Bruce Lee followers anticipating to see some fists of fury in Birth of the Dragon will likely be sorely dissatisfied on this B (as in boring) film wherein the martial-arts star takes a backseat in his personal biopic. The movie is ostensibly about Lee’s legendary 1964 no-holds-barred battle with Shaolin monk Wong Jack Man (Xia Yu), which, in keeping with a gap title card, “changed the history of martial arts.” Pushed to the forefront as a substitute is Steve McKee (Billy Magnussen), a Midwestern drifter who takes kung fu classes from Lee and falls for an indentured waitress (Jingjing Qu) being held captive by a cruel organized-crime queen referred to as Auntie Blossom (Jin Xing). The fateful battle between the 2 titans does happen late within the story, but it surely’s rendered with extra model than substance by director George Nolfi, and can go away viewers questioning what all of the fuss was about.

Lee (Philip Ng), cocky, charismatic, and a little bit of a bully, teaches kung fu and is attempting to determine himself as an actor in ultra-low-budget motion flicks. When he learns Wong Jack Man is in San Francisco, he fears the Shaolin grasp has arrived to destroy all he has labored so arduous to construct. Why? Because Lee teaches kung fu to whites and needs to make it “bigger than Coca-Cola,” whereas his method focuses on “kicking ass.” By distinction, Wong believes that kung fu belongs completely to the Chinese individuals, and that it ought to be taught with an emphasis on its non secular elements. But, lo and behold, Wong isn’t within the U.S. to take down Lee in any respect. Rather, he arrives from China to do penance by washing dishes in an area restaurant for a sin he later confesses. And for the primary hour of the movie’s mercifully quick operating time, the story is as boring as that setup sounds. Thankfully, McKee brings the 2 collectively (very, very late within the recreation) in an try to assist rescue his girl love. The duo’s climatic battle with Auntie Blossom’s thugs sizzles with power that the remainder of the film lacks, and permits its two stars to lastly kick some severe butt—which is, in spite of everything, what we go to Bruce Lee movies to see.

Ng is terrific as Lee, despite the fact that his character, by way of no fault of his personal, stays one-dimensional and is shoved to the sidelines for prolonged stretches. He’s acquired the late star’s appears to be like, physique, talent, and swagger. Hollywood, which is at present in love with remakes, ought to snap Ng up and put him in a reboot of Fist of Fury or Enter the Dragon, the place he may channel his internal Lee and kick ass for 90 minutes or so. Those can be motion pictures value seeing, as a substitute of this faux biopic that comprises flashes of Lee’s greatness, however sadly little of his fascinating fury.