The Clones of Bruce Lee (1980) Newport Releasing/Action RT: 90 minutes Rated R (martial arts violence, nudity) Director: Joseph Kong Screenplay: Kuang-Hsin Wu Release date: 1980 (US) Cast: Dragon Lee, Bruce Le, Bruce Lai, Bruce Tai, Jon Benn, Andy Hannah, Yang Tze (Bolo Yeung), Do Kong (Chiang Tao). Box Office: N/A
Rating: ***
After the untimely death of martial arts superstar Bruce Lee in 1973, Asian filmmakers tried to cash in his fame by hiring lookalikes to star in their imitative kung fu movies bearing such titles as Re-Enter the Dragon, Bruce Lee Fights Back from the Grave and Exit the Dragon, Enter the Tiger. They even gave their leads soundalike names like Bruce Li, Bruce Le, Bruce Lai and Dragon Lee. This is the subgenre known as “Bruceploitation”.
The label also applies to The Clones of Bruce Lee, a gleefully insane chop-socky actioner starring Lee, Le and Lai as a trio of Bruce clones under the control of scientist Professor Lucas (Benn, The Way of the Dragon). It all starts in the hospital shortly after Bruce dies. Lucas, acting on the orders of government agent Colin (Hannah), takes a sample of the actor’s blood and creates three perfect clones he names Bruce Lee 1 (Dragon Lee), Bruce Lee 2 (Le) and Bruce Lee 3 (Lai). Intended for use in crime fighting, they’re quickly trained in martial arts before being sent into the field.
1 is sent to deal with a movie producer using his studio as a front for a gold-smuggling operation. Posing as an actor, the producer quickly becomes suspicious and orders him killed on-camera. 2 and 3 go to Thailand where they meet up with another agent, Chuck (Thai), who will help them take down a madman with plans of world domination. His plan somehow involves a formula that turns human skin into bronze. Upon successfully completing their missions, the three Bruces return to base in Hong Kong where a disgruntled Lucas pits them against each other after not receiving his due recognition for creating the clones in the first place.
The person responsible for The Clones of Bruce Lee is Joseph Kong, a filmmaker whose extensive Bruceploitation filmography also includes Enter the Game of Death and My Name Called Bruce. It has it all- mad scientists plotting to rule the world, metal-skinned assassins, death rays, and topless disco-dancing beachgoers. If you’ve ever wanted to see all these things in the same movie, this is your chance. Who knows, you might even be entertained.
Like most Asian-made kung fu cheapies that played the grindhouse circuit circa the 70s, The Clones of Bruce Lee is a movie of piss-poor quality. It has the lousy acting, bad dubbing, poorly synched sound effects, chop-choppy editing and nonsensical plot familiar to fans of the genre. Or should I say beloved by fans of the genre? I suppose it doesn’t matter since The Clones of Bruce Lee is a bad movie either way. By that, I mean badly made only. It is NOT unwatchable. Quite the opposite, you won’t be able to avert your eyes. It’s such a nutty flick, you’ll want to watch it all the way through.
I’m not going to waste my time or yours by attempting to extol the virtues of The Clones of Bruce Lee. There is no virtue, artistic or otherwise. A movie like this exists for one purpose only, the fight scenes. There’s plenty of kung fu fighting here. The “actors” get to show off their skills and while they might resemble Bruce, their skills are no match. At best, they’re adequate. They can fight but only as long as they take on one opponent at a time. I’ve often wondered what would happen if the opponents decided to gang up on the hero, haven’t you? In any event, the numerous fights in The Clones of Bruce Lee go well with the insanity of the insane narrative. Or should I say inanity of the inane narrative? However you choose to state it, this movie is clucking nuts!
I realize I keep coming back to the same thing but it’s the main reason to watch The Clones of Bruce Lee. The minds that came up with it have to be certifiable, right? It’s a trip to Crazy Town. The training montage is underscored by a piece that sounds almost exactly like the theme from Rocky but it’s different enough that the makers don’t have to credit Bill Conti. In the midst of it all, there’s this out of nowhere scene of a group of topless young woman cavorting on a beach. It serves no purpose to the plot; it’s merely a ploy to ensure an R rating. BTW, did you notice one of the trainers is played by Bolo Yeung (credited as Yang Tze)? He was in Enter the Dragon with the real Bruce. He was also the bad guy in Bloodsport starring Jean-Claude Van Damme.
I think I’ve said all there is to be said about The Clones of Bruce Lee. It’s kind of like the Plan 9 from Outer Space of the kung fu genre. It’s sleazy in its shameless exploitation of Bruce but it’s so joyfully dumb that it doesn’t matter. It’s an unintentional comedy made funnier by the movie’s insistence on consistently taking itself seriously. It’s a goof that doesn’t realize it’s a goof. Or is it? Either way, The Clones of Bruce Lee is a lot of fun but only if you like junky movies to begin with.
