Review of Bruce Lee, My Brother (2010) by Sze-To M — 01 Feb 2011

Loads of period detail, as the end credit side-by-side comparison between reference photos and their recreations attests. It feels somewhat similar in nostalgic tone to Echoes of the Rainbow, but with punch-ups. Unfortunately, these dominate much of the second act. And despite Chin Kar-Lok's excellent choreography, they seem edited down to make the most of what the young performers can do. In the case of the Western style boxing match it at least makes sense in context, and the endless flurries of wing chun forearm chain-punching will give Ip Man 2 fans a thrill. A later confined space fight references a less recent but more famous film - emulating the Lee/Norris bout, feline spectator included.

Afterward, the film gets back to the subplot involving Opium War aftermath and heavy foreshadowing of Lee's patriotic hero status. Early on, this is charmingly played out through the opium addiction of Tony Leung Ka Fai as Lee Senior, and its exploitation by the Westernized villains. Then the period film references turn more studio-specific, with choreographer Chin Kar-Lok playing Shek Kin vs. Eddie Cheung as Cho Tat-wah - providing Bruce with the good/evil archetypes that would shape much of his cinematic philosophy.

We also get to see Alex Man as Ng Chor-fan recruiting Bruce for "The Orphan" and drilling into him the importance of dramatic acting. There are enjoyable if sparse scenes regarding Lee Hoi-chuen's involvement in the seminal Wong Fei-Hung mega-franchise. And MC Jin turns in another promising performance after Gallants - this time as Unicorn Chan, foreshadowing his continued importance in Lee's life after the tragedy that impelled the Dragon across the water to `Frisco.

After a promising start packed with period detail and many exciting references, both to classic HK cinema and foreshadowing Lee's career, this turns into a fairly disappointing affair. One with a typically slapdash approach to history that eagerly chooses the least interesting avenues to explore. But one worth seeing for the many fun, semi-inside references and its general willingness to fail via overambitious pretense as well as well as genre cliche.