For those who enjoy martial arts and movie icons like Bruce Lee, the movie Birth of a Dragon may sound interesting. With striking fights that were well publicized in the trailers, the film had the potential to enter the history of the genre. However, production unfortunately fails on so many levels that it is difficult to give any seriousness to it.
The film begins with a sign indicating that the play was inspired by a real and mysterious struggle between Bruce Lee and Wong Jack Man, a monk who taught T’ai chi ch’uan in Shaolin and who later moved to San Francisco, where one day he would meet Bruce Lee. Even if he protects himself against critics and historians when he indicates that the plot is only “inspired” in this fight, the film ends indirectly informing (even if inadvertently) that his style will be realistic, something that is denied every scene. This is all sadly complemented by a lack of sensitivity of what the audience wants to see when the figure of Bruce Lee appears on the big screen.
The film, directed by George Nolfi, starts from an interesting premise, apparently trying to unravel what happened behind the scenes of the fight. Bruce Lee, played by Philip Ng, is a character who starts charismatic both by the agile movements of a great fighter and by his playful and confident personality. The lessons he gives students, especially Steve Mckee, played by Billy Magnussen, go beyond martial arts and show someone not only interested in his career but also in the personal lives of his students.
However, everything munda when Wong, played by Yu Xia, appears. With his noble and selfless style, his more serene personality contrasts sharply with that of Bruce Lee, who from then on just wants to appear as a movie star. Even with all the publicity in the film that puts Bruce Lee as the centerpiece of the play, it is clear that Bruce is a self-supporting character who is not as talented as Wong – a serious mistake for Bruce Lee fans. Wong character is listed first in the cast list of the IMDb, showing its importance in the film).
To make matters worse, the fight between Lee and Wong ends up becoming secondary when Bruce’s student Steve falls in love with a woman who works as a slave to the San Francisco Chinese mafia. It is the attempt to save her that causes all the plot points to happen (both the fight between the two famous fighters, because the Mafia wanted to profit from bets in the duel, as well as the friendship cliché and beat between the two). In other words, fictional characters end up being more important than the real fight.
As if that were not enough, the famous fight surprises anyone, only for the wrong reasons. When it seemed that the two characters had already shown all their abilities, Wong jumps off a large ladder and, instead of falling to the ground, floats like a feather, followed by Bruce, who can do the same. From there any magic can be part of the movie that, without any reason, begins to mix fantasy and action in a work that seemed to be serious.
In the end, the film may irritate Bruce Lee in a negative way, compared to traditional Chinese Wong, and contain scenes that are hard to believe. However, he can still entertain himself as a comedy without any commitment to reality.
(article translated from the original version in portuguese, by Google Translate)