"American" kung fu I didn't just call my review that way. Kung Fu is a purely Eastern martial arts style that was created in China. Only the Chinese knew what kung fu was, and only they knew this style of martial arts. Americans did not even have an idea of this style of martial arts.
And so it was until the 70s of the last century. There was a man who wanted to discover the beauty of the East. This man's name was Bruce Lee. It was Bruce Lee who showed the American what kung fu is. He did it through cinema. But Bruce was also a great writer, as he showed in 1970. Bruce Lee wrote a script called "Warrior". With Warner Bros. Bruce wanted to make the first kung fu film in America, where he was to play the lead role. However, later the role went not to Bruce, and the young actor-dancer David Carradine. The film was renamed from Warrior to Kung Fu and released in 1972. The film was so unrealistic in terms of fighting scenes, but that didn’t stop it from becoming popular. After that, the Americans began to think that they understand kung fu.
However, the mysterious death of Bruce closed the page of true kung fu, but the Americans decided to cash in on his name and released a bunch of films with the alleged Bruce, about Bruce and many other fakes. But the film Kung Fu, in which Bruce's name was only as a screenwriter, was popular. So the Americans then released the series Kung Fu, which ran from 72 to 75 years. Then the idea went out of date and nobody came back. However, Bruce had a son, no less brilliant, he was called Brandon. In 1985, Brandon came to Hollywood, where he was not needed and was about to leave. However, the director of the original “Kung Fu” Richard Lang, when he saw Brandon, immediately offered him to play in the film on the plot of his father. Brandon dreamed of a career as an actor, so he immediately agreed. Thus, Lang again assembled the entire team led by Carradine and in 1986 made another film about “American” kung fu with a very aesthetic name “Kung fu: film version”. This film was Brandon’s first major role. Then, in 1992, another Kung Fu film with Carradine was released and in 1993, a series called Kung Fu: The Revival of Legend was released. Carradine stopped there.
Now I want to discuss the best film from Kung Fu with David Carradine, in which my favorite Brandon Lee played: Kung Fu: The Movie Version. The film is very weak. The story is very interesting, but I will not write about it for obvious reasons, of course. However, I did not like the ending at all, why Americans think that the monks of the Shaolin monastery are suddenly magicians (sit in the air, hear grasshoppers jumping and can kill at a distance). The second thing that matters to me is Brandon Lee. In general, Brandon’s character is not different from the other characters in the film. Chung Wong is a simple hypnotized guy who dreams of learning kung fu from the “great” master. By the way, Chung Wong is Kane's son. Brandon is playing great, as always. But I remember more his costume of a monk, a killer star, a long sword of the monks of the Shaolin monastery and a first-class “hairstyle”, that is, a bald face.
This, alas, the merits of the film end. The direction in the film is weak, the action moments are slowed down. But the worst thing is that David Carradine shows us kung fu. He's a dancer, which one is a kung fu master? There are no fighting scenes, fights are so played that we can not see the skill of the only actor who knows anything about kung fu – Brandon Lee. Carradine and Brandon's very playful fight, it's easy to see Brandon giving Carradine a hand to throw. Pity Brandon, such an actor and succumbs to some David Carradine, who in the coffin saw all these fights, kung fu and real martial arts.
Carradine's biggest drawback is that it spoils the whole picture. He's not playing, he's trying to play Kwai Chang Kane. Carradine does not know how to fight, so watching fights is boring, and when Carradine says smart things, you do not perceive them because Carradine simply does not look like a sage, he would play villains. The love line didn't go to Carradine either. Cane could have been played by Bruce Lee. I wonder what would happen if Bruce and Brandon played father and son in the same movie? This film leaves a dream that will not come true.
As for other equally famous actors who played in this film like: Mako, Martin Landau, Kay Luke, Kerry Keane, Ellen Gere, Robert Harper, Michael Paul Chan and Richard Lou, they are in this film for furniture. I was hoping they could outshine David and make a good impression of the movie, but... They'd rather complement Carradine than eclipse him. For example, Mako, a highly respected actor in this film, is annoying, he has a negative role and during the film you wait for his character to die. Kerry Keane, the actress who has been in many of the movies I’ve seen, is the only reason I remember the movie. In the film, she plays Kane’s second love (the first one died a long time ago). The love line is so played in this film that I don’t even want to remember.
I guess that's it. I almost forgot the composer in this film the great "Lalo Shifrin" (remember "The Way of the Dragon" with Bruce Lee). The film is weak, even very weak. Some episodes are played so much that you want to break the TV. But what matters is Brandon Lee. In reality, any sane film critic would give this film no more than four. In general, the film has value only for the fans of Brandon Lee, that is, for me and people like me. And I recommend watching the movie only for those who love Brandon Lee, because there's nothing else in it except Brandon. I’m a fan of Brandon Lee’s 10, but only for Brandon and for the Warrior. Americans will never understand what kung fu is. Brandon's subsequent films and Bruce's old films are kung fu. And Kung Fu: The Movie Version and the other Kung Fu films with David Carradine are just an attempt by Americans to discover a Chinese culture that has failed. "American" kung fu, another name and can not be called.
P.S.: Brandon Lee played in the 1987 CBS Summer Playhouse series Kung Fu: The Next Generation. It was like a sequel to Kung Fu, but without David Carradine. It was even worse than the original, but that’s another story.
"Eternal memory to you, Brandon!"
10 out of 10