Tuesday, September 18, 2018

BRUCE TAKES DRAGON TOWN (1974) ** ½


Daredevil Alan is a Kung Fu badass who mostly tries to keep to himself.  When a local gangster has trouble with someone muscling in on his territory, he turns to Daredevil Alan for help.  D.A. naturally refuses, so the gangster resorts to kidnapping his mother to ensure he’ll play ball.

That’s right, there’s no one named Bruce in this movie.  Nor does he have even a passing resemblance to Bruce Lee.  While we’re on the subject, I’m starting to suspect this movie didn’t even place in Dragon Town!  What the hell?

The fights occur at a generally non-stop clip.  Normally, this wouldn’t be much of a problem, but we rarely know who’s trying to beat up Daredevil Alan or why.  They just jump out of nowhere and attack him.  The longest stretch of non-fighting comes during a long, boring flashback to Alan’s childhood, so maybe the random ass fights weren’t such a bad idea after all.

There are enough memorable moments to make Bruce Takes Dragon Town a hair or two better than your average chopsocky extravaganza.  I liked the part where some bad dudes try to throw a rope around Daredevil Alan and he confiscates it and starts jumping rope with it.  There’s also a flashback scene in which his brothers are killed in rapid succession that is good for an unintended laugh or two.  Other funny shit:  Daredevil Alan hangs a guard while he’s taking a pee and the odd scene in which his love interest plays with dolls.  

The thing that makes Bruce Takes Dragon Town an (almost) winner for me was the fact that it blatantly steals music for Bernard Herrmann’s score from Taxi Driver!  Hearing one of the best scores from one of the most iconic composers during a slapdash Kung Fu flick is certainly a memorably WTF moment.  I can’t say it makes the movie or anything, but I can honestly say I won’t soon forget it.

AKA:  Dare You Touch Me?

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