Less Bruceploitation in intent but instead the desire is to tell Betty Ting Pei's side of the story as Bruce Lee did die in her apartment. Shaw Brothers and Joe Law instead generates atmosphere that leans more towards the goofy despite serious intentions. Betty plays herself as we see her trying to explain to a bartender (and the Hong Kong public who weren't fond of her at all in light of Bruce's death and that he was married with children) her story in the entertainment business. Suffering through the hardships of merely being cast for erotica (and subsequently encountering sleazy producers) and latching onto rich men to feed her gambling habit, meeting Bruce Lee (Danny Lee doing an admirable job in the action department and has enough of an resemblance too the late superstar) creates a bond where he tries to give her a break, encourage and better her. All good stuff in intent but spicing things up with bright colours, tilted angles, pot smoking and romantic montages involving pillow fights in Lee's apartment/gym with tons of pictures of himself on the wall, Joe Law's direction isn't easy to take seriously. At times not even a flattering portrayal of Bruce as he's taking out his frustrations when not being with Betty via alcohol, other women (there's almost a rape scene here), Law's frame is still goofy fun even if not intended to be and the production values are expectedly above average coming from Shaw Brothers. The hypocrisy at hand where it's said that Bruce should not be made into a caricature is strikingly odd since Shaw Brothers gave us the production they did but Bruce Lee & I is still not AS much shameless Bruceploitation like we're mostly used to.

When the filmmakers behind what was reportedly during production called The Stranger realized that they had an inept film and a genuine turkey of a martial arts actioner on their hands, they decided to capitalize on the wave of films featuring Bruce Lee copies (aptly named Bruceploitation). A completely unrelated and illogical opening was shot, featuring Bruce Lee (or a white guy in jeans rather) being resurrected during a thunderstorm and then The Stranger opens, a film not in any way whatsoever related to the shameful phenomenon known as Bruceploitation (the English dubbers now and again reminds us of the fact that we're supposed to think it's a Bruce Lee movie by dubbing in the famous war cries).

Featuring a Korean actor credited as Bruce K. L. Lea, he admittedly got a few nice moves and the movie is hokey fun at certain points. The fun lasts very briefly though and Bruce Lee Fights Back From The Grave becomes more and more a chore to get through. It still remains entertaining when examining the behind the scenes information alone and that opening is something else in terms of low points.

Trivia note: sources claim Umberto Lenzi (director of Cannibal Ferox and Eaten Alive) directed this, something that probably is difficult to believe yet it hasn't been confirmed either. Even the name Bert Lenzi occasionally appear when researching the film.

Surprisingly straightfaced and ambitious bio of Bruce Lee covering his time in America leading to his death after having just achieved super stardom, Ng See-Yuen, now that we have his directing career seemingly completed, proves that he was not just after making mad cinema utilizing and exploiting the image of Bruce Lee (Tower Of Death). Bruce Lee - True Story is flimsy for sure and no true depth comes out of ticking the boxes of the essential beats within Lee's shortlived story (going to America, creating Jeet Kune Do, taking on challenges, rejected in America only to become a superstar in Hong Kong etc) but the ambition is admirable. Especially since Ng seemingly goes to the same locations The Big Boss and Way Of The Dragon was shot (Thailand and Rome respectively). Not somber or dramatic as such though as direction (and dubbing) of in particular Westerners is highly awkward (and amusing) and Bruce's training facilities essentially turning into a science lab in his quest to improve his martial arts is memorable, goofy celluloid. Bruce Li is fine in the role and never misses a beat in the action department, one of the areas the film truly excels in. As a bonus after the main body of the film, Ng See-Yuen shoots scenes detailing the alternate rumours of Lee's death and even the theory that Lee disappeared to live as a recluse is touched upon. Not truly good or appropriate, this is still far from Bruceploitation, close to a drama but ultimately viewers will take away the goofy side of it in addition to the masterclass in action. Unicorn Chan, Chiu Chi-Ling, Fung Ging-Man, Mars and Lee Hoi-Sang also appear.

All kinds of questions start at the English title stage. So Bruce Le was big enough to warrant getting his credit into the movie title and amongst his many tales of revenge, this is the greatest? Huh. Well when you're essentially just rehashing beats from The Big Boss and Fist Of Fury, it's hard to put forth any confidence into much of anything. Especially concerning revenge. As much as he and others tried, Le was never destined to come off as as iconic in terms of being the Chinese hero and it's very apparent when copying the "No Dogs And Chinese Allowed" park sign smashing from Fist Of Fury and it comes off as the most forced copying ever or cloning rather. So there's plenty of shameless exploitation of Bruce's image here but little of the shameless fun and it's only Le's fight with Bolo Yeung that comes remotely close to fury. Le's physical chops weren't bad but he was not a huge visionary. Also with Ku Feng, Lee I-Min and To Siu-Ming.

By all accounts Bruce Le's first stint as a Bruce Lee impersonator, here teamed up with Michael Chan to take down Lo Lieh's Lee Hung who's after the real Bruce Lee's treasured martial arts instruction book on the invincible finger kung-fu. There's standard and rather dull beats about finding missing persons, sisters forced into prostitution, all wrapped in a package containing henchmen in the modern wear of the time, fairly impressive ferocity action-wise and an completely awkward Bruce Le mimicking the mannerisms of Bruce Lee in such a goofy way that it carries Bruce's Deadly Fingers. An odd rape scene set within a ring of fire, characters losing eyeballs and finger kung-fu being effective when you want to crack open your beer, director Kong (The Clones Of Bruce Lee) makes no excuses about being an exploitation director but comes off as rather likeable despite. Nora Miao also appears. Also known as Bruce's Fingers.

A confident production that puts captions such as "Dragon Films Co. Masterpiece" and "Super Star Bruce Le" in its opening credits, the martial arts/treasure hunt adventure directed by its Bruceploitation star doesn't convince it has the right stuff to escape the genre hole it's deep, deep in. While an international flavour is added via Western and Phillipino actors that takes up more space than Le himself, all this senseless talk and no excess spells doom for this venture. Because Bruce The Super Hero has evidence pretty early on that it shouldn't compete so why not let us have fun by watching Bolo Yeung fight a bull...or something? Luckily for us, he actually does but this requisite behaviour is far too infrequent for the film to be loved by those in the know. The dubbing comes with some hilarious delivery at points though, the yellow track suit makes a random appearance, the worst stock music possible is employed and Kong Do employs snake style fighting at the end by having a snake head appear on his arm but content mentioned is still overall overshadowed by incompetence for even this sub-genre of the genre.

Also known as Blood Finger for its release abroad, The Brutal Boxer was sold on its carnage and that's no lie. You just have to wade through the standards that occasionally explodes into furious action first though. Concerning characters getting lured into the gangster world and taking on the big boss (Chen Sing, a fine choice if you want a brutal and bloody angle to shine through) eventually, The Brutal Boxer is short but doesn't warrant much attention for approximately an hour. Then laying it on thick with the need for bloody revenge, Raymond Lui heads this section and he is pissed. It's a finale slaughter that isn't the usual sights for these movies as it contains some unexpected make-up effects and a bloodthirsty aura that is welcome. Mars appears in an early supporting role and amidst the stuntmen a young Jackie Chan can be spotted.

Some do it better than others (The Devil springs to mind) but the black magic genre brings the fireworks in a better way when we get a lead character who's truly an ass and deserves a bit of Thailand Black Death Magic. In this case, taxi driver Alan (Newton Lai) is haunted by the spirits of a couple not buried together so he does the nice thing by bringing their bones to Thailand to set things right. Then he cheats on his wife as he is on a holiday after all (when in Thailand...). Cue problems caused by his mistress in Thailand when he doesn't return.

In fact, we know by the opening moments Alan is dead so hoorah, let's wait and anticipate just how brutal sorcery can be. Passable but disappointing and same can be said for this entry in its particular horror genre. Much thanks to a low budget that can't produce many gruesome sights and I suspect the English dubbed Ocean Shores version I watched wasn't particularly intact either. Still the odd dip into contractual obligatory sights of maggots, maggots being vomited by the cursed, animated devils (who are the creations of our good natured Thai priest employed later in the film) are amusing and Fong Yau yet again playing an evil priest gets to pour maggots on himself and really chew scenery so despite there being little for US to chew on, it's an acceptable time provided by Pang Ling (Curse). Also with genre regular Kwan Hoi-San.

Hsiao Hai (Mang Hoi) saves a Ching Priest (Hwang Jang-Lee) from assassination. Given riches and influence, it quickly gets to Hsiao Hei's head. It turns out he's being played for a fool and being used as leverage in a conflict between once united fighters now turned opponents. Hsiao Hei ends up taking the advice of crazy beggar San Lu (Chin Yuet-Sang) and learns the Buddha style to counter the Prince's Lo Han style (that includes sleeping!)...

A terrific little piece out of the martial arts genre, although it's clear Mang Hoi was never going to break out into stardom akin to Jackie Chan or anyone. He's got the innocence, acrobatic skill, fighting chops but not much of leading man charisma. However it doesn't stop The Buddha Assassinator from being perhaps THE showcase for him. Director Dung Gam-Woo keeps matters efficient and restricted on the comedy side of things to instead focus on some genuinely intriguing and creative choreography by Corey Yuen and co-star Chin Yuet-Sang. The flow and intricacy is jaw dropping and with expert presence from Hwang Jang-Lee and Chin Yuet-Sang, this entry is a home run on all fronts. Also with Lung Fei, Hau Pak-Wai and Corey Yuen appears in the fight intro.

Based on a real incident in 1945 about American soldier James Wood's (John X.Heart) time as a slave for one of the clans of the Yi people. After another solider crash lands his plane near the village of one of the clans, Wood is one of the personnel sent in to retrieve him. As the man didn't survive the crash, the Americans are invited to get a taste of a culture they didn't know exist. Wood in particular takes a liking to a piece of jewelry that he trades for but when wanting a guide to get to him to a larger well of this jewelry, him and another solider are kidnapped. One doesn't survive the trip into the mountains and Wood is initiated into his new role. While he didn't see a future back home after the war, it's indeed more than he bargained for to be de-humanized. But Yim Ho (The Day The Sun Turned Cold, Red Dust) directs Hung Leung's affecting script into areas where we come to realize Wood is probably on a correct path for himself. As he is immersed into the village life and used in the armed conflicts between the clans, he's upgraded to a beloved slave almost and meeting fellow slave Niu Niu (Zhang Lu-Tong) sparks feelings of love. The slow tricks of Yim Ho aren't overly breathtaking even come ending time but he does well with his basic beats, especially Wood's established comfort in life (especially after slavery is made criminal offense) and the question of being totally lost, soulless sans the slave-stamp is an intriguing thought. Immersing Western actor John X. Heart is a good anchor, politics are suitably brought forth as he represent a character in a conflict rife with politics and it's this very exact thing that may create heartbreak. Towards the quite abrupt end, we feel all the things we should and need, for better or worse and that's a sign of true viewer engagement.