Birth of the Dragon 2016

     The setting of this film is San Francisco of 1960 and the title is also known as A Origem do Dragao.  It features the epic and still talked about showdown between Bruce Lee and Kung Fu master Wong Jack Man.  Bruce Lee has been working hard to build up his roster of clients and to make his mark in San Francisco.  He’s thrown for a loop when he learns that Wong Jack Man is coming to San Francisco.  He wants to know why Wong Jack Man is here and what are his plans?  Is he going to disrupt Lee’s business and try to create his own business here?  Steve McKee meets Wong Jack Man at the pier when he arrives on a boat.  Steve learns that Wong Jack Man has come to remove his own pride by washing dishes.  This isn’t anything that Lee or McKee expected!!

      This main idea of the story is that a man can change through the study of Kung Fu.  Steve McKee wanted to learn Kung Fu to gain respect but that changed to being willing to love others without conditions.  Wong Jack Man nearly killed someone and he needed to learn self-control in order to overcome his thoughts of his past.  Bruce Lee was full of pride and he wanted to be better than everyone else.  He learned maturity and humility and this allowed him to work with other masters.  The ultimate winners of these changes in the men were the women brought to San Francisco from China.  They were forced to work for an undermined amount of time to receive their freedom.  3* (This movie is OK)

95 min, Action directed by George Nolfi with Billy Magnussen, Yu Xia, Philip Ng, Hai Yu, Yue Wu, Billy Magnussen, Steven Roberts, Riley Wood, Philip Ng, Simon Yin, Terry Chen, Ron Yuan, Lillian Lim, Tee Jee Tso, Jingjing Qu.

Note:  Imdb 5.3 out of 10, 25% critic 70% audience on Rotten Tomatoes, Amazon Video 3.5* out of 5* with 105 reviews, Roger Ebert thumb down, Metacritic 35 out of 100 with 13 critics 4.7 of 10 with 21 reviews.

Special Note:  Extensive re-editing was required because the reaction of audiences was very negative to original film.  Many scenes with Billy Magnussen as Steve McKee were cut to focus more on Philip Ng as Bruce Lee.  Steve McQueen was the model for the character Steve McKee and McQueen studied with Bruce Lee in the late 1960’s.  Philip Ng was also in the Kung Fu TVB drama A Fist Within Four Walls as Lung Sing Fu.