Fist of Fury, Part II (1977)

Fist of Fury, Part II (1977)
aka Chinese Connection 2; Fist of Fury 2
Chinese Title: 精武門續集
Translation: Ching Woo School the Sequel

 

Starring: Bruce Li (Ho Chung-Tao), Tien Feng, Lo Lieh, Chan Wai-Lau, James Nam, Jimmy Lung, Sit Hon, Lee Kwan
Director: Jimmy Shaw, Lee Tso-Nam
Action Director: Tommy Lee

 

Fist of Fury 2, another attempt to make a sequel to the Bruce Lee hit, makes for a fascinating example of divergent evolution next to the early Jackie Chan effort. Both films seek to tell the story of the Ching Wu School following the death of Chen Zhen, albeit from the points of view of different characters. In this case, we see what happens to the school’s teacher, played once again by Tien Feng, in the aftermath of the massacres of both the Japanese and Ching Wu schools that marked the last act of Fist of Fury. Interestingly enough, if not for a key moment in the film’s opening scene, this film could actually pass for a prequel to New Fist of Fury as well as a sequel to The Chinese Connection.

We open with the funeral procession of Chen Zhen, performed by the remaining students from the school. As the pallbearers are burying the casket, Ma Li’er (not played by Nora Miao, but by some actress whose face is obscured by the traditional Chinese funeral garb) throws her onto the coffin and commits suicide. This troubles an already-shaken Teacher (a returning Tien Feng), who soon finds himself turning to alcohol to deal with his problems, which are only just beginning.

Shortly after the funeral, some Japanese martial artists led by another interpreter, Mr. Wong (Chan Wai-Lau, filling in for Wei Ping-Ao), enter the Ching Wu school. They announce that their leader, Mr. Miyamoto (Lo Lieh, who had played the lead Japanese baddie in The Chinese Boxer), has acquired the school and now requires the students to vacate the premises. The students don’t take that very well and try to fight back, only to get whooped by the superior Japanese fighters. The Chinese students flee and try to hide out at the other local schools, but are hunted down by the Japanese and subsequently tortured.

A few months later, one of the remaining Ching Wu students sneaks by the grave of Chen Zhen, which has been cordoned off by the Japanese. He finds a stranger who claims to be Chen Zhen’s brother, Chen Shan (Bruce Li, aka Ho Chung Tao). The student warns Chen Shan to beat it, but too late, some Japanese karate fighters show up. Rather than leave, Chen Shan wipes the floor with the lot and forces them to pay respect to his dead brother. Mr. Miyamoto is really going to love that, isn’t he?

Miyamoto starts pressuring the local police inspector to arrest Chen Shan, although the inspector sympathizes with Chen enough to let him off the hook. The Japanese school reacts by using violence to coerce the other schools into turning Chen Shan in, which quickly puts the schools at odds with what little remains of Ching Wu, now that the Teacher is a useless drunk. Of course, it will only take but a few patriotic speeches to get the schools on Chen’s side, guaranteeing Miyamoto’s ire. Miyamoto declares the extermination of all schools in Shanghai, which his men handily carry out, even though two of the masters survive and go into hiding.

Obviously, the masters won’t be able to hide for very long, leaving it up to Chen to protect them. Moreover, the inspector can only stick up for Chen for so long until he puts him and his men in jeopardy. So Chen will eventually have to go on the offensive if he wants to save the kung fu students of Shanghai and his own tail.

Despite being a reworking of the film it’s supposed to be a sequel for, Fist of Fury 2 succeeds partially on the strength of its action and its rather bleak storyline. Like New Fist of Fury, the filmmakers try to continue the story of the Ching Wu school in a logical (well, at least according to the logic of kung fu movies) way, but here the villains are far more cruel and dastardly then Chen Sing and his daughter were in the other movie. The entire first act is devoted solely to showing people suffer—heck, Bruce Li doesn’t even show up until almost the 30-minute mark. Even after Chen Shan quickly establishes his fighting credentials, a lot of people are going to be unfairly walloped and snuffed before the curtain falls. That said, the major failing of the script is that the plot goes in circles for most of the second and third acts, following a pattern in which Chen Shan beats up some Japanese, the Japanese rough up some others trying find out where he is, Chen Shan argues with other Chinese about the validity of his actions, the Japanese rough up more people, Chen Shan comes to the rescue, rinse and repeat.

The movie also benefits from Tommy Lee’s action direction, which is a lot better than what we got in too many other Bruce Li films. Tommy Lee had offered his talents to the groundbreaking hit The Secret Rivals the year before and was already on his way to becoming one of Taiwan’s most talented fight choreographers of that era. He wisely avoids trying to fit Bruce Li completely into the Bruce Lee mold, giving him a similar, but distinctive style instead. Li (or Ho Chung Tao, if you will) kicks a lot better here than he has done in other films and his handwork is sufficiently complex to set itself apart from Bruce’s simpler punches. The main flaw to the action is that the group melees tends to be repetitive and uninteresting whenever Ho Chung Tao isn’t dishing out the hurt.

The storyline isn’t exactly original, and the movie loses a few points for its treatment of the Ma Li’er character. Watching her mature in New Fist of Fury was a refreshing piece of character development, so her suicide in this film’s first reel feels almost sexist and backward in comparison. Interestingly enough, after the funeral sequence, there are no women in the movie whatsoever (save a few extras, probably). Compare that with the Jackie Chan film, which had two strong female characters on both sides.

Criticisms aside, this is rightly considered to be one of the better Bruce Li vehicles out there. Interestingly enough, Li spent a good portion of his career as not only a Bruce Lee imitator, but on making movies that involved the Little Dragon himself somehow. Bruce Lee: A Dragon Story; Young Bruce Lee and Bruce Lee, the Man, the Myth were pseudo-biographical films about Bruce Lee. Bruce Lee’s Deadly Kung Fu tells a fictional account of how jeet kune do was founded, even though Li didn’t technically play Lee in the film. Exit the Tiger, Enter the Dragon; New Game of Death; and Bruce Lee, We Miss You were set in alternate universes following Bruce Lee’s death. Dynamo is essentially a Brucesploitation film about a man who becomes a Brucesploitation actor, if you can wrap your head around that.

Moreso than Bruce Le and Dragon Lee, Bruce Li’s films were, for better or worse, intimately related to the great star himself. Both men had similar martial arts training, especially in the wing chun style (I’m going to guess that Ho Chung Tao also trained a bit in tae kwon do). I suppose then that it’s only fitting that Bruce Li/Ho Chung Tao be cast in a sequel to Bruce Lee’s most revered film. And it should be fitting that it beats out all of the other attempts to make a sequel to Fist of Fury, including Donnie Yen’s recent Legend of the Fist: Return of Chen Zhen.