This review is based on the English dubbed version of FISTS OF FURY. This film COULD easily merit a 7 but his hampered by awful dubbing into English--something very common in early kung fu movies. While this isn't the worst dubbing I have seen (RETURN OF THE DRAGON, another Bruce Lee movie, is much worse), it isn't good either and definitely detracts from the film. Why the idiots who marketed it abroad didn't trust the audience to be able to read subtitles is beyond me.
The film has a relatively simple plot about some dirt bags at an ice factory in Thailand who are smuggling drugs in the middle of these huge blocks of ice. When the simple workers start to catch on, they are killed off until their friends know that SOMETHING is definitely amiss. Of the friends, Bruce Lee is the most patient and tries to avoid fighting through much of the film due to some promise he made before the movie began to stop fighting. But eventually, of course, he has no choice but to fight and kicks HUGE amounts of drug dealing butt!! Unlike later and more polished Lee movies, this one is very bloody and the action is more intense and violent--with more crotch smashing and stabbing than all his other films put together. I actually liked this, as in most of the Bruce Lee films, our hero just uses his fists and doesn't seem as pragmatic as he did here! In FISTS OF FURY, he often stabs his opponents so he doesn't need to fight them again later!!! Good thinking, Bruce! About the only negative about the extraordinary fights are the two usual observations--why do the bad guys tend to attack him one at a time AND why didn't they just use guns---after all, they ARE bad guys!!! Provided you can ignore some of the minor plot problems you'll enjoy this film a lot if you are a kung fu movie fan. Otherwise, it's a tough call. Most guys will probably at least respect the quality of the action but I assume that most ladies won't enjoy all the violence--though this is of course a generalization and may not apply to you.
A final note--Aside from lots of blood, there's a small amount of nudity in this one as well--something parents may want to consider.
The film has a relatively simple plot about some dirt bags at an ice factory in Thailand who are smuggling drugs in the middle of these huge blocks of ice. When the simple workers start to catch on, they are killed off until their friends know that SOMETHING is definitely amiss. Of the friends, Bruce Lee is the most patient and tries to avoid fighting through much of the film due to some promise he made before the movie began to stop fighting. But eventually, of course, he has no choice but to fight and kicks HUGE amounts of drug dealing butt!! Unlike later and more polished Lee movies, this one is very bloody and the action is more intense and violent--with more crotch smashing and stabbing than all his other films put together. I actually liked this, as in most of the Bruce Lee films, our hero just uses his fists and doesn't seem as pragmatic as he did here! In FISTS OF FURY, he often stabs his opponents so he doesn't need to fight them again later!!! Good thinking, Bruce! About the only negative about the extraordinary fights are the two usual observations--why do the bad guys tend to attack him one at a time AND why didn't they just use guns---after all, they ARE bad guys!!! Provided you can ignore some of the minor plot problems you'll enjoy this film a lot if you are a kung fu movie fan. Otherwise, it's a tough call. Most guys will probably at least respect the quality of the action but I assume that most ladies won't enjoy all the violence--though this is of course a generalization and may not apply to you.
A final note--Aside from lots of blood, there's a small amount of nudity in this one as well--something parents may want to consider.