With the passing of Bruce Lee in 1973 the loss of a major
martial arts movie star left a hole and film companies rushed to fill that
void. Called “Bruceploitation” films, there were numerous replacements all
using variations on the spelling of his last name. Each one had his haircut,
intense look and sculpted abs. Most successful among them was Bruce Li, born as
Ho Chung Tao. He starred in numerous films using Lee’s name in the title from
GOODBYE BRUCE LEE to THE DRAGON DIES HARD to BRUCE LEE SUPERSTAR and more.
Among those titles was the film DYNAMO.
A favorite of the grindhouse circuit, DYNAMO was one of
those films heard of but rarely released in a decent format. Released in 1978
the movie played those theaters non-stop for years. Now fans of the film and of
the genre can enjoy it with a newly restored version of the film on blu-ray
from VCI.
Unlike many martial arts films this one takes place in the
present with an advertising company in Hong Kong. As two rival companies are
competing against one another, a new manager named Mary is brought in to turn
things around. As she is driven to her hotel she sees a huge crowd. Her
assistant tells her that this is a funeral procession for the late Bruce Lee
who has recently died and left fans longing for more.
Mary’s methods are cut throat to say the least and she soon
has her team stealing back clients from the rival company. One day while
heading to work she sees young cab driver Lee Tien-yee (Li) who takes on two
men who stole a second cab. With decent martial arts skills she hires him with
the intention of grooming him into the next huge movie star.
Here we insert one of the favorite type characters of the
genre, the somewhat drunken master who is hired to bring this young star up
from decent to amazing. Lee resents this new teacher (Feng Ku) when they start.
Told to attack him whenever he wants, to surprise him even, Lee is consistently
bettered by his teacher. As a result he too becomes better. Eventually a
growing bond between the two takes place.
As Lee experiences newfound fame and fortune the rival
company finds their lead lost. In an attempt to gain it back, they send various
thugs to battle with Lee as he tours the world as the new superstar. Each one
is beaten back until they eventually set him up to battle their main gun, a
ruthless professional karate star. To ensure that Lee loses, they kidnap his
girlfriend and threaten to kill her unless he throws the fight.
While this may sound like a ton of action, and there is
plenty, more time is spent in the cutthroat offices and clubs with the
advertising execs than you would expect. This film is definitely not lacking
when it comes to a script full of conversations. In some ways it works, in
others not. Yes, we have plenty of story but are we looking for that in a film
like this?
Li is a competent replacement for the real Bruce Lee but
can’t compare in the long run. He doesn’t have the speed or real charisma,
instead relying on the similar look and style of the real deal. It did open the
door for him though and gave him an opportunity to make movies. Even he felt
this way, feeling that the studios underutilized him and saying "I could
act like him but I could never be him." But he is among the better
actors/marital artists who took on the daunting task of trying.
VCI has done a great job of bringing new life to this film,
one that could have languished in bootleg and washed out editions on shelves
everywhere. Instead they’ve attempted to clean it up with the best print
possible, restoring it with a new 2k restoration from an original 35mm print.
They’ve even included a 2k restoration of a 16mm alternate cut of the film.
There are also plenty of extras to enjoy here as well. Those include an audio
commentary track by filmmaker and kung fu film fan Michael Worth and UK radio
sensation Iain Lee, “Kung Fu: Reborn” a featurette on the restoration of kung
fu films, “Drawing Dynamo” a featurette of cover artists Ian McEwan, the
original trailer and an essay by Worth.
If you’re a fan of martial arts films and of the entire
Bruceploitation genre, then this is a must have. It offers a decent copy of the
movie to enjoy as well as replace those washed out copies from the past. The
film is also an historical look at the times in which it was released. Congrats
to VCI for saving the film from extinction.
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