Tuesday night, AMC showed Enter the Dragon, to celebrate the movie's 35th anniversary. Not being up on my movie titles, I mistakenly thought this was the movie where Bruce Lee fights Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, which is gold, naturally. I was wrong, but that didn't mean I didn't enjoy Enter the Dragon. Did feel bad for Jim Kelly's character. Given that he died because of Lee's snooping around, I wonder if Lee ever gave Roper a "Sorry I got your friend killed, my bad". Probably not, risks of attending a martial arts tournament and all that.
Question 1: Early in the movie, when Lee is trying to help that younger student with his kick, and tells him he needs emotional content (at least I know where The Boondocks got that from), and he starts telling the kid to feel, not think, because it's like the finger pointing to the moon, and if you focus on the finger, you miss all the heavenly glory. He asks if the kid understands, and the kid says yes (though I bet he doesn't), I understand in the literal sense of why you shouldn't look at the finger, but I have no idea what it has to do with kicking. Guess I need years of rigorous training in the martial arts.
By the time the movie was over, and I'd watched Lee systematically beat up about 500 guys, I began to wonder who would win in an outright fight: Bruce Lee, or Batman? No utility belt or surprise attacks, just two guys in an arena, fighting it out. I have to pick Bruce Lee. We already know that Muhammad Ali can beat Superman (when Kal-El has no powers, but still), so clearly DC's heroes can not stand against the overwhelming power of real world opponents, which means, Bruce Lee wins. I think this also means Wonder Woman would lose to Billie Jean King in a tennis match, were that to take place.
And that's all I have for you tonight. Do you feel it had sufficient emotional content?
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3 comments:
Question 1: Mechanics over intent, methinks.
Question 2: Was there meant to be a Question 2?
Apparently, John Saxon's character was supposed to get offed by "Mr. Han-Man", but he raised a stink so Jim Kelly got the shaft instead. I never bought John Saxon as a kung-fu fighter.
As for Game of Death (the movie with Bruce fighting Kareem), if only they would lop off the first half (the scenes filmed post-Bruce's death) that flick would be 86% better.
I think ultimately, Batman would fight dirtier than Bruce, so he would win. I actually thought about this, and I'm 33. I need help.
matthew: "Mechanics versus intent". Yeah, that sounds right. Thanks.
Bruce Lee vs. Batman was meant to be Question 2, but I forgot the labeling. A shameful lapse. And I suppose asking if the post had emotional content could have been Question 3.
jason: Roper didn't strike me as a fighter either. Certainly his performance against those loan sharks on the golf course surprised me.
And you don't need help, you just need someone to pay you for such contemplations. As do we all.
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