Enter the Fat Dragon

Amazon.com

Fans of Sammo Hung's TV series, Martial Law, will enjoy Enter the Fat Dragon, the second film Hung himself directed. He plays a young pig farmer who idolizes Bruce Lee and comes to Hong Kong to work in a food stall with his uncle. In no time at all he finds himself brawling with a crew of street toughs, whom he dispatches with dazzling skill--but unfortunately wrecking his uncle's stall at the same time. From there, the plot involves a millionaire art expert with three powerful bodyguards and a long-lost girlfriend, who just happens to be a waitress at the restaurant where Hung starts working as a dishwasher. But it doesn't matter if the story is nonsense--the point is the spectacular fight scenes and broad jokes. It's amazing to watch cheerful, roly-poly Hung whirl and kick with devastating speed; somehow his girth makes his skill all the more impressive. In one scene, Hung gets hired as an extra for a kung fu movie with a Bruce Lee imitator. Unsurprisingly, Hung is disappointed in the fake's abilities and teaches him--and the rest of the stunt crew--how it's done. The scene is not only a tremendous display of fighting prowess, it's also a charming depiction of a young man who clings with childlike wonder to his idols, and yearns to achieve the same glory. Perhaps it's a bit of a self-portrait. --Bret Fetzer

Customer Reviews:

A Treasure For Fans.......2006-05-22

I never thought it would work but Sammo Hung does a fantastic Bruce Lee imitation in this film. But not of the lame parody kind. He really does move fast and performs many of the techniques and mannerisms of the man himself. Not only that, he does a lot of other fighting styles as well. The goofy comedy is great too. This is one of the few unique kind of movies that is fun to watch and not take too seriously.

Terrible . . . .......2005-11-08

Terribly charming, that is. Sammo Hung portrays a starstruck Bruce Lee fan, imitating him down to the haircut and monkey-like shrieks. Otherwise a simple-minded man, he displays throughout the movie Bruce Lee-like fighting prowess which, coming from a man his size, is hilarious to behold. The storyline is crap, there's no two ways about it, but the content is what makes it great. The various stupid moments (Sammo trying to buy sunglasses that look like a Bruce Lee picture, the millionaire's "revenge" daydreams, any time Sammo goes into Bruce Lee mode, the terrible english, the Black-faced Asian) are incredibly corny and fun to watch.

Not only that, but the action scenes are actually decent. Normally I hate watching Bruce Lee's fight scenes, finding them FAR too contrived and silly, but Sammo manages to pull it off quite well. Maybe it's his funny and intense charisma, I don't know. Not only that, but Sammo even chooses to integrate some traditional Kung Fu fight scenes in the movie, bringing its worth in my eyes way up.

The movie harkens back to the days when heros were idealized and worshipped, something severely lacking in today's society, with the dirt sheets and Hollywood scandals appearing everywhere. Chuck Norris did a similar theme with Sidekicks, and ideal heros, unfortunately, has become a dying breed of people. Something that endears the movie to me is that there's little swearing and the violence is surprisingly non-violent. Sure there are kung fu punches and kicks and the like, but the reactions are always almost Loony Toon-ish in their reaction, the victims having huge and goofy-looking sores where they were hit. And other than a single sex joke at the beginning of the movie, it's surprisingly clean, resorting to slapstick and farce for it's humor.

So why am I giving it only three stars? Firstly, the movie quality is terrible in every aspect. It's easily seen that there was no budget for the movie (blackfaced Asian? What the hell?), although that definitely added to the campy silliness. Secondly, the video quality is horrible. The DVD claims to have it remastered, but it's incredibly grainy and looks antiquated, with even some marker markings showing up in some stills. The subtitles, as well, are pale and fuzzy white, making them really hard to see a lot of the time. Thank god the movie's plot is unimportant.

Great Sammo Hung film.......2004-12-14

a classic film that makes fun of all the Brucexploitation in Chinese Cinema in the 70's and early 80's. The movie is very funny and is a well done spoof. The plot is very similar to Bruces Return of the Dragon - a young country boy traveling to the city to help out a restaurant and running into trouble with local gangster types. Sammos hero in the movie is Bruce Lee and he does a great job copying all of the moves(occasionally throwing in some of his own)and can pretty much whip everybody until he runs into three bodyguards - one white dude(an expert in boxing), one chinese dude(an expert in kung fu), and one black/chinese dude(an expert in karate) this is when the movie
steps up the martial arts - the final fight scenes are very well
done as well. A great addition to any kung fu movie collection and a must for any Sammo Hung fan.

Sammo at his usual best.......2002-07-30

Sammo may not look like Bruce Lee, but he sure does the best impression I've ever seen. Sammo holds his own with a few of Bruce Lee's famous moves mixed in with his own style of martial arts. At first this movie seems aged and low budget, but you soon forget that as the story develops and you see Sammo's skills come to life. It's a martial arts classic, a homage to Bruce and a must have for any fan of the genre.

Beyond The Dragon.......2002-04-29

I purchased this DVD because I love the richness and exemplary performance of Sammo Hung. My previous experience with Sammo includes Millionaire's Express and The Magnificent Butcher.

Enter the Fat Dragon is a befitting tribute to Master Bruce Lee by his friend Sammo Hung.

Sammo plays a loveable, eager, and starstruck fan. Bruce Lee is everything to him. Believably Bruce Lee-obsessed and fixated to do the right thing by the people he loves, Sammo's character more or less causes more problems than good.

While the movie was a blast to watch, the people who released this DVD are falsely advertising its quality. This is the only reason I didn't give this a 5-star rating. The DVD states this is a "remaster" but the film has an annoying graininess. The English subtitles also included several misspellings and at times were not always in plain view.

I may not be an expert on the technology of film, but the image quality should have turned out way better than it did.

However, despite this lackluster transfer to DVD, this Hong Kong Martial Arts film translates well. You will be amazed at Sammo's dedication in imitating Bruce. He is a true marvel to watch.

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