“Storming Attacks” Theatrical Poster
Director: Yueng Kuen
Cast: Bruce Li (aka Ho Chung Tao, James Ho), Han Ying Chieh, Danna, Chang Lei, Chang Wu Lang, Bolo Yeung (Yang Sze, Yang Tze, Bolo Yang)
Running Time: 88 min.
By Joe909
Image of Bruce Lee isn’t the best Bruce Li movie, but neither is it the worst. The martial arts are better than any of his earlier flicks, but the ad naseum fighting, nonsensical script, and exploitative moments place it below such later Li classics as “Dynamo” and “Chinese Stuntman.”
But let’s get back to the exploitation. There’s more nudity in Image of Bruce Lee than any other old-school chop sockey I’ve seen. I’m talking full-on, Grade A, female nudity. And luckily, the featured actress is pretty attractive. The actress’ name is Dana (no last name; who knows, maybe she inspired Madonna), and cutely enough her character is named “Donna.” She’s the daughter of a crime boss, who’s littering Hong Kong with counterfeit US bills. It’s up to special agent Bruce Li and his shaggy-haired partner (a dead ringer for Conan’s pal in “Conan the Barbarian”) to stop the madness.
Li is introduced as he attempts to stop a suicide at the beginning of the film. Decked out in a yellow Game of Death outfit (complete with blue Asics Tigers!) that’s been modified with some sort of special forces logo, he rappels up a large building and tries to foil the guy. No luck, though; Bruce grabs the guy’s arm, only to discover too late that it’s a prosthetic appendage!
An original opening; most other movies would capitalize on this, maybe showing Li’s character going through some sort of depression. But after a quick sparring session with his hapless teammates, Li’s on to a new mission: namely, team up with his partner and tail Donna, who’s soon to arrive in Hong Kong from London. During a mission screening (in which we see that Bruce Li smokes!), Li and his pal learn that beyond the crime boss and his flunkies, there’s also a Japanese faction on the scene, lead by a very nonJapanese-looking Bolo Yeung.
What follows is a comedy of errors, as Bruce and pal prove to be the most inept undercover cops in the history of movies. Their assignment is to “quietly” follow Donna, but instead they openly tail her. I mean, within moments of her getting off the plane in Hong Kong, she knows they’re following her! And from there it just gets worse. I’d say this could be a parody of undercover cop movies, but the rest of the movie just doesn’t justify that theory; it’s just kung-fu mayhem all the way. One of those movies where fights break out at the drop of a hat. I wouldn’t say it’s as bad as a Bruce Le movie, but still, there are enough interesting characters on display to justify a little more character/plot development, and a little less “I’m gonna teach you a lesson!” fighting.
There are a few clever twists and surprises in store for viewers. Most notably, some nice scenes where Donna has a little fun with her pursuers (while she shows off her entire body for us viewers), and a little reversal at the end when someone reveals they aren’t who we thought they were. But beyond that, Image of Bruce Lee just doesn’t achieve the cheesy greatness of Li’s other films, mostly because it seems that the filmmakers were afraid to take a few chances with the story. They could’ve given us a nice ensemble piece with mulitple plots and only a few great fights, but instead they toned down the characterization and loaded up on the chop sockey.
Joe909’s Rating: 5.5/10
By Alvin George
I bought this video at a secondhand store. OK, so this is yet another Bruceploitation movie, with some guy named Bruce Li instead of Bruce Lee. But if you can get past the title, it’s actually a fairly decent movie. For one thing, it’s set in 1970s (I think) Hong Kong instead of some ancient Shaolin temple. The fight choreography, while not as good as that in a typical Bruce Lee or Jackie Chan film, is at least considerably better than that in “Slaughter in San Francisco.” There’s also a foxy Asian lady with Farrah-type hair who often goes naked. In all, passable.
Alvin George’s Rating: 5/10
