Movies Brandon Lee fight scenes

[Frode Falch]

 

[Spam On Rye]

I thought this guy and Lee were the same dude when I was a kid.

 

[Kowboy On Sherdog]

Rapid Fire was legit

 

[ChickenBrother]

No disrespect to this dude, but did folks actually see him as a special talent? I remember seeing Rapid Fire and The Crow back in the 90's and thinking dude was OK but not on the level of guys like his dad, Tony Jaa, Jet Li, Jackie Chan, etc. with their sick moves and screen presence.

 

[Bullitt68]

No disrespect to this dude, but did folks actually see him as a special talent? I remember seeing Rapid Fire and The Crow back in the 90's and thinking dude was OK but not on the level of guys like his dad, Tony Jaa, Jet Li, Jackie Chan, etc. with their sick moves and screen presence.

He was better looking than those guys and a better actor. He had a much higher ceiling on mainstream potential. (Just look up his Jay Leno appearance talking about the guy who broke into his house. And the way that girls would talk about him after The Crow. He was like Heath Ledger, he was going to be fucking huge.) Martial arts was his way in, thanks to his dad, but he wanted to be a "real" actor. He was recruited to be in the Kung Fu TV movie, he didn't actually want to have anything to do with martial arts because he didn't want to be limited to that. The Crow was his way to break out of that box in search of more varied and complex acting roles. He had the potential to be special, he just didn't get to live long enough for it to come to fruition.

That said, Showdown in Little Tokyo and Rapid Fire should be all anyone needs to know that even if he would've just stayed in action and martial arts movies he would've ruled. He was funny with great comedic timing, he could do serious drama, and he could kick ass.

 

[ChickenBrother]

He was better looking than those guys and a better actor. He had a much higher ceiling on mainstream potential. (Just look up his Jay Leno appearance talking about the guy who broke into his house. And the way that girls would talk about him after The Crow. He was like Heath Ledger, he was going to be fucking huge.) Martial arts was his way in, thanks to his dad, but he wanted to be a "real" actor. He was recruited to be in the Kung Fu TV movie, he didn't actually want to have anything to do with martial arts because he didn't want to be limited to that. The Crow was his way to break out of that box in search of more varied and complex acting roles. He had the potential to be special, he just didn't get to live long enough for it to come to fruition.

That said, Showdown in Little Tokyo and Rapid Fire should be all anyone needs to know that even if he would've just stayed in action and martial arts movies he would've ruled. He was funny with great comedic timing, he could do serious drama, and he could kick ass.

Never saw the Leno interview but just watched it now.



I agree with you. Handsome dude with a Keanu "good guy" vibe. I remember tons of hype around him after the Crow. I guess we'll never know, but I still think odds would have been stacked against him to be as big as his dad or the other guys I mentioned - those guys got by more on physical rather than verbal acting (though his dad had legit star power and screen presence).

I think Marc Dacascos (same age) mentioned above is a pretty good comparison though. Handsome mixed asian dude with decent acting and legit martial arts chops and I remember him being on the cover of Black Belt magazine a few times talking about wanting to be a martial artist AND an actor, not just a martial arts actor. But despite doing his time in shitty parts before getting starring roles (like Brandon did), Dacascos got relegated to bullshit like live action Double Dragon and bit parts as the random asian looking dude who gets his ass kicked in action movies.

 

[Bullitt68]

Never saw the Leno interview but just watched it now.



I agree with you. Handsome dude with a Keanu "good guy" vibe. I remember tons of hype around him after the Crow. I guess we'll never know, but I still think odds would have been stacked against him to be as big as his dad or the other guys I mentioned - those guys got by more on physical rather than verbal acting (though his dad had legit star power and screen presence).

I think Marc Dacascos (same age) mentioned above is a pretty good comparison though. Handsome mixed asian dude with decent acting and legit martial arts chops and I remember him being on the cover of Black Belt magazine a few times talking about wanting to be a martial artist AND an actor, not just a martial arts actor. But despite doing his time in shitty parts before getting starring roles (like Brandon did), Dacascos got relegated to bullshit like live action Double Dragon and bit parts as the random asian looking dude who gets his ass kicked in action movies.

There's even an SVU episode about a bunch of women who were raped by the same guy and the cops are fighting the statute of limitations clock. One of the women tells her story and the rapist would get off on stalking them and conversing with them about their favorite things, and she and her friend loved Brandon Lee and were obsessed with The Crow. Brandon Lee was so big that he's part of a fucking SVU plot five years after his death. Not trying to shit on the guy, but honestly even mentioning Mark Dacascos in the same breath as Brandon is shitting on Brandon. Dacascos is Don "The Dragon" Wilson and Michael Dudikoff level. Brandon was miles ahead of Dolph Lundgren in Showdown in Little Tokyo and more than held his own with Powers Boothe and Ernie Hudson in Rapid Fire and The Crow. Brandon could - and did - carry entire films on his back and even in his extremely brief career amassed a big and hardcore fan base. His star was rising rapidly when he died. Again, the comparison isn't to Mark Dacascos, it's to Heath Ledger.

 

[Sobek]

No disrespect to this dude, but did folks actually see him as a special talent? I remember seeing Rapid Fire and The Crow back in the 90's and thinking dude was OK but not on the level of guys like his dad, Tony Jaa, Jet Li, Jackie Chan, etc. with their sick moves and screen presence.

I was a big fan at the time and his death blew me away.
He was definitely an up and comer and destined for bigger things than when he died. He would have become significantly more popular.
He once stated in an interview that Bruce was a martial artist first and an actor second and that he himself was an actor first and a martial artist second, but that he would always train as it was a part of who he was.

I'd say he would have moved away from 'fight' movies and been somewhat successful in regular films.

 

[Bullitt68]

He once stated in an interview that Bruce was a martial artist first and an actor second and that he himself was an actor first and a martial artist second, but that he would always train as it was a part of who he was.

Which is funny because Bruce was literally an actor first and a martial artist second (he started acting at 6 and doing Wing Chun at 12) while Brandon was a martial artist first and an actor second (he was training in martial arts as a kid but didn't start acting until he was a teenager). Brandon had a brief identity crisis when he was a teen. He got kicked out of high school and stopped training martial arts (he actually got serious about soccer for a minute). Eventually, though, both martial arts and acting became the biggest things in his life and he found his way back to that "legacy" and was well on his way to making his own path.

 

[Highway99]

 

[Sobek]

Which is funny because Bruce was literally an actor first and a martial artist second (he started acting at 6 and doing Wing Chun at 12) while Brandon was a martial artist first and an actor second (he was training in martial arts as a kid but didn't start acting until he was a teenager). Brandon had a brief identity crisis when he was a teen. He got kicked out of high school and stopped training martial arts (he actually got serious about soccer for a minute). Eventually, though, both martial arts and acting became the biggest things in his life and he found his way back to that "legacy" and was well on his way to making his own path.

When you are in America and Bruce Lee was your dad, you are gunna have some struggles growing up as a boy and you are likely to rebel at some point.
It would have been tough at some points so I'm not surprised.
The martial artist/actor comment probably centred around what they were focussing their efforts on to improve as opposed to where they were coming from.

 

[mozfonky]

No disrespect to this dude, but did folks actually see him as a special talent? I remember seeing Rapid Fire and The Crow back in the 90's and thinking dude was OK but not on the level of guys like his dad, Tony Jaa, Jet Li, Jackie Chan, etc. with their sick moves and screen presence.

martial artists didn't think he was all that good, after he died, some other so called friend said he was maybe a 7 out of 10, in other words, kinda average. I do recall seeing a seattle newspaper interview where the author said brandon was a better actor and probably a better martial artist, which was laughable on the second count and debatable on the first. I didn't see any special talent other than milking the Bruce Lee Connection.

And to me, he just always came across as arrogant and bratty which is kinda understandable when your dad is Bruce Lee but he rubbed me wrong, even after he died his interviews grated me which is fucked up for me to say. There are some interviews I've seen with Chinese martial artists where they pretty much affirmed my view, saying Brandon was a shithead and one guy had to slap him to get him in line. Also, my teacher's son recalled a time when Brandon was at a dinner with him and his son and he was kicking my teachers son under the table, kinda a punk

I think he would have had a great career though and left martial arts all together, he was good looking, could have improved as an actor and he was moving towards bigger things especially with the Crow which is still a cult classic today.

 

[mozfonky]

He was better looking than those guys and a better actor. He had a much higher ceiling on mainstream potential. (Just look up his Jay Leno appearance talking about the guy who broke into his house. And the way that girls would talk about him after The Crow. He was like Heath Ledger, he was going to be fucking huge.) Martial arts was his way in, thanks to his dad, but he wanted to be a "real" actor. He was recruited to be in the Kung Fu TV movie, he didn't actually want to have anything to do with martial arts because he didn't want to be limited to that. The Crow was his way to break out of that box in search of more varied and complex acting roles. He had the potential to be special, he just didn't get to live long enough for it to come to fruition.

That said, Showdown in Little Tokyo and Rapid Fire should be all anyone needs to know that even if he would've just stayed in action and martial arts movies he would've ruled. He was funny with great comedic timing, he could do serious drama, and he could kick ass.

I agree for the most part. As far as his martial arts, i thought he had some glimpses of Bruce's speed, he did train under Danny Inosanto. Honestly, it's a sad story though, he had to feel like he had big shoes to filll and he got killed trying, that is sad no matter how you cut it. I really felt for his mom, most Bruce Lee fans hate her but she's been through a lot and done a lot to keep Bruce's image alive inspite of the drugs and womanizing. Some fans think she's all about the money but I think she believed in Bruce's legacy even more than she believed in him as a husband, word was they were planning divorce.

 

[mozfonky]

Which is funny because Bruce was literally an actor first and a martial artist second (he started acting at 6 and doing Wing Chun at 12) while Brandon was a martial artist first and an actor second (he was training in martial arts as a kid but didn't start acting until he was a teenager). Brandon had a brief identity crisis when he was a teen. He got kicked out of high school and stopped training martial arts (he actually got serious about soccer for a minute). Eventually, though, both martial arts and acting became the biggest things in his life and he found his way back to that "legacy" and was well on his way to making his own path.

nah, I know bruce acted before martial arts but no one stateside who was in the business ever thought he was really an actor, he would tell you himself that he was a martial artist first and an actor second. Brandon as you mention, had some training young but from what I know, he was basically a beginner level student when he came to Dan as an adult. That's what I read. Anyway, his fight scenes look ok to me, not bad at all but he doesn't look very flexible and also, the fight scenes that I remember are more of what Bruce taught and not what Bruce did in films, so it's different than the flashy stuff bruce did in his pics.

No doubt about it, Brandon would have been huge and most likely would have distanced himself from his father's image as soon as he could have.

 

[Bullitt68]

The martial artist/actor comment probably centred around what they were focussing their efforts on to improve as opposed to where they were coming from.

I know, and that's what bugs me. Even his kid downplays (a) how good of an actor Bruce was and (b) how serious about acting Bruce was. To wit...

nah, I know bruce acted before martial arts but no one stateside who was in the business ever thought he was really an actor, he would tell you himself that he was a martial artist first and an actor second.

...this is the ignorant perspective that informs far too many people's opinions about Bruce. Between the ages of 6 and 18, Bruce did a ton of acting in Cantonese films. He loved it, he was serious about it, and he was good at it. Martial arts then came into his life at 12 and he found that he had a tremendous affinity for it, but it's no surprise that it wasn't as a coach or a competitor that he made his mark but rather as an actor. Martial arts and acting were his two great loves and his two best skills, but acting was there first, and that shows in how great he was in his films.

 

[mozfonky]

I know, and that's what bugs me. Even his kid downplays (a) how good of an actor Bruce was and (b) how serious about acting Bruce was. To wit...



...this is the ignorant perspective that informs far too many people's opinions about Bruce. Between the ages of 6 and 18, Bruce did a ton of acting in Cantonese films. He loved it, he was serious about it, and he was good at it. Martial arts then came into his life at 12 and he found that he had a tremendous affinity for it, but it's no surprise that it wasn't as a coach or a competitor that he made his mark but rather as an actor. Martial arts and acting were his two great loves and his two best skills, but acting was there first, and that shows in how great he was in his films.

His acting was fine but totally unnecessary really, it was his pure on screen presence and physical prowess that made him. It wasn't the corny production values, the corny scripts or the acting, it was him.

Anyway, i'll have to just disagree on that with you but agree that Brandon should have been huge had he lived, I don't see how he could have missed.

 

[mozfonky]

Rapid Fire was legit

geeez those kicks look ungainly. He would have beneffited from more practice and more stretching. His wing chun hand skills looked ok to me though.