Bullet Points: My Name Called Bruce

1978’s My Name Called Bruce has has to be one of the most grammatically awkward titles not only in the history of martial arts cinema, but all of cinematic history.

After watching My Name Called Bruce, I know that the awkwardness of the title matches the awkwardness of the movie itself…

• The CDC Recommends: I remember watching a few minutes of My Name Called Bruce during the summer of 2020. But when the movie started off with people in surgical masks and talk about an infectious disease I turned it off. There was enough talk about masks and infectious diseases every where you turned at that point and I wanted to provide an escape from the COVID talk for the readers, so I watched and reviewed Return of Bruce instead knowing at some point I would come back to My Name Called Bruce. Well, that point is now… so the movie does in fact start with some men posing as medical professionals who make their way to an antique shop to administer a shot to the shopkeeper who has been identified as a carrier of a highly infectious disease… or so they say. In reality the masked men give the shopkeeper something that knocks him out allowing them the opportunity to steal a green vase that the shopkeeper had in hiding and was not part of his regular inventory.

• Lady Detective: This incident at the antique shop is just the latest in a string of crimes involving antiques being smuggled out of Korea, Sergeant Li (Christina Cheung) is brought in to help with the case… something that doesn’t sit well with her unnamed male counterpart for about 60 seconds, but he is quickly swayed into thinking it is a good idea by his boss and by Li herself.
• Ain’t It Nifty?: I’d like to say there was an impressive rogue’s gallery of villains but that would be a lie. There are quite a few bad guys, but they are all non-descript with the exception of the guy with the cat and the main baddie who orchestrated the plan to get the green vase, Nifty (Chiang Tao, Bruce and Shaolin Kung Fu Part 2).

• I Was Told Bruce Le Was In This Movie: Bruce Le shows up almost 15 minutes in and his screen time is limited for most of the movie as he takes a back seat to Christina Cheung’s Li. Bruce plays an Interpol agent looking to avenge the death of his brother (or REVENGE the death of his brother as the dubbing would have us believe). When we first see Bruce he is paying the hospitalized shopkeeper a visit, bringing flowers like he was Enzo the baker. He is also clean shaven… but part way through the movie Bruce has a beard for a few scenes, only to go back to being clean shaven by the end of the movie. The mysterious facial hair makes about as much sense as the rest of the movie.
• Nothing Ventured, Nothing Gained: There was a point in the movie where I really regretted watching My Name Called Bruce. I really had no idea what was going on for a good portion of the movie, which you can probably tell based on my review… but then the movie decided to finish strong with Nifty realizing the jig was up and hopping in his car in an attempt to get away. This prompted Sergeant Li to hop on a motorcycle and chase Nifty all while the instrumental version of “Gimme Some Lovin” by The Ventures played and suddenly I could not have been happier with the way I spent the last 70 or so minutes of my life. Li eventually forces Nifty off road and he ends up in the drink, but he’s not giving up yet… he makes a run for it on foot and Li follows. This leads to a short intergender battle between the two until Bruce Le appears out of nowhere (much like his beard earlier in the movie) and joins in on the action, which ends with a soaking wet Nifty being handcuffed by Sergeant Li and it is mission accomplished for her and the end of the movie for everyone else.

The last 15 minutes of My Name Called Bruce really saved it from being a complete waste of time, so my suggestion to anyone who wants to check it out is either skip ahead to that point in the movie or prepare yourself for a confusing tale of a green vase, disco dancing, double crosses and fast growing beards.

If you are still reading this review, prepare yourself for some Bonus Bullet Points…

• If You Ever: …wanted to see Bruce Le fight blindfolded and with both hands tied behind his back, then My Name Called Bruce is the movie for you.
• AKA: My Name Called Bruce is also known as The Dragon’s Twin Brother and the version currently streaming on Tubi has changed the title to the more grammatically correct My Name is Bruce. The Tubi version also has none of the original opening credits which means there is footage that was cut from the opening few minutes. And while this version corrected the title, it incorrectly has “Super Starring Bruce Lee” instead of “Super Starring Bruce Le”.
• Bastard Check: One of my favorite aspects of the classic Kung Fu movies is the liberal use of the word “bastard”… if I am watching a movie from this genre and time period and I don’t hear at least one “bastard”, I find myself extremely disappointed. I am happy to report that My Name Called Bruce drops “bastard” multiple times.
• Name That Tune: In addition to the music I already mentioned there are two disco songs by Dr. Dragon & The Oriental Express used during the film including one scene at a discothèque, some of Herbie Hancock’s Death Wish score can be heard and Hawkwind’s “Master of the Universe” plays during the final battle between Nifty and Bruce!