Produced directly after the not funny ‘comedy’ Spiritual Kung Fu, Dragon Fist was a more serious tale. Perhaps Lo Wei drew it up to balance out all the side splitting laughs he thought its predecessor would create. The film follows a revenge plot that Jackie admits would have been perfect for Bruce Lee, but not a good fit for him. Just like the movie before it though, it didn’t see the light of day until after the Jackie big boom at Seasonal Pictures. In this case, it was released in April of 1979, a month after Fearless Hyena. This means he actually released in consecutive order the best two Jackie films he directed.
Jackie’s protagonist Tang follows an indirect path to vengeance, accompanied by the widow and daughter (played in Nora Miao style by Nora Miao) of his slain master. Most of the plot centers on the machinations of three rival clans, one of which boasts James Tien’s (back to playing a bad guy) unscrupulous Fang. There are a number of good twists in the story, and Jackie himself admits that this picture really had a chance to be something.
The characters are well fleshed out, the story is engaging, and above all, the acting is good enough to make you hate the bad guys. It definitely doesn’t feel like we are just going through the motions in this film. The action is pretty crisp and polished as well. The best fight by far is during the final battle when one of the villains pulls out pointed tonfa made of brass, which Jackie has to match with a walking stick. I’ve said it before; any Jackie fight involving tonfa (or guai as they are called in Chinese) is going to be a win.
Jackie’s role is definitely meant to emulate Bruce Lee – which we know is not possible. That being said though, this was the closest we will ever see to a Jackie/Bruce hybrid. After seeing all of the previous Lo Wei attempts to make Jackie a star, I seriously doubt he would have had as much of a problem if a quality movie like Dragon Fist were among his first offerings. I could imagine a world where he made this movie instead of New Fist of Fury, where the Sing Lung star could have taken off sooner. Dragon Fist is not perfect, but it’s definitely worth a watch – especially for the engaging plot twists that keep you guessing until the very end.
JACKIE CHAN SANCTUARY 