Re-'Enter the Dragon': Pop classic showcases Bruce Lee's charm

Enter the Dragon

This weekend I had the pleasure of revisiting a 1970s action classic, Bruce Lee's Enter the Dragon, in the way it should be seen -- at a midnight movie screening, surrounded by mostly die hard fans.

Lee is unique in the pantheon of iconic Hollywood stars who died shocking deaths at an incredibly young age. Unlike say James Dean or Marilyn Monroe, Lee's appeal seems to be more universal -- crossing cultural boundaries lines like no one other than probably Michael Jackson.

It's hard to pinpoint exactly why so many cultures -- and African-Americans in particular -- have such a deep affinity for all things Lee.

He was unquestionably one of the coolest action stars of his or any era, and the fact that he was a martial arts master in real life only adds to his mystique.

Despite making a handful of features, and co-starring on the little-seen superhero series The Green Hornet, 1973's Enter the Dragon is, as far as I know, the only fully realized mainstream starring role he ever had. And while the movie may not be profound in terms of its writing or story, it is a marvelous piece of pop entertainment.

I always like to view a slightly older film in the context in which it was released. And watching the movie now it was hard not see some Watergate-era parallels in the now 41-year-old film.

The villain of the piece, the creepy and deadly Mr. Han bares more than a passing resemblance to Richard Nixon. The intentionally racially diverse cast solidified what has now become the "browning" of the action genre. And it signaled, before Jaws and Star Wars, a renewed embrace of escapism in the movies.

For the uninitiated, Bruce Lee plays something akin to a Chinese James Bond in the movie. He is a martial arts instructor by day but in the evening he slips into super suave looking designer suits and has a laconic cool all guys envy.

He is dispatched to a mysterious island run by Han which hosts an annual fighting tournament which is really a front for a bizarre mix of prostitution and the opium trade.

None of that really matters though. Especially when you have Bruce Lee (and his incredibly perfect physique), John Saxon doing his smarmy ladies man routine and the late Jim Kelly playing his hilariously dated super-dude with a gigantic afro to match. For some reason his "You come right out of a comic book" line makes me laugh like no other unintentionally funny movie line.

But the movie is a comic book in some ways, and it really shows how exciting and almost magical Bruce Lee's appeal is to kids. There is a wonderfully charming scene earlier in the film, where Lee's character outwits a brute who is picking on a young boy. He tricks the bully into boarding a small boat which he deftly detached from the main vessel he's on and hands the rope holding the jerk to a bunch of giggling kids. It's a throwaway moment that perfectly encapsulates the charm of this remarkable man.

Bruce Lee in action

Bruce Lee died at the tender age of 32, and it's hard to know what Hollywood would have done with such a unique performer had he continued to evolve within the studio system. The movies have historically been horrendous at portraying nuanced characters of Asian descent, and Lee is a fascinating exception to many stereotypical representations of the past and present.

He isn't dubbed in the film. He is allowed moments of humor, pathos and ferocity. Again, his performance and the film itself isn't exactly Oscar worthy, but it holds up, which is far more than one can say for many actions films of its time.

Sadly, of course, we will never know what would have become of Bruce Lee. All we can do now is sit back and marvel at what a graceful, and effortlessly charismatic a movie star he was -- and be grateful, that for one, short period in time, someone had the good sense to capture it on film for posterity.