Quentin Tarantino Adored A Forgotten Sequel To A Bruce Lee Martial Arts Classic

Bruce Lee was on the cusp of becoming one of the biggest movie stars in the world when he died at the age of 32 on July 20, 1973. Six days later, Lee's first film made with Hollywood studio involvement, "Enter the Dragon," opened to huge business in Hong Kong. The movie hit United States theaters the following month and gave the entire country kung-fu fever. The genre thrived, but the man who touched off this frenzy was gone, which was hard for his newfound legion of fans to accept.

While real-deal martial arts practitioners like Chuck Norris and Jackie Chan stepped up to sate moviegoers' karate cravings, Hong Kong film producers spied an opportunity to capitalize on Lee's popularity by seeking out lookalike performers who could generate some of the deceased star's magic. And thus the Bruceploitation genre was born. There was Bruce Le, Bruce Lai, and Dragon Lee among others, but the most talented of the bunch was easily Bruce Li. Li was so effective that the producers of Lee's unfinished final movie, "Gang of Death," explored the possibility of casting him to complete the film. Li declined that offer, but he was up for Bruceploitation efforts like "Goodbye Bruce Lee: His Last Game of Death" and "Bruce Lee: The Man, the Myth."

Li also starred in a couple of sequels to Lee's finest film, "Fist of Fury" (initially mistitled "The Chinese Connection" in the U.S.). Neither can touch the greatness of the original, but "Fist of Fury II" comes shockingly close. And if you don't trust my opinion on this matter, perhaps you'll listen to Bruce Li fan Quentin Tarantino.

Appearing on the "Pure Cinema" podcast, Tarantino praised "Fist of Fury II." The film takes place in Shanghai after Lee's Chen Zhen is executed by Japanese forces. When the occupying force destroys the Ching Wu school Chen fought bravely to defend, his brother, Chen Shan (Li), turns up. He's ticked off, just as lethal as Chen Zhen, and utterly fearless.

"Fist of Fury II" is a blast. It's considerably more violent than its predecessor, and Lo Lieh is a downright hissable villain as Miyamoto. The fights may lack the snap of Lee's movie, but, in Tarantino's estimation, it has a commendable quality that's rare in films like this: great dialogue. He's especially fond of the moment before Chen and Miyamoto engage in their climactic battle:

"When they have the final confrontation ... as opposed to the 'You bastard, I'm going to kill you ...,' they have a very interesting discussion for a second before they fight. Lo Leih is practicing his calligraphy, he's working on Chinese calligraphy, and Bruce Li looks at it and goes, 'Oh, no, this is actually quite good. You're very talented.' And Lo Leih is like, 'Oh, no, no, not really. I'm only playing around.'"

Chen continues to flatter Miyamoto, which I've always thought was a strategic decision. He's trying to throw his opponent off. I won't spoil the outcome of their duel, but it's an interestingly staged bit of combat. Directors Lahardi Iksan and Lee Tso-nam take Li and Lieh's talents into consideration, letting the fight unfold at a measured pace. It's thoughtful. You can definitely see its influence in "Kill Bill." And you should absolutely see "Kill Bill: The Whole Bloody Affair" when it hits theaters on December 5, 2025.