Story: Han (Shih Kien) is believed to be a powerful drug lord, but with his estate being a remote, well guarded private island, bringing him to justice has been impossible. But Han has opened his island to outsiders in a rare gesture, as he wants to host an epic martial arts tournament. The best of the best have been invited to the island to test their skills and of course, law enforcement wants to use this window of opportunity, to plant someone on the island to gather intel. Enter Lee (Bruce Lee), who is going to serve as an undercover agent to investigate Han’s operation, but he also has to navigate the tournament itself. Can one inside man turn the tide against a global criminal organization, or will Han have the last laugh?

Entertainment Value: Enter the Dragon is not only my favorite Bruce Lee movie, it is also one of my favorite martial arts movies in general. The narrative here is iconic and inspired Mortal Kombat, not to mention serving as a driving force behind the mixed martial arts movement. All kinds of fighters wondered how their style and skills would match up against other disciplines and of course, people wondered if any style or fighter could live up to Bruce Lee’s techniques. The movie has immense entertainment value, as we have an interesting story, some dynamic locations and visuals, and a wealth of well executed, memorable fight sequences, with megastar Lee as the focus. The martial arts scenes are fun to watch and especially the hall of mirrors finale stands out, as there’s such attention to detail and style on showcase. A sense of humor is present at times as well, so while the action draws a lot of attention, the story and characters deserve some credit as well. I always have a wonderful time revisiting Enter the Dragon, so this classic comes highly recommended.

Bruce Lee shared the screen with a number of action stars over his brief career, but Enter the Dragon has a remarkable lineup of talent behind him. John Saxon is here and adds some weight to the cast, while Jim Kelly and Bolo Yeung are two feature tournament combatants. Shih Kein is fantastic as the villainous Han, dialing up the bad guy vibes to epic levels, in an over the top, but fun to watch turn. His showdown with Lee in the mirrored room is one of martial arts cinema’s most iconic sequences, with his brutal claw and Lee going for broke in that wild mirror clash. Even Jackie Chan shows up in this one, in several very small roles, but it is still cool to know Chan and Lee were both present here. Of course, Lee is pure martial arts magic in Enter the Dragon and he commands the screen with ease, between his charisma and physical prowess. I think he simply shines here and to me, this was Lee’s finest effort and one that will live forever.

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