Review: The Big Boss

Bruce Lee travels from China to Thailand to reunite with relatives. At the suggestion of cousin James Tien, Lee gets a job at the local ice factory (no, not the drug ‘ice’), and quickly learns that screw ups on the job aren’t very well tolerated. He also quickly learns something else: After a couple of family members go missing after having a talk with the ‘manager’, he does a little investigating and uncovers that the ice factory is really just a front for a drug operation. Although Lee has promised his late mother that he will not get into fights, he realises that he must take a stand…and break a few wrists. I mean, ‘Bruce Lee listens to him mum and picks daisies’ wouldn’t make for much of a film, would it?

 

This 1971 martial arts film from writer-director Lo Wei was Bruce Lee’s first starring vehicle, and although not up to the standard of the later “Fist of Fury” (also from Lo Wei), it’s pretty good. To be honest, I think Lee gets rather lost in the shuffle in the film’s first half. He really only comes into his own towards the end in the last 15 minutes of the film. I also have a preference for the fights in “Fist of Fury”, as in this one he’s taking part mostly in all-in rumbles/brawls, rather than his one-versus-many battles in “Fist of Fury”. Having said that, I really liked how uncompromising and nasty the film is when it comes to killing, it’s quite bloody for its time. Lee’s dispatch of the title character is one of the coolest things I’ve ever seen. Did he just kick a knife into the guy’s chest? How the hell did he do that? Speaking of cool, at one point Lee forces a scene transition with his fucking fist. Brilliant. Bruce Lee, ladies and gentlemen. Also, check out the opening titles design which is oh-so 70s and shows still images of Lee in full flight backed by crazy colours.

 

The story is pretty interesting and it’s actually a much more technically sound film than Lee’s own directorial effort “Way of the Dragon” (which looked pretty cheap) or Robert Clouse’s efforts “Enter the Dragon” and the frankly crude “Game of Death”. The leather couch-whacking sound FX are even louder than normal, and quite ridiculous, but other than that, it’s a pretty well put together film. It’s certainly got a quicker pace than “Way of the Dragon”, which I appreciated. The only thing I didn’t like was a little character inconsistency, with Lee itching to fight one minute but standing back and watching the next. What the hell?

 

The acting standout here isn’t actually Lee, but James Tien as Lee’s cousin, who is also quite a good fighter as we see early on (though clearly not in Lee’s league). He actually gets the usual Bruce Lee deal of looking like a total bad arse taking on about 10 guys at once. But more importantly, Tien’s terrific performance is also the best non-Bruce Lee performance in any Lee film. Sure, that’s somewhat faint praise, but it’s worth noting nonetheless. It’s interesting to ponder what would’ve happened to Lee if he stayed in China at least a while longer working for Lo Wei and Golden Harvest, as his later films in America aren’t nearly as good, and of course that’s where he also prematurely died. Maybe, just maybe we would’ve had Lee around for a while longer. No “Green Hornet”, mind you, but possibly no Chuck Norris either, and I could live with that one (Sorry, Chuck fans. He’s a terrible actor and I have serious disagreements with his off-screen persona too).

 

An entertaining, bloody martial arts film that isn’t the best showcase of Lee’s talents per se, but is a rock-solid film nonetheless and one of his best-made efforts. As with all non-American Lee films, try to find a subtitled version, apparently the dubbing with these things is horrible. Pretty good music score, with several repeated themes like you might find with an Ennio Morricone score (“The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly”, “Once Upon a Time in the West”, “The Untouchables”).

 

Rating: B-