The Way Of The Dragon (1972)

The Way Of The Dragon (1972)- * * *

AKA: Return Of The Dragon

Directed by: Bruce Lee

Starring: Bruce Lee and Chuck Norris













Tang Lung (Bruce) is a Chinese native and something of a wide-eyed innocent when he comes to the big European city of Rome to help his relatives, who run a restaurant in the Eternal City. But a big problem arises when gangsters declare that they want the restaurant and the property it’s on for themselves.  

Initially Lung’s family are helpless and confused about what to do next, then they find out that Lung is a Kung Fu master. Lung staves off the gangsters by fighting wave after wave of thugs and baddies sent by the higher-ups in the nefarious syndicate. For a while, the restaurant seems secure. But then the bad guys bring out the big guns by calling in Colt (Chuck), an American Martial Arts master who flies to Rome with the sole reason of defeating Lung in a fight. The climax of the movie sees the two titans have it out in the legendary Colosseum. Who will emerge victorious?

The Way of the Dragon (or Return of the Dragon, as it was marketed after the success of Enter the Dragon), was a Golden Harvest production written and directed by Bruce Lee, and he also co-produced, starred in, and of course was credited as Action Director and Martial Arts Instructor on the film. Bruce’s talent was immense and seemed to be growing at this point in his career; unfortunately for the world, he passed away the next year after the release of this film. 

Of course, this led to many producers trying to fill the void left by the legend and his huge popularity, leading to such names as Bruce Li, Bruce Le, Dragon Lee, and our personal favorite, Bruce Rhee. Just to name a few. But for our purposes here at Comeuppance, it was nice to actually see a BRUCE LEE film, as opposed to some of the movies that appeared in his wake. It puts things into perspective when you can go back and see the originator, instead of one of the imitators.

Don’t get us wrong, many of the movies featuring the “imitators” are fun in their own right and certainly have their charms, but there’s nothing like an actual Bruce Lee film, and, sadly, there aren’t that many of them to choose from. Here, though, starting from the cool, Spaghetti Western-style animated opening titles sequence, we go into a very 70’s world: big cars, big collars, pea soup-colored home decor, and of course Bruce Lee was still alive. 

Maybe someday we’ll be able to go back to the 70’s. Of course, it was also a time when a young Chuck Norris, sans facial hair (but with plenty of hair everywhere else, as Bruce humorously points out during their fight scene), was just coming on the movie scene. Chuck doesn’t appear until about an hour into the movie, as he’s the baddies’ “secret weapon” brought in to bring Bruce down, but, like Slaughter in San Francisco (1974), Chuck plays a villain with limited screen time. He had yet to establish himself as a hero, and of course when he comes up against Bruce Lee, the fur’s gonna fly!

The movie does get off to something of a slow start, and the pacing is kind of odd, especially by today’s standards, but really there’s no shortage of Bruce action. It was a time when terms like “Kung Fu” and “Nunchucks” were brand new in the American (and the non-Asian world’s?) lexicon, so that was interesting to see. The dubbing is...unfortunate, but typical for productions of this time and place. 

That’s how it is on the Inter-Vid VHS, and it’s unlikely to be any better on many of this movie’s other releases. A widescreen, subtitled, remastered DVD would be awesome, but it’s probably an impossibility, because of the way the movie was shot. The only other real complaint we have is that it’s kind of repetitive, plot-wise, but that’s a minor quibble, we’re just grateful this film exists in the first place. It would be fascinating to think what Bruce would be doing if he was around today.

There’s a really good chance he’d be making DTV movies with the action stars of our day like Scott Adkins and Gary Daniels, among others. Or perhaps he’d be making movies in Hong Kong with Jet Li and Donnie Yen. Or maybe both, there’s no way of knowing. But Return of the Dragon remains an important part of the Bruce legacy.

Comeuppance Review by: Brett and Ty

Code Of Silence (1985)

Code Of Silence (1985)-* * *

Directed by: Andrew Davis

Starring: Chuck Norris, Dennis Farina, Ralph Foody, Joe Guzaldo, and Henry Silva












 Eddie Cusack (Chuck) is a Chicago cop under attack on all fronts. The Italian mob hates him because he and his partner Det. Dorato (Farina) got involved in a drug deal they were doing with the Colombian cartel, led by the evil Comacho (Silva). Now the Colombians are after his blood as well. And even members of his own department are after him because his honesty and integrity forces him to break the “code of silence” when a fellow cop Cragie (Foody) shoots an unarmed teenager and plants a gun on him. And his young, new partner that he didn’t initially want, Kopalas (Guzaldo) is cracking under the strain. But Cusack does have a dependable ally in all this mess: a prototype police robot named Prowler. Will Cusack and Prowler win the day? Find out today!

Code Of Silence is a classic 80’s adult cop drama. It’s also one of Chuck’s best. The makers of this movie were smart: they crafted a vehicle for Chuck that plays to all of his strengths. (Though this seems to be somewhat accidental, as Chuck wasn’t the first choice for the role of Cusack). Here, Chuck is the strong, silent type: a rock of relative calm in the sea of chaos around him. He’s not “wooden”, he’s quiet, reserved, even contemplative. Someone finally decided that Chuck could be in a serious-minded, non-goofy movie, and not only does it completely work, but it’s a highlight in his career. 

Stallone perhaps could have played the Eddie Cusack role, and truly this is Chuck’s Nighthawks (1981). They both grew beards and wore sweaters to prove they could make gritty, realistic fare for grown-ups. Smartly, the makers of Code Of Silence saved all the action for the final third, which makes total sense. 

Now, in today’s ADD-afflicted culture, someone somewhere decided movies have to have Vin Diesel or The Rock doing some sort of cartoonish, silly CGI car stunt in front of a green screen in the first seconds of a movie (or trailer) in order to satisfy an audience of dummies. By contrast, Code Of Silence’s pace is slow and deliberate, and thank goodness for that. It hearkens back to a time when action movies were MOVIES, not glorified video games. With the passing of time, Code Of Silence looks better than ever.

Some of our most-loved cliches are on board as well, such as the WYC (White Yelling Chief), the copious sax on the soundtrack, and, in a 2-for-1, the abandoned warehouse in an abandoned shipyard. And, proving definitively it was the glorious 80’s, Chuck has a Rubik’s cube. The great Henry Silva makes a worthy enemy for The Chuckster, and Dennis Farina is a great buddy for him to have. And Ralph Foody is the original foodie. Director Davis went on to work with Seagal on his vehicles Above The Law (1988) and Under Siege (1992), but don’t hold that against him. Code Of Silence is a winner all around.

Sadly, they don’t make ‘em like this anymore, but at least we have gems like Code Of Silence to remember that quality used to come to the movie theater. 

Comeuppance Review by: Ty and Brett