Reviewed by: Chungking_Cash Date: 12/03/2008 Bruce Lee's sole directorial offering was equally notable for being the first Chinese martial arts film shot on location in Europe preceding Sammo Hung's "Wheels on Meals" (1984) by more than a decade. Cantonese bumpkin Bruce Lee finds himself a stranger in a strange land when he arrives in Rome to protect the family restaurant from a local syndicate. Lee, as an actor, plays the fish-out-of-water gag with a gamut of facial expressions that never betray his true capabilities and are accompanied by Joseph Koo's innocent, inquisitive, appropriately juvenile score. The film really is a farce with Lee poking fun at his own personal experiences following his migration to America which would ultimately shape all three of his Chinese pictures. As a martial artist Bruce Lee never looked more calculated or precise -- period -- "The Way of the Dragon" earning the late auteur his largest domestic gross. Reviewer Score: 9

Reviewed by: mrblue Date: 09/27/2005 In his first movie where he had full control of the set, Bruce Lee stars as a HKer who comes to Italy to work at his family's restaurant and finds it being shaken down by the local gangsters. You can probably see what's coming next. After Lee holds back for a while, he begins to open a can of whoop ass on the gangsters, culminating in a climatic fight with an American-imported muscleman played by Chuck Norris. This is a good movie that hasn't quite stood the test of time. The lousy fashions and low production values (and bad dubbing in the international versions) hurt it a bit. Similar plots have been used lots of times before and since, and it comes of as a bit cheesy. However, Lee shows a good understanding of editing and pacing that sets this movie apart from others of its kind. Some viewers might be disappointed that the film isn't wall-to-wall kung fu, but Lee's deliberate pacing makes the few fight scenes that are in here that much more powerful, especially the confrontation between Lee and Norris, which remains a classic in the genre. I also enjoyed the way Lee played a bit with his on-screen persona. This is one of the few instances where Lee used comedy (through himself) and it gives his character a nice bit of three-dimensionality. And I should point out that Nora Miao looks really good in this movie. Even with the bad '70's clothes and hair, she's still a major babe and brings a nice bit of eye candy to the film. I'm probably preaching to the choir in this review -- I'm sure many of you have already seen this film, but if you haven't, you should check it out. Even though it doesn't get mentioned as much as Enter the Dragon or Fist of Fury, Way of the Dragon is still a rock-solid martial arts movie that's definitely worth a viewing. [review from www.hkfilm.net]

Reviewed by: irons Date: 11/04/2004 Summary: An important film. An important film if only because it was Bruce Lees first (and only completed) directorial effort. Some of the humour might not come across too well to a western audience but the fight scenes more than make up for any misgivings. Two fight scenes stand out, the back alley double nunchaku scene and the one on one with Chuck Norris. The later fight scene ranks amongst the best in martial arts movie history. A kitten makes the noise that signals the start of the battle with Norris and it is a joy to behold these two go hammer and tongs at one another. A must see film for these two scenes alone. Recommended.

Reviewed by: Kyashan Date: 05/18/2003 Summary: Good but not good I watched this movie 3 times and every time I found it good, a good Bruce Lee, good direction but not good the american style of Chuck Norris (I don't like his performance). Bruce Lee was GREAT!

Reviewed by: Inner Strength Date: 04/14/2002 Summary: Bad Considered as one of his best by many, but to me, I found this one amoungst the most dull of kung fu films. Rating: 1/5

Reviewed by: Sydneyguy Date: 03/08/2002 Summary: Ok -ish The only thing i liked about this movie is the last fight between Bruce Lee and Chuck Norris. Apart from that, i found the rest of the movie unfunny and not that entertaining. 5/10

Reviewed by: Ryoga Date: 12/23/2001 A very cool movie by the man himself, Bruce Lee. Bruce goes to Rome to help his friends from the mob that is trying to buy their restaurant. After many times trying to get rid of Bruce, they call on Colt (Chuck Norris) to take him out. This is one of my favorite films besides Fist Of Fury that Bruce made. This is more comedic which I really liked. Bruce had the funniest facial expressions too. A classic and must own! Find the Universe DVD. It's Widescreen and subtitled. Way better than the American release which is cropped, edited and dubbed.

Reviewed by: MrBooth Date: 12/14/2001 Summary: An important step for Bruce to make, but falters a little WAY OF THE DRAGON (1972): This was my favourite of the Bruce films when I first saw them. I can't specifically remember why, but I think it was mainly because the story seemed the most interesting. Re-evaluating now I like it less. Bruce plays the HK country boy who is sent to Italy to help out a family member whose restaurant is being bullied by the local bad guys, who desperately want the property for reasons that they never care to explain. The staff of the restaurant are just as determined not to give it up, but with the bad guys scaring away all their customers they're in a pickle. Nora Miao is rather disappointed that her uncle sent a country boy who can't speak English (apparently the lingua franca of Italy at this time!), until he demonstrates his prowess in kung fu. The staff quickly rally behind Bruce as their saviour, believing that the bad guys can't possibly win against his skill... but one thing you should learn from Bruce's movies is that bad guys don't give up so easily. Bruce's performance here is a little bit more rounded than his snarling psycho in FIST OF FURY, but at the risk of sounding heretical his acting is very unconvincing. Some of the gwailo villains actually seem more convincing (though not most of them!). We are treated to a wonderful assortment of bad guys with porn moustaches and flares, and an outrageously camp Chinese guy who is in their employ. This was Bruce Lee's first film as director, and he does a fairly good job of getting his story across, but his ego shows through a little... especially in the fight scenes. Most of the scenes consist of one or more bad guys rushing at Bruce and being taken down with a couple of blows the second they get in range. It's just past the one hour mark before somebody actually lands a blow on him, and even then only because he was distracted. Admittedly it's not until the end that the people he's fighting are actually supposed to be martial artists (and actually are Martial Artists for that matter), but the fights lack the thrill of those in FIST OF FURY because the other fighters are basically just props for Bruce to demonstrate his moves. The much lauded fight with Chuck Norris in the Colloseum is the exception to this, and it is a very well paced fight... the filming and editing is very effective at creating the atmosphere of a fight (except the random shots of a kitten cut in for no clear purpose), though the actual choreography is a bit awkward. Also, even if Chuck Norris was actually a very well qualified martial artist in real life, it's hard to ignore the fact he's a mildly overweight gwailo with a rug on his chest who simply isn't very much fun to watch. Overall, I'd rate WAY OF THE DRAGON above BIG BOSS but below FIST OF FURY, looking at them now. Overall, still an important movie in the development of the Martial Arts movie, but Bruce allowed himself a little too much ego indulgence in his first movie with total control. Truly essential only for fans of Bruce or the quite lovely Nora Miao. 2006 edit: After watching the film again in the original Mandarin, my opinion hasn't changed much. Since I wrote this review in 2001 I've seen many more films from the era, mostly from Shaw Brothers, and have to say that in most respects, this is a mediocre film compared to many others that were being made at the time. As with The Big Boss, the only thing that redeems the film from being a waste of time is Bruce Lee's skill and "screen presence", both of which are of course undeniable. It's really for that alone that the film gets 6/10. Reviewer Score: 6

Reviewed by: Cal Date: 07/19/2001 Summary: See it Probably the most well-rounded of Bruce Lee's movies - and way ahead of it's time. Remember that in 1972, action movies in Hong Kong were strictly straight-faced (Jackie Chan wouldn't make comedy popular in Kung-fu films for another six years), so the humorous touches make this a genuine ground-breaker. Some fantastic fights (Bruce uses double nunchaku to defeat a swarm of Gwailo) and a still fresh and exciting finale in the showdown with Chuck Norris. It's not quite perfect, however. We could have done without the traitorous restaurant owner 'twist' near the end, and what exactly is that zoom-shoot on the kitten in the coliseum all about?

Reviewed by: tygrdx Date: 03/15/2000 Summary: A Bruce Lee work Written, Directed, and Choreographed by Lee himself It's hard to say which is Bruce Lee's best movies. It's a toss up with Enter the Dragon, Fists of Fury, and Way of the Dragon. Each movie is different, Enter the Dragon had the best production values and Bruce Lee's actual voice. Fists of Fury had the best plot and Bruce's acting abilities were allowed to shine. But this movie was Predominantly done by Bruce Lee. Not only was it a movie to entertain, but a movie that was to Educate Man. Bruce Lee's Values, Philosophy, as well as his Revolutionary Fighting Methods, are Well Represented in this Movie.