Bullet Points: Blind Fist of Bruce

There have been action movie formulas that have been replicated over the years. There have been action movie characters that have been replicated over the years. But there has only been one action star that the industry tried to replicate time and time again and that one action star is the legendary Bruce Lee.

When Bruce Lee passed away at the age of 32 it shocked the world and created a huge void in martial arts cinema. It was a void many a movie producer would try to fill in what became known as the Bruceploitation Era. Now I am no Bruceploitation expert (that honor goes to Bulletproof Action favorite Michael Worth) but the man I most associate with Bruceploitation movies from the 1970’s is Bruce Li.  Li, who was born Ho Chung Tao, starred in numerous Bruceploitation films beginning in the mid-1970’s including the subject of this edition of Bullet Points, Blind Fist of Bruce…

• Rude Awakening: Bruce Li plays Yeh. Yeh is a prominent member of his community. Yeh’s family is well off and Yeh actually operates the local bank. But Yeh is also infatuated with kung fu and how can you blame him? It was the 1970’s and if Carl Douglas taught us anything it was that everybody was kung fu fighting at this time. Yeh hires two “kung fu masters” to train him in various fighting styles. But we soon find out these “masters” are really just con men. They hire some goons to pose as bank robbers and allow Yeh kick their ass and thwart their attempt at a bank robbery. After this victory, Yeh feels like the money he has been spending on his two teachers was money well spent, but then an actual baddie shows up at the bank one day and Yeh gets a rude awakening and his ass handed to him. The baddie in question is named Wei. Wei beats Yeh so bad, that Yeh actually signs over his bank to him.  Wei and his boys don’t stop there, they intimidate the other local business owners and force them to pay protection money. The town now belongs to Wei.

• The Blind Master: Simon Yuen plays The Blind Master. Yuen had been an actor in Hong Kong for decades before he became a legit Hong Kong superstar in the 1970’s. Yuen was in his mid-60’s at that point. The Blind Master is a thorn in the side of Wei and his crew. In his younger days, The Blind Master was a martial arts instructor but after the incident that blinded him and saw his wife murdered, he stopped teaching and now is living a simple life in the twilight of his years. When Yeh figures out that he was conned by his previous teachers, he seeks out the help of The Blind Master. Like any good teacher/student relationship in a martial arts movie, there is the initial reluctance on the behalf of the teacher but eventually The Blind Master agrees to train Yeh and develop his skills and his power. After some training with The Blind Master, Yeh has another encounter with Wei and there is a much different outcome. But wait…

• Here Comes the Tiger: After Wei is defeated and embarrassed by Yeh, Wei calls in an even badder guy than him to put an end to Yeh. This baddie in question is nicknamed Tiger and he has the reputation of being a deadly and dirty fighter. In fact, Tiger was the student that betrayed The Blind Master many years earlier, when The Blind Master was still The 20/20 Master. Tiger used acid to blind his teacher after his teacher kicked him out of his school for showing up late and using his martial arts skills to cause trouble around town.  This sets up the final showdown for the movie and it was a rather unique final showdown. I say unique because Blind Fist of Bruce is the only movie to my recollection where the final fight would not be a one on one confrontation, but instead a two on one situation where the numbers advantage was actually for the good guys.

The Bruceploitation sub-genre of action films is not for everybody, but for me watching this movie brought back fond memories of various incarnations of Kung Fu Theater on my local UHF stations growing up. Bruce Li is not at the level of Bruce Lee, but Li is a skilled martial artist in his own right and you get behind him in this story of redemption. And while Blind Fist of Bruce does not always take itself too seriously, I found that it was a seriously enjoyable film.

Now for some seriously enjoyable Bonus Bullet Points…

• Mickey Would Be Proud: The Blind Master incorporates chickens into Yeh’s training regimen.
• Bucket List: I was instantly jealous of Wei  when he flipped over a table at the start of the film. Flipping over a table is something that is on my bucket list.
• Music Pirates: Some of the John Williams composed music from Superman The Movie can be heard in Blind Fist of Bruce.
• Wanna Get Laid? Beat My Maid: They tease that the main female character in Blind Fist of Bruce, Miss Hung, is going to hook up with Yeh and Wei at various points in the movie, but there is always a caveat, someone has to beat her maid if they want to get laid. And since her maid is a legit badass it never happens for Yeh or Wei.

• Ballsy Move: How many effs do you not have to give to refer to Bruce Li as “incomparable” when he obviously got his job because somebody compared him to Bruce Lee!?!?
• Tone Deaf: Aside from being blind, The Blind Master’s singing during the film leads me to believe he was also tone deaf.
• If You Ever: …wanted to see a martial arts instructor pantomime a dog pissing, then this is the movie for you.
• Words of Wisdom: “Women. They’re a mixed up lot!” – The Blind Master