Leofwine_draca Billed as an exploration of Bruce Lee's early life, YOUNG BRUCE LEE is a film that's been falsely advertised from the outset. Cine Asia marketed it as an all-action fighting-flick, with a fight-packed trailer and explosive advertising. In actual fact, the makers of this film aren't interested in the action at all, instead focusing on human drama throughout. This is a film that explores Bruce's love life and the lives of his friends and associates in 1950s Hong Kong.Unfortunately, it's also extraordinarily dull, and the distinct lack of action makes it a real chore to watch. It soon becomes apparent that Bruce's early life just wasn't very interesting and certainly not worthy of a film; the interest lies in what happens when he went to America, which is conveniently where this film ends. In addition, the filmmakers strive to portray him as a pacifist, and he sustains at least two beatings during the course of the movie; hardly the champion and kung fu star of later years.This is a tough film to like, because the action that takes place is just so dull. Bruce comes across as arrogant and unlikeable, and the decision to cast an unknown Arabic-looking actor in the part was a bad one. Okay, so he sometimes looks a bit like the star at the right angle, but it becomes painfully obvious that he has no fighting ability and he has little acting ability, either. Tony Leung is brought in for heavyweight support as Bruce's father, but his role is a completely extraneous one.The film does pick up towards the climax, but the fights are still disappointing and in the high-rise finish Bruce has little to do. I mean, who wants to watch a film about Bruce Lee for the romance? The whole setup was misjudged from the very beginning, leaving this a crushing bore and huge disappointment.

ebiros2 Maybe there's renewed interest in the young life of Bruce Lee because of the recent hit movie about Bruce's Wing Chun teacher Yip Man. In any case, this movie has input of Bruce's young brother Robert Lee which sheds light to Bruce's formative years in Hong Kong. From this influence, much of the story revolves around Bruce's family life. Along with it we also get to see a glimpse of what life in Hong Kong might have looked like back in the mid '50s.It's a good movie about life of Bruce Lee. The only negative might be that the actor and the actress who played Bruce and his girlfriend lacked the flare that Bruce had and what was shown of the girl in the picture of Bruce at the Cha Cha competition. But this might be as close to possible of depicting Bruce by another person. Bruce Lee had very special star quality that made him stand out in every situation.I remember seeing Bruce Lee in TV commercial of the Green Hornet. His line was "Hi, this is Bruce Lee, please join me in the next episode of the Green Hornet.". He stood out despite the fact that he was little known, and he was an Asian showing up in American television. He was so good looking, and had a star quality like no other.I really liked this movie, as it shed lights on to the life of Bruce Lee in Hong Kong that we knew little about, and wished we knew more about. With the input of Robert Lee, this is as close to coming authentic as it can be, and is a good addition to the legend we know as Bruce Lee.

Falconeer For those about to buy this film; Beware... If you expect to learn anything about Bruce Lee, the man as we know, forget it. One hour into this film, Lee is still a small child. We get back stories about every single person who even had a moments contact with him. After the first hour the viewer realises that the film is half over, and there is simply not enough time to spend on the adult Bruce. 129 minutes later, the film ends, with no ending... There is not one fight in the entire film, no scenes of Bruce learning kung fu, nothing at all. And the most frustrating thing of all; after spending 45 minutes on the life of...Bruce lee's aunt, who had cancer, we are shown the great Yip Man; well, we are shown THE BACK OF YIP MAN'S HEAD, for about 8 seconds!! Then a teenage Bruce and some school friends are walking in front of a school and the film ABRUPTLY ends. I still can't believe what i have watched. Is this the same film that people gave a rating of 7 here? Was my DVD defective? I don't think so, because the film did run 129 minutes. In short, action fans will absolutely DESPISE this inane film about Bruce Lee's aunt, as there is not one scene featuring Kung Fu technique. And fans of drama will hate it because there is no ending; the thing just stops with no resolution. I am assuming this was part of a very long mini series, and some dishonest distributor put the first episode on DVD to make a quick buck. And by the way; I was not aware that Bruce Lee had a brother. Of all the Bruce rip-off\cash-in films, "bruce Lee My Brother" is the absolute worst. I returned the DVD to the shop, and let them know it was defective. I mean it HAD to be defective, right? This could not possibly be the final product..

DICK STEEL Based upon the book Bruce Lee, My Brother by Robert Lee, Bruce's youngest brother, directors Raymond Yip and Manfred Wong take us on a journey that's begging to be made about the life and times of the formative, growing up years of Lee Jun Fan / Lee Sai Feng (Phoenix). It doesn't need to encroach into the territory that Rob Cohen's Dragon had already touched on, the Hollywood film done some 17 years back with Jason Scott Lee (of no relations) in the leading role that begins from his teenage and adult years in the USA, Jeet Kune Do, Kato, Fist of Fury and all. Instead this film takes a more nostalgic look back from the 40s to 60s Hong Kong, focusing on the somewhat wayward youth and teen actor prior to being "exiled" by his dad to the US for his own protection, and the rest, as they say, is history.In what would be something like a calling as an actor when his father the opera megastar (Tony Leung Kar Fai) assisted a director friend in need by volunteering his infant son in Golden Gate Girl, Bruce Lee's film forays was way before the kung fu movies launched him into super-stardom, starring in The Orphan and many others, and through this narrative angle, allowed the filmmakers to pay tribute and homage to famous screen actors who once were and the films they were in, the filmmaking mover and shakers behind them, and a commentary on the state of the industry at that time, with unions and hectic film schedules, actors often handling simultaneous projects that require flitting from one sound stage to another. No effort was spared in the attention to detail in sets and costumes, and I thoroughly enjoyed everything the filmmakers had in pulling out all the stops in recreating the mood, look and feel, plus the wonderful actors taking great pains to bring back the memories of acting veterans.Acting career aside, Bruce Lee, My Brother also touches upon his family members as well, with scenes involving his siblings and parents, their upbringing and the value system instilled upon them. It shows the affluence of a traditional extended Chinese family living together, and not just under the same roof with kin, but that including the servants and their children too. Glimpses of stepping out of traditional boundaries are shown through his mom, played by Christy Chung in a comeback role, as deliberate attention was paid to her wearing the pants of the household when her husband's away, taking charge of delicate situations, including cursory mention of her fine family background. It is little nuggets of information like these that make this film a wonderful gem to sit through for trivia.And of course, no story will be complete without friendship and romance thrown into the mix, especially when dealing with the pains of growing up. A tempestuous youth almost always never shying away from a fight, nevermind his semi-stardom, Bruce Lee is part of a group nicknamed the Kowloon Tigers, and it is this allegiance with his buddies that take centerstage, with a subplot running to the finale, involving loving the same girl as his best friend, and how he puts his loyalty with friends and family above everything else. They hang out mostly at dance parlours, and the hours he puts in explains his nimbleness and gracefulness that we'll see infused into his fighting prowess, not to mention being crowed a Cha-cha dance champion at one point as well.The fights are widely touted in the trailer, and here's where chief credit must go to the filmmakers for conscientiously steering clear of too much Wing Chun, and avoiding the temptation to stage clichéd big battles with the Japanese soldiers or British corrupt police. These have been touched upon too frequently of late, with the two Ip Man films, as well as the Andrew Lau's tribute to Bruce Lee with his Legend of Chen Zhen. Meeting up with Ip Man himself is probably requisite for this film, but it placed it in proper context that Bruce was most of the time being trained by one of the pupils instead, and we do see some hints of Jeet Kune Do in his fights, which are never deadly, but friendlier in nature meant as a comparison of skills and fighting philosophies.Bruce Lee, My Brother is a fitting tribute about the early life of Bruce Lee, hitting the mark on famous milestones in his life, and showing his character not as the superstar to be, but the down to earth and fiercely loyal friend, brother and son he was known to all those close to him. Dramatic license is of course heavily used especially when putting in subtle hints throughout the film that references the famous movies that he will make in the future (loved that makeshift nunchak using preserved sausages, as well as the banter with a certain Shek Kin). A definite must watch especially for fans who must stay put during the end credit roll for a photographic comparison of pictures taken in the film with the real thing. A film I enjoyed tremendously and goes into my books as a firm contender for the best this year has to offer!