Bullet Points: Chinese Stuntman
When you mention the name Bruce Li to fans of martial arts movies, they will undoubtedly mention his work in 1982’s Chinese Stuntman…. a movie Bruce Li both starred in and directed.
- Feel His Flo: Bruce Li plays Wei Tang, a martial artist turned insurance salesman. Wei finds himself in the middle of a sticky situation involving greedy movie makers, movie star egos, attempted murder and insurance fraud all thanks to his supervisor at the insurance company, Mr. Lo. Lo puts Wei in touch with kung fu movie star, Alan Chen (Sze-Ma Lung) when it is all said and done, Wei ends up getting Alan on board, and now the movie star is insured if anything were to happen to him while filming one of his movies… and this is no coincidence. The director of the film (played by Wei Ping-Ao of Fist of Fury and The Way of the Dragon fame) cut a deal with Mr. Lo to get Alan insured because the director has plans to make sure Alan (who is no longer the box office attraction he once was) dies on the set… now I am not sure how the movie studio becomes the beneficiary of an insurance policy that Alan purchased in the event that Alan dies, but it is better to just roll with it…
- In Good Hands: Trying to be the best damn insurance salesman he can be, Wei Tang goes to visit his client Alan Chen on set after Alan had a “string of bad luck” and is banged up after being pressured by the filmmakers and some of his fellow actors to do his own stunts. Wei Tang objects to a scene that is about to be filmed, stating it is much too dangerous for Alan to do himself and that Alan has not been trained properly to do it. When one of the crew members gets in Wei’s face about it… Wei shows off his own martial arts skills, does the stunt himself and just like that Wei Tang is a part time insurance salesman and part time Chinese stuntman (DING!).
- Like a Good Neighbor: During all the trials and tribulations that Wei Tang faces during the movie, there is one guy who has Wei’s back… his big buddy/student John (played by John Ladalski, who would go on to have small roles in 9 Deaths of the Ninja and Kickboxer). John, who is referred to as “The European” by the Hong Kong natives (nobody told the voice over guy dubbing John’s voice that John was European), looks out for Wei time and time again.
- Double Indemnity: While John proves to be a good friend to Wei, Alan the movie star is another story altogether. Alan gets jealous of the attention Wei Tang is starting to receive now that he is a stuntman, not to mention the fact that Wei Tang is a far superior martial artist than Alan. So now Alan is trying to do to Wei Tang, what the director was trying to do to him… kill Wei Tang and cover it up as a stunt gone horribly wrong. When that doesn’t work Alan goes the more traditional route and hires guys to kill Wei Tang… and when that doesn’t work, he finds himself having to deal with Wei Tang himself!
As you watch Chinese Stuntman, you can’t help but pick up on the not so subtle overtones of Bruce Li’s growing disdain for the movie business. It is really no surprise that Chinese Stuntman was Bruce Li’s final starring role and for all intents and purposes it marked the end of his acting career.
Now it is time for these Bonus Bullet Points to mark the end of this review…
- Familiar Face: Dan Inosanto, a student of Bruce Lee and co-star of Lee’s in Game of Death, played the movie studio’s action director and eventually one of the guys hired to kill Wei Tang. Dan fights John in order to get to Wei Tang, which means we get two times the Inosanto and a high quality two for one fight scene.
- The Clones Cast: To check out what Michael and Matthew had to say about this one, click here!
- If You Ever: …wanted to see Bruce Li play a dangerous game of Pickle in the Middle with Odd Job and a mini-Odd Job named Lofty, then this is the movie for you.
- Interesting Musical Choice: During a “selling insurance montage” early on in the movie the decision was made to use some of Herbie Hancock’s music from 1974’s Death Wish.
- AKA: Chinese Stuntman is also known as The Chieh Boxing Master and Counter Attack.
