might just like it.

avantgarage There are a great wealth of post-mortem Bruce Lee 'homage' films, and one can speculate the various reasons for their existence. A potential for market saturation. The refusal to accept the death of one of the greatest martial artists/martial arts film stars. Maybe a synthesis of both. Yet 'The image of Bruce Lee' is a real gem in this 'canon' not for its authenticity, integrity...but for its plain goofiness. By the end of the first three minutes, I was immersed in some sort of absurdist comedy. A suicidal man turns to the camera and the dub has him say, rather nonchalantly, 'A-choo' Some diamonds that he had out on loan have been stolen. So entirely full of remorse, he escapes rescue by firemen below, waddling with a rescue trampoline and a 'special squad' member donning a very familiar yellow jumpsuit and haircut atop via his secret weapon - a prosthetic arm. In so many words, I anticipated a cult classic. --- The rest of the film: At times, a typical eastern martial arts film, with all its staples. 1. The goofy sidekick 2. Full frontal female nudity - and of course - 3. Fight scenes. A word or fifty about these. The ultimate villain has a special penchant for tossing money. Least importantly, the choreography was awful. Most consist of fight, flee, fight, and so an, with an optional flight by car. Bruce Li fights in a street brawl fashion with the goons, but against certain characters, a rigid traditional style of Gung Fu reigns supreme. All scenes end, as a friend described so perfectly.... 'pummel, pummel, pummel.'In other words, this film will not impress if superb fight scenes are sought. Go get some Shaw Brothers stuff instead. Rather it takes a real eye for the elements of 'cult' style: the overwhelming presence of apparent budget limitations, e.g. horribly overexposed footage (which is quite pleasing, in my opinion). And the elements of 'cult' style are a-plenty, if one has the patience. I give the high rating not for its achievement as a martial arts classic, but for its complete lack of quality (... its cult-ness?), and of course, the performance of Moustache's moustache.

AwesomeWolf Version: English dub In a movie that seemingly has nothing to with Bruce Lee, or his image, Bruce Li plays a cop who goes around beating people up, while trying trying to stop a counterfeit ring. Or something, I somehow managed to miss the important plot points (ok, there weren't any at all...).There's lots of swearing, and naked ladies, and violence - enough to get an R-rating. Surprisingly, my copy of the movie comes with a family friendly M-rating. I'll admit right now, that I don't why I'm reviewing this - there isn't much to say about it.Basically, the movie follows Bruce Li as he wanders around beating up bad guys, and follows Bolo Yeung as he wanders around beating up good guys. In fact, Li's character never takes his leather jacket off - either it gives him super-powers, or it is the secret to his kung-fu technique.Overall, its actually pretty funny, in a cheesy way - 4/10

InzyWimzy Bruce Li surprised me in this one. Oh, the martial arts are still mediocre, but he's not trying to be Bruce Lee. In fact, Li is a cop in search of plates. He ends up fighting usually against groups of guys. Apparently, the word "backup" wasn't invented until after this movie. You really appreciate Fist of Fury when fights the entire japanese class in the dojo. In IOBL, Bruce Li runs after Bolo in search of luggage and proceeds to fight the entire class. Man, you can see how many "one-on-one" cue attacks there are while extras just stand in the circle. So to sum it up:Fists of Fury dojo fight: FIERCE and FAST.Image of Bruce Lee dojo fight: FUNNY!!It really is fun to see Bruce in a non Bruceploitatic role. I think he must've been hot fighting in that brown leather coat cause he never takes it off in battles. Man, it's durable! The frightening part of this movie is seeing Bolo flirt. Plus, his loud garish suits with killer lapels. The Boss is same boss from Bruce Lee's the Big Boss, but he doesn't add that much to the film. Come to think of it, the funniest part is the balcony scene where some guy does a flying kick at Bruce and the slo-mo effect goes on. Bruce just moves to the side and this hapless dolt of a henchman does the high hurdle over the rail. Also, handcuffs can be a deadly weapon.There's some gratuitous nudity of Donna...I think that was her name, whatever. They thought including her would be enough to fool the viewer and grab your attention. Well, it worked for me!! Especially the nude swimming. Also, when she tells Bruce Li that he looks like Bruce Lee and asks if he wants to do movies, Li responds with "Not interested!" HAHAHAHA. See, he was "ACTING".Watch this cool flick for chases, naughty bits, and the balcony fight....and the Bruce Li rope climbing in the yellow tracksuit!!