Movie review: ‘The Way of the Dragon’

FloridaGator80

Today I’m taking a look at “The Way of the Dragon,” which was written by and stars the late Bruce Lee. It is a classic martial arts film, but, while not very well acted and the dubbing can be comical at times, it is a bit more than just a film featuring fighting and is totally worth your time. You even get a young(ish) Chuck Norris in a rare bad-guy role and a bunch of fights. “The Way of the Dragon” was released in the U.S. after Lee’s seminal “Enter the Dragon,” but “The Way of the Dragon” came first to the big screen. “The Way of the Dragon” often makes rounds on the movie channels, so you can easily find it … and you should!

‘The Way of the Dragon’
(1972; 90 minutes; rated R; directed by Bruce Lee and starring Bruce Lee, Chuck Norris and Nora Miao)

YOU WANT BRUE LEE? YOU GOT BRUCE LEE!

(NOTE: I updated this review on March 20, 2026, to note the passing of Chuck Norris.)

“The Way of the Dragon” has historical significance in the genre of martial arts films, but it is wonderful and you should check it out because of the watchability of one actor: Bruce Lee. He was the most famous martial artist of the day and earned your attention simply by him being in a scene.

(CLICK here … for all my reviews of movies)
(CLICK here … for a chronological list of my reviews)
(CLICK here … for all my reviews of Christmas movies)
(CLICK here … for all my reviews of horror movies)
(CLICK here … for all my reviews of ‘007’ movies)
(CLICK here … for all my reviews of sports movies)
(CLICK here … for all my reviews of war movies)

“The Way of the Dragon” has a familiar storyline (martial arts dude saves the day) and is Lee’s film throughout: he wrote it, he directed it and he is the headliner. Each minute of the film brings you the expectation that Lee’s going to do something worth watching … and you’re never disappointed. Not every actor has (or had) this watchability and that’s a reflection of Lee’s on-screen charisma.

Oh, let me get the chronological issues out of the way right now. “The Way of the Dragon” was originally released in Hong Kong in 1972 and it predates by a year Lee’s most famous and iconic film, “Enter the Dragon.” However, “Way” wasn’t released in the U.S. until 1974 and was re-titled “Return of the Dragon” in a spurious attempt to make it appear to be a sequel to “Enter the Dragon” (see the movie poster at left as an example of this marketing). “The Way of the Dragon” was written by, directed by and stars Lee and was the last of his films released while he was alive (Lee died a month before the premiere of “Enter the Dragon”).

OK, now, with that out of the way, let’s get to the movie!

Lee, who plays “Tang Lung,” comes to Rome from Hong Kong to help when a Chinese family is being bullied to sell their restaurant to Italian gangsters. Of course, Lee is a martial arts expert and, while the restaurant’s staff (which is training in Japanese karate) doesn’t measure up to the fighting skills of the gangsters, Lee just goes out and kicks their collective butts.

Again and of course, the staff then begin to train under Lee and the whole thing plays out with the gangsters continuing to harass the restaurant and try to kill Lee. Finally, the Italian gang boss brings in Chuck Norris, who plays “Colt,” to kill Lee. The film’s climactic fight scene is played out at Rome’s famous Colosseum and is a film battle as classic as any gunfight in American westerns.

It would have been nice to see more of Norris, who was one of Lee’s students in real life. You don’t get to see much of a character development for “Colt,” but, then again, it probably would have detracted from the film. In any case, Lee wraps things up nicely and it is obvious he is a loner on his own path (can you say TV’s “Kung Fu?”).

Now, there are only a few actors I’ll mention and all, including Lee, are naturally hampered by the poor dubbing of the day. Still, you can get a solid feel for how they work on-screen.

  • After the film’s slow start at Rome’s airport, Lee becomes a magnet for your attention. If he were on-screen today, he’d command as much attention as Brad Pitt or Leonardo DiCaprio. Lee has an economy of movement outside the fighting scenes and you can see his intense focus in every scene. Lee had only 32 acting credits before his death at 32 in Kowloon, Hong Kong, and his first was in 1941 in an uncredited “role” as “infant.” It’s sad that this young man’s star power didn’t have longer to be admired by Western audiences and from the popularity of his next film, “Enter the Dragon,” he would have become a major star in Hollywood. Lee’s death is reportedly from a cerebral edema, according to IMDb.com. However, there conspiracy theories that include he was killed by Chinese triads (gangs). Click here for a story outlining some of the conspiracy theories …
  • Nora Miao plays “Chen Ching Hua” and she guides Lee on his mission to save the restaurant. Miao has great screen time and manages to appear solid, but, again, the dubbing makes it difficult to evaluate her complete talent on the big screen. Miao is confident and that’s what counts in this kind of film. She was in “Fist of Fury” with Lee and has a total of 49 acting credits since her first in 1971.
  • A native of Oklahoma, Norris is familiar to western audiences from his many martial arts-themed films (from “The Octagon” — click here for my review — to a brief appearance in the underrated “Sidekicks” – click here for my review). Like others in this one, Chuck doesn’t really do much in the way of acting. However, his fight scene with Lee is considered a screen legend. You’ll remember him for TV’s “Walker: Texas Ranger” and more recently has been in the “Expendables” franchise. Norris died in March 2026 in Hawaii at 86, just nine days after his birthday of March 10.
  • Jon T. Benn plays “The Boss” and the native of Queens, New York, looks the part and, like another supporting actor, easily conveys his role to the audience. Benn, who was in Jet Li’s “Fearless,” had a short career of 12 acting credits and died at 83 in 2018.
  • Chung-Hsin Huang, who was billed in the credits as Wang Chung Hsin, plays “Uncle Wang,” who is the ultimately treacherous character. He constantly tells his staff not to fight and that all they can do is bring destruction to the restaurant, but changes his tune late in the film. He gets good screen time and appears as effective as the character could expect to perform. He was also in “Fist of Fury” with Lee and died in 1976 at 56 in Hong Kong.
  • Ping-Ou Wei is the most expressive of all the actors in “Way” as he manages to play the simpering lackey “Ho” to the absolute fullest. Even if a Western audience didn’t see the film with dubbing, everyone would understand what he was conveying in the film. He was yet another in “Fist of Fury” with Lee and had 136 acting credits. He died at 60 in 1989 in Hong Kong and his last credit was from … 1994!

Since the “The Way of the Dragon” takes place in Rome, the gangsters are all Westerners: a smattering of undistinguished white guys with a couple of black guys in the mix. It appears in all fight sequences, even with the Lee-Norris showdown, that it is Asian versus Western and I understand that possible undercurrent, but it follows the storyline, too.

In any case, Lee kicks everyone’s ass (but his own) and has one of the earliest and certainly one of the best examples of using nunchaku that are also called “nunchucks.” Lee choreographed the fight scenes in “The Way of the Dragon” and they’re all tight and showcase his incredible talent as a martial artist.

I don’t know if “The Way of the Dragon” had much influence on Jackie Chan’s “The Battle Creek Brawl” (click here for my review), but there are many similarities, from gangsters extorting a business to a martial artist saving the day after a clash with the big boss. Although I enjoy the fight sequences in “Brawl,” there’s no question that Lee’s work in “Way” offers much better.

“The Way of the Dragon” didn’t make it into the top 10 at the U.S. box office in 1974, but it did ultimately earn $130 million worldwide on a budget of $130,000, according to Wiki. The No. 1 film from 1974 was the outstandingly funny and iconic and legendary comedy “Blazing Saddles” with $119.5 million (here’s an example of a non-PC film done right – click here for my review) and the No. 2 film was “The Towering Inferno” with $116 million.

Here are the films from 1972 (the year of “The Way of the Dragon” was first released worldwide) that I’ve reviewed:

Here are the films from 1974 (the year of the release in the U.S. of “The Way of the Dragon”) that I’ve reviewed:

Assorted cast and film notes (via IMDb.com):

  • Lee was born in San Francisco on Nov. 27, 1940. He died on July 20, 1973.
  • The entire production was reportedly filmed without sound and the characters’ voices dubbed.
  • Lee’s character is named “Tang Lung,” which translates to “China Dragon.”
  • Directly from IMDb.com: “Most of the crew did not have international passports or working visas which meant they could only work in Rome for a maximum of three weeks. Bruce Lee and the crew made sure they got all of their required footage within just two weeks.”
  • Lee and Norris were both born in 1940.
  • John Derbyshire, who has one film credit (this one) and one TV credit, reportedly said he was hired without having any acting experience because a casting assistant prowling a low-income area thought he looked “thuggish.” His role in “The Way of the Dragon:” uncredited as “thug.”
  • Directly from IMDb.com: “Bruce’s wife Linda Lee has cited this movie as her favorite movie of her husband, claiming that Bruce’s performance in the film is as close to what he was actually like in real life.”
  • The working title of the film was “Enter the Dragon,” but when Lee heard that Hollywood was interested in bring him into a big-time film, he wanted to reserve the “Enter” and decided to name it “The Way of the Dragon.”
  • Finally and directly from IMDb.com: “Bruce Lee spent forty-five hours on the fight scene with Chuck Norris. His choreographed instructions for the scene took up nearly a quarter of the script.”

© Chuck Curry and A Gator in Naples,
©2021, ©2026
Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without
express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner
is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that
full and clear credit is given to Chuck Curry and A Gator in Naples
with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

Unknown's avatar

Published by FloridaGator80

Leave a Reply