Game of Death (1978) [Film Review]

Game of Death; or, A Movie Too Far
     Don’t you understand anything? Everybody looked at him, but there was no person to see anything!
I have heard a great deal of positive as well as negative opinions about the controversial Game of Death movie, the “final”, we could say, Bruce Lee’s movie. Although Bruce had shot a considerable amount of footage before he was approached with the offer of making Enter the Dragon, due to his untimely death in 1973, Game of Death remained an unfinished endeavour. However, producer Raymond Chow and director Robert Clouse joined forces in order to complete Bruce’s last movie and bring it to the big screen. However, their vision vastly differs from Lee’s original script… Please Jesus, give me strength on this one. Let’s take a look at Game of Death.

Release Info

Directed by: Robert Clouse Starring: Bruce Lee, Kim Tai Jong, Yuen Biao, Albert Sham, Gig Young

Language: English, Cantonese Original Title: 死亡遊戲 Runtime: 103 min

Synopsis
Billy Lo (Kim Tai Jong, Yuen Biao, Albert Sham) is a Hong Kong superstar, churning out such hits as Fists of Fury and The Way of the Dragon. He is stalked by a vicious syndicate which wants to organise some kind of an illegal martial arts tournament. Billy refuses to participate and, as a result, he is shot in the head by one of the henchmen on a film set. Miracuously, Billy survives and, with the help of a friend (Gig Young), fakes his own death and changes identity. However, the syndicate is now interested in Billy’s girlfriend, Ann Morris (Colleen Camp). Billy has to act fast and stop the gangsters.

For A Few Dollars More
Right from the start, you should get an idea that you are not in for a Bruce Lee flick. The intro sequence, albeit incredibly well-done for the 1970s, makes you feel as you are watching a James Bond movie. In addition, the presence of the legendary composer John Barry only reinforces this feeling whenever music cues kick in.

The task with which Raymond Chow and Robert Clouse had challenged themselves was not building a coherent story around Bruce Lee’s existing footage, but rather, how to make a Bruce Lee action film without having Bruce Lee in it. As a result, we get to see three stuntmen (voiced by an English actor) impersonating Bruce Lee… Had only the editing been more skillful, but it is not! You can see Bruce’s close-ups taken from his previous productions intercut with stuntmen in heavy make-up or cardboard cutouts…

To be honest, I can understand that back then the team behind Game of Death tried to make something which today Hollywood easily does with top-of-the-line technology (Paul Walker in Furious 7, Peter Cushing in Rogue One). The shortcomings of blending new footage with that of Bruce Lee’s are more than noticeable, yet they do not constitute the main disadvantage of the film.

In my opinion, the shoddy screenplay completely takes away the entertainment factor of this flick. We get a generic crime drama about the bad guys trying to kill the main protagonist, but the most disrespectful thing this storyline does is as follows: All Bruce Lee’s films exist in the universe of Game of Death. These are, quite rightfully, fiction… and Bruce Lee is fictional as well… Hence, this is not a film about Bruce Lee, but about a certain Billy Lo (supposedly played by Bruce Lee, which is not true) trying to act (and look) like Bruce Lee. Steven Moffat would not have been able to come up with a better cringefest, Robert Clouse!

Don’t even get me started on the dialogue! A 5-year-old could write more meaningful lines than “If we’re stopped, don’t do anything that will give them an excuse to hurt you!” or “Where’s the Doctor?!!!!!!” Also, the incorporation of the same battle cries into Billy Lo’s fight scenes is just so off the mark.

However, I have to give justice to Bruce Lee’s footage. When we finally get to see the pagoda showdown (which functions in the context of the film as confrontation in a restaurant), it feels like a breath of fresh air. Just these 10 minutes of Bruce Lee kicking ass with his maverick demeanour are definitely worth watching.

I think I should also mention the most controversial aspect of Game of Death. As mentioned in the synopsis, Billy Lo fakes his own death, and… lo and behold the movie features an actual shot (from the funeral) of dead Bruce Lee lying in an open coffin... Talk about a whole new level of graverobbing.

Recommendations
Without any doubt, Game of Death was made as a blatant cash-grab, riding on the wave of Bruceploitation trend of the late 1970s. My respect goes to Karim Abdul Jabaar who refused to take part in this abomination (he’s still credited though due to the pagoda footage). If you want to get the feel of how Bruce Lee’s Game of Death was supposed to look like, then grab the awesome documentary Bruce Lee: A Warrior’s Journey (2000) instead.Overall score: 3/10
Pagoda footage: 10/10

«Enjoyed this post? Never miss out on future posts by following us»