[wpdevart_youtube]soLlxteBbNA[/wpdevart_youtube]
BIRTH OF THE DRAGON | FILM REVIEW
**
Director: George Nolfi
Starring: Billy Magnussen, Yu Xia, Phillip Ng
(12A, 1hr 35 mins)
Birth of The Dragon, as the name might suggest, tells of the beginnings of the legend that is Bruce Lee. Or at least it should have been. Instead this film’s main plot hinges on two elements, a half-strung romance tale and the supposed fight that happened between Bruce Lee and Shaolin monk Wong Jack Man. It is in between these two plot lines that the film attempts to balance instead but instead it shows poor technique and little strength in its story-telling.
The most prominent glaring problem with Birth of The Dragon is the fact that Bruce Lee is not the focus here. Instead the film follows a student of his as he develops a crush on a girl held captive by the local mob and his admiration for Wong Jack Man as a mentor. It’s baffling that this is marketed as a Bruce Lee film at all; it plays out like we’re following a guy working at the Daily Planet while Superman hangs around in the background. The main character is uninteresting, vacant and lifeless. The half-baked romance suggests after one interaction this character is willing to risk his life to save the girl.
It does serve the purpose of bringing the fight of Wong Jack Man and Bruce Lee together, and this plot line does work, Phillip Ng plays a slightly exaggerated Bruce Lee but it works very well, capturing the mannerisms and techniques that Lee used on his films. He clearly has a lot of fun with the character for the little time he is given. Yu Xia plays his counterpart very well also as the humbled shaolin monk who seeks peace rather than violence. It’s a story that unfolds well as the monk only seeks to humble Lee in an effort to change his arrogance so that Lee’s attempts to bring Hong Kong to the world is more refined and graceful. Watching Bruce Lee turn from arrogant and graceless fighter to being humbled in his challenging of a master is a well-constructed arc, but it doesn’t pay off meaningfully, as such little devotion is given towards it. Lee is a background character in his own story.
The lack of focus and attention are the film’s main problems, as highlighted further through its production design, with very little about the setting, mise-en-scene or look of the film suggesting it is set in the 1960s. Furthermore, the camerawork does little to liven the action, with static shots and long wides doing little to increase the tenacity of fights which are done well for the most part, particularly in the showdown between Lee and Jack Man which is thoroughly gripping and is full of homages and references to Lee’s films and fighting styles. Sadly, this is neither treated with the gravitas it could have been and leaves the climactic fights feeling lacklustre in comparison.
Birth of The Dragon wastes a lot of potential in its storytelling as well as its actors. Well-constructed fight scenes are bought low by uninspired direction and paling in comparison to the main event which sadly doesn’t pay off as well as it should have. With little focus and lack of impact it tells a bland and lifeless story that neglects the most crucial elements of the film.
words JAKE YOUNG