Enter the Dragon (5 Stars)

Was Bruce Lee the best martial arts fighter who ever lived? Probably. Was "Enter the Dragon" the best martial arts film ever made? That depends on your tastes. It feels dated, and yet I like it a lot. It doesn't have the high quality production values of today's films, but it's honest. It's as close to genuine fighting as is possible on screen. Jackie Chan still remembers his brief fight scene with Bruce Lee in "Enter the Dragon". After the scene Bruce was concerned about him and asked if he'd hurt him. No, it wasn't that bad, but the punches were hard enough to cause pain. It's a long way removed from the stylised wire fu action in films like "House of Flying Daggers" and "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon".

I was lucky enough to see "Enter the Dragon" in the cinema in Birmingham. I went with my sister Shirley to the ABC cinema in New Street, which (unfortunately) closed in 1983. The ground floor has been turned into an amusement arcade, but the upper floors have never been used since. As recently as 2014 the seats in the upper foyer were still in place, covered in dust. It was used for filming an episode of the English mini-series, "The Game". It's a place I'd like to visit again. Legally, of course.

"Enter the Dragon" stars the real Bruce Lee, not the caricature who appeared in "Once upon a time in Hollywood". I'm still angry with Quentin Tarantino for portraying Bruce Lee so badly, his arrogance and his fighting skills. Quentin has been criticised a lot for the way he shows Bruce Lee, but he's defended it in interviews. He claims that the way Bruce is shown is based on the memories of people who knew him, and there really was a fight between Bruce and a stuntman. I don't care what Quentin says. For me Bruce Lee is and always will be a hero.

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