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The Big Boss (1971)

Directed by Lo Wei

Most recently watched by sensoria, SIxBORG, krazykat

Overview

Cheng is a young Chinese mainlander who moves in with his expatriate cousins to work at an ice factory in Thailand. He does this with a family promise never to get involved in any fights. However, when members of his family begin disappearing after meeting the management of the factory, the resulting mystery and pressures force him to break that vow and take on the villainy of the Big Boss.

Rated R | Length 99 minutes

Actors

Viewing History (seen 1 time)


Date Viewed	Device	Format	Source	Rating
07/16/2014	TV	DVD	Owned	7 stars
				(Average) 7 stars

Viewing Notes

For Bruce Lee’s first leading role he clearly shows complete command and prowess to be a star. It’s him that elevates a rather pedestrian good vs evil story. This isn’t a great movie by any stretch due to the heavy handed plotting and the unnecessarily long runtime (I watched the 100 minute cut; hard to believe there’s an even longer 115 minute cut!).

Bruce Lee however is so damn dynamic and charismatic even when he’s static. The movie is lifted whenever he’s on screen. I have vague recollections of this film having forgotten most of it. The big fights at the ice factory and the boss fight are the only things I remember. Also this is the first time viewing in its original language.

Can’t really fault the filmmakers for the basic storyline as they really needed a vehicle to put Lee in the forefront. It’s unfortunate they took an easy route as it’s clear he was capable of more than just fighting. It’s dumb that they wrote his character to be beholden not to fight even in instances to help others.

Tragic Lee died only two years after this film. Even here he shows glimpses of what could have been.

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