During our car chase for the assassin of the Banana-Man, I may cut in front of a cement truck, forcing the driver to slam on the brakes. A just-married couple was right behind him, driving in a brand new Ford Mustang. They crashed into the back of him, somehow triggering the truck to start pouring cement all over the terrified couple. Edwige, my kangaroo companion from misadventures in North America, roared at the couple as the groom flipped us the bird. — To be continued. 

Tonight’s movie is 1972’s Fist of Fury from director Lo Wei. This almost serves as a sequel to 2006’s Fearless from director Ronny Yu and starring Jet Li as Huo Yuanjia, an honorable Chinese martial artist and founder of the Chin Woo Athletic Organization, a famous school of martial arts in Shanghai. He helped restore Chinese national pride by winning matches against the champions of imperialist powers oppressing China. While he officially died of hemoptysis, many of his supporters believe he was poisoned.

Our movie picks up after his death with many of his students distraught at the funeral of his former teacher. One of these students is Chen Zhen (Bruce Lee), a young man who’s furious over the death of his teacher and wants to use his fists to settle the score. To add insult to injury, members of a rival Japanese dojo, present the school with a gift, a frame with the words “The sick man of Asia.” inscribed inside. Chen and many of the other students want to have a brawl with the Japanese dojo right then and there, but are reminded of their former teacher’s stance on nonviolence or something to that effect.

This doesn’t stop Chen from visiting the Japanese dojo and giving the students and teachers there an attitude adjustment. If you want to see Bruce Lee kicking butt then look no further than this movie. When he’s done giving the Japanese dojo a lashing he breaks the frame with the inscription inside of it and the two star pupils of that dojo to literally eat those words. 

Later on, Chen is refused entrance to a park which has a sign that reads, “No dogs and Chinese allowed.” A well-to-do Japanese man tells Chen he might be admitted into the park if acts like a dog. Chen then smashes the man’s face and smashes the sign.  Back at his dojo, Chen overhears how two members of the Chin Woo Athletic Organization were actually working for the Japanese dojo all along and these two men were responsible for poisoning Huo Yuanjia. Chen confronts these two men and kills them, stringing up their bodies in the town square for all to see. 

Tensions escalate between the two dojos after Chen murders the Japanese dojo’s translator and strings him up. While the students of the Japanese dojo leave one night to finish off the Chin Woo Athletic Organization once and for all, Chen sneaks into the Japanese jojo to fight its teachers. You get three amazing fights including one with a Russian who enjoys bending steel for fun. Check it out. There are worse ways to spend a Saturday night.

Jeff Shuster (episode 47, episode 102, episode 124, episode 131, episode 284, episode 441, episode 442, episode 443, episode 444, episode 450, episode 477, episode 491, episode 492, episode 493, episode 495, episode 496, episode 545, episode 546, episode 547, episode 548, episode 549, episode 575, episode 596, episode 597, episode 598, episode 599, episode 642, episode 643, episode 644, episode 645, and episode 670) is an MFA graduate from the University of Central Florida.