BIG BOSS II - DRAGON LEE FIGHTS AGAIN

Now if anybody ever says to you that kicking someone in the head is a bad thing to do, please remember to tell them to 'go and f*ck a duck'. OK? Well, it's either that, or ask them to watch this film Directed by Lu Po Tu; and Starring: Dragon Lee, Lik Cheung, and Bolo Yeung. It was made in 1978, and lasts for about 88 minutes.


Big Boss 2

THE STORY:

Imagine if you will. The place: Ancient China. The time: War time. And the battle: The Chinese versus the Japanese.  

Now I hope you've got all of that, folks. Because what I want you to do next, is guess the name of the shaggy-haired Chinese rebel who gets shot in the leg by the top-Jap, Tan Yin (Bolo Yeung), as his school has given him some secret scrolls, and now has to recover from his injuries by staying with some old family friends, way out of town.

Nah! Don't be daft. The rebel isn't that mysterious stranger with the legless sister, (Lik Cheung). It's that other angry looking chap who the stranger saves, silly. You know. The surly one. Lee Hang San (Dragon Lee). Whom he bumps into once the Jap's attacks his old family friends.

Furthermore, when these two funky looking fellars swap a few stories, guess what happens afterwards?

Yeah. That's correct. Everybody dies.

OK. I have to admit. Not everybody per-say. Out of pure luck, Lee and the stranger survive the looming Japanese onslaught. But then again that is most probably why what next transpires really kicks off when a cousin turns traitor. As music spells doom and gloom - a confrontation is about to exhume - the following twenty minutes made me quack - and look out Japs, those Chinamen can really fight back.

THE REVIEW:

If you was hoping that 'Big Boss 2' was a sequel to the original Bruce Lee classic, 'The Big Boss' -- well -- you're shit out of luck, pal. This movie it comes across as a very frustrated movie, with good ideas, concepts, and characters, yet none of the charm or expertise that it probably wished for in the first place.

Honestly. Try to think of this flick as a frustrated little school-boy who wants to imitate our pal Bruce. But doesn't have the ability or the skill that the great man once had.

Well, including the title of this film, there were a couple of other 'homages' scattered throughout it. Such as the way Dragon Lee kicks the Japanese sign like Bruce once did in 'Fist of Fury'. Then there's the way that he uses throwing darts like Bruce also did in 'Way of the Dragon'. After that, I best mention how his buddy is killed in a similar manner than Jim Kelly's character did in 'Enter the Dragon'. Plus, of course, Dragon himself tries to duplicate Bruce's behaviour with grimaces, yelps, and all of that type of thing.

Admittedly, this film isn't a complete and total disaster. No way Jose. Although the camera was a little too close up at times, I thought some of the fight scenes were very cleverly executed. Also, I have to give kudos to Dragon, Lik, and Bolo's contributions as well. Without a shadow of a doubt, this film can only really call itself a film because these three actors are in it.

But, hey! Enough of that for now. I think it's about time for some filmic-facts. (1) This not so b-movie classic was first released in France on the same day Sheikh Mohammed Abdullah, the Lion of Kashmir, died -- the 8th of September, 1982. (2) The tagline used to promote this production was 'Masters in the art of sudden death'. (3) Some of the alternate titles used for this film were: 'Dragon Lee Fights Again', 'Bruce Lee Fights Again', 'Chinese Goliath', and 'Muscle of the Dragon'. (4) Lik Cheung, who's the actor that plays Jacky Chang in this flick, starred with Bruce Le in 'Bruce and Shaolin Kung Fu', and Dragon Lee in 'Enter Three Dragons'. (5) This was Dragon Lee's sixth appearance in a feature film. His first one was in 1971; in an American action-adventure starring Tom Keena called 'Wit's End'. (6) The director of this movie, Lu Po Tu, directed nine films throughout his short lived career. He began in 1978, and he ended in 1982.  (7) Loosely translated, this project was entitled 'The Justice Dragon' in Portugal, and 'Fighting the Tiger, Escape from Hong Kong' in France. (8) Bolo Yeung's last known film work was in 2013, on the Kazakhstani based action thriller, 'The Whole World at Our Feet'.

OK. So where was I? Oh, yeah! 'Big Boss 2'. A film that's so ying and yang, for the life of me, I can't really say if I like it or not.

I mean, I should be bashing it in because it cashed in on Bruce's good name. Or maybe I should be explaining in no uncertain terms, that this film has a fairly solid centre, but just doesn't have any direction to it whatsoever.

You see, in layman's term, the basic premise behind this piece is how Dragon Lee's character has to run away from Bolo and his men, because of a secret list he was given.  However, why he is hiding this list, or why they even want it, is never really revealed.

Moreover, something else this film is sorely lacking is some sort of overall narrative linking the characters and the plot altogether. One minute one character goes left. The next minute another character goes right. Another minute later yet another character turns up and does something completely unexpected. And there is no coherent explanation, explaining why this is the case.

Do you see what I'm getting at folk's? About 'no direction'? It's a shame really. Because I'm sure in the right hands, 'Big Boss 2' could have been a lot better than it actually was.

Just like a frustrated school boy. Ha!

THE RATING: C-