Touches You

It really made me laugh, but for some moments I was tearing up because I could relate so much.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

The 1986 martial arts action flick "Legacy of Rage" has the benefit of being the first starring role of the late Brandon Lee (the ill-fated son of deceased martial arts legend Bruce Lee). It was also the only film that Brandon Lee made in Hong Kong, and likewise the film is spoken in Cantonese (though the voices are dubbed - as the practice at that time was to film movies without sound, and then dub in the actors' voices later).Brandon Lee is in fine form here (despite never hearing his natural speaking voice), though the film itself - written and directed by Hong Kong action veteran Ronny Yu (who would later gain fame in the West with the American horror films "Bride of Chucky" and "Freddy vs. Jason," and the martial arts epic "Fearless" with Jet Li) - is somewhat of a mixed bag; it's more or less a standard action film, with lots of stuff about gangsters, drugs, and John Woo-style gun-play. Also, disappointingly, there isn't much of Brandon Lee using his father's patented Jeet Kune Do skills against the bad guys being sent his way.Lee plays Brandon Ma, a hard-working average Joe with a beautiful girlfriend named May (Regina King, in her film debut) and dreams of buying a motorcycle. Brandon's best friend is Michael (Michael Wong), who is also the son of a local Hong Kong gangster and is looking to take over his father's business and thus make a name for himself. He also has unrequited feelings for May, and he soon cooks up a scheme to get rid of Brandon so that he can have her for himself. This scheme would involve the murder of the undercover narcotics detective that has been hassling his father's organization, and then setting up Brandon as the scapegoat. The plan goes off without a hitch, and Brandon is sent to prison for eight years for the crime. But when he learns the truth about what's happened to him and why, that's when he sets out to get revenge and save May.While we all know Brandon Lee's tragic story (he was killed while filming a scene of his last film, 1994's "The Crow"), "Legacy of Rage" definitely shows the talent the younger Lee inherited from his more-famous father. Brandon Lee may not have been as skilled a martial artist as his father (this is really debatable and a pointless argument, if you ask me), but he certainly may have been a stronger and more charismatic and charming actor. He certainly did not want to be remembered as a martial arts star like his father, but he did want to be remembered as an ACTOR. "Legacy of Rage" may not have much in the way of kung-fu action, but it does show that Lee was a strong and capable action hero, much like he would show in his later English-speaking features "Showdown in Little Tokyo" (1991), "Rapid Fire" (1992) and of course, "The Crow" - his last and most famous film.So "Legacy of Rage" is worth viewing maybe once or twice, as a worthy introduction to the skills of the extraordinarily talented Brandon Lee.6/10P.S.: Bolo Yeung (who appeared as a villain in Bruce Lee's last completed film "Enter the Dragon") also has a brief appearance here, as well.

This was Brandon Lee's (the son of Bruce Lee) only Hong Kong movie. It was claimed that he was reluctant to do this movie because he did not believe that he could compete with the reputation of his father. Des Mangan says that he did a fine job in this movie but I disagree to an extent. I thought his acting ability was okay, and he martial arts were good, but the execution of the movie was very bad. As for competing with his father, the only decent Bruce Lee movie I have seen is his last one, Enter the Dragon.The action in this movie was very bad in my opinion. Most of the movie dealt with how he tried to come to terms with the fact that his best friend had betrayed him and sent him to gaol for eight years. In gaol he learns of his friend's betrayal and tries to escape but doesn't succeed. Instead his is given a lecture of how it is not something he wants to do because he will end up in worse trouble. This itself is good because it deals with his struggle between his desire for his revenge and his knowledge that if he let that desire overcome him he will be much worse off.In the end he lets his desire get the better of him when his girlfriend and son are kidnapped and he learns of this. He goes to his old friend and gets his help in going after his former friend. This is where the bad action scenes come in. The rest of the movie is Brandon Lee shooting up BMWs coming towards him. There are about five of them and they all seem to happen on the same stretch of road. This seems to be low budget action and really the movie could have done without it.With low budget movies, the story counts for much more than effects and action. In this movie the story is good, and concludes in the hollow victory - the one where they win, but at a huge cost. These hollow victories seem to be my favourite at the moment. Here, they win, but the woman dies, and both men land up in gaol. Sorry if I spoilt the end for you, but it is something that sets the movie apart. The problem is that this is really only tacked on at the end. The movie closes with them speeding off in a speedboat but a subtitle explains what happened - pretty poor I thought.This movie is okay, but I find that the attempts to improve it really fall flat on its face. As such, the Legacy of Rage does not stand out for me.

Legacy of Rage is a great action/drama film. The film's plot is simple. Brandon Ma (LEE)is set up by his friend Micheal, so Micheal can still Brandon's girl. when Brandon gets out of jail, he has only one thing on his mind...REVENGE.The film has much more acting in it then expected but it is a joyful treat. Lee shows off his acting chops and showcases some sweet martial arts skills. Legacy of Rage also has some good gunplay scenes and the over the top violence is fun to watch. I believe this is Lee's 2nd best film. A must see for Brandon Lee fans. The film had a good budget and the storyline is exciting. It's a fun flick. But if you aren't a big foreign films person...don't bother with it.

Made by D & B Films (no need to thank me), "Long zai jiang hu" was the first movie I saw with Brandon Lee - unlike the other posters, I actually saw it when it came out - and it was ultimately nothing too special, but all of the action stars of the past and present have had to work their way up, and it was certainly better than "Rapid Fire" and "Showdown In Little Tokyo" (which was admittedly entertaining in a cheap way, Tia Carrere's obvious body double and the snuff video scene with that gorgeous blonde notwithstanding).The action's okay, and the scene where our hero bursts a villain's eye with a garotte still makes me wince 16 years later, but the best bit is when our hero visits a wimpy friend to get some armed help; wimpy friend says "I only have these," and unveils an armoury that would give Charlton Heston wet dreams. Still, you do wonder what would have happened had Brandon lived.