Game of Death II (also known as The New Game of Death,
Tower of Death, and Si Wang Ta) is about to
be released on DVD and it’s the “last” movie featuring “Bruce
Lee,” even though it came out in 1981 and Lee passed in 1973. This is
ridiculous… where does one begin when reviewing something that defies
description? Maybe start with a synopsis of the “plot.”
Bruce Lee supposedly plays Billy Lo, whose master suddenly (and supposedly)
dies of… something. A mysterious illness, as the DVD box would have you
believe. The coffin of Lee’s master (which bears an inexplicable swastika
on its lid?) is stolen by a helicopter(!) during the funeral. Always the hero,
Lee grabs the coffin and is carried away, presumably to rescue his dead master,
until a dart thrown by one of the helicopter passengers strikes him in the neck
and sends him to plummeting to his death. Cue the memorial montage of Bruce
Lee (errr… Billy Lo) images and enter Lee’s (errr… Lo’s)
brother, Bobby Lo (Tong Lung, who bears a strong resemblance to whoever stood
in for Lee during the fighting segments of the first part of the film). In a
cliché of the highest proportions, Lo (Bobby, not Billy) goes on a quest
of vengeance for his fallen brother (Billy, not Bobby). The hunt leads him to
the Castle of Death where a ruthless former student of Chin Ku (played by Roy
Horan) makes an unlikely ally in the search until his untimely death. Bobby
ends up following the trail to a pagoda built downwards into the earth which,
though it seems silly and even downright stupid, sets the stage for a final
duel with a twist villain in an underground laboratory. No need to ruin the
end of this craptacular piece of kung-fu cinema for you all.
So there you have it. Bruce Lee, eight years dead, got the star billing in this
work of art (or is it piece of work?). The first half of the film, which is
painfully boring with only three real fights (the real star of this movie) and
way too much dumb exposition, features Lee in outtakes and deleted scenes from
his other work spliced together to make this movie. The fight scenes featuring
Lee actually feature Tong Lung and some not-so-deft camera and lighting “tricks”
(which can never hide clothing of different colors). The second half of the
movie, in which Tong Lung’s Bobby Lo is the protagonist, ramps up the
action several notches. There’s a lot more fighting in this portion, the
movie’s only real saving grace. Master choreographer Yuen Woo Ping (Kill
Bill and The Matrix series to name some of the smaller ones) handled all of
the action sequences, and it shows. With the exception of some wonky angles
that make the fighting look less believable overall (showing punches that don’t
even connect and still knock the guy back, for example), the kung-fu sequences
in this movie are pretty damn enjoyable to behold. There’s some out-and-out
stupidity, in the form of a horrible man vs. lion kung-fu fight and a weird,
Tarzan-inspired guardian at the “top” (meaning bottom) level of
the upside-down pagoda. But when all is said and done, any true appreciation
for the “art” of filmmaking in this movie can be found in the structuring
of the fight sequences. That’s not enough to save this from being the
piece of crap that it is, but you’re also under no obligation to watch
this film.
Moving on, let’s look at the special features. That pretty much covers
it. Oh, there are two trailers (the “old” Game of Death
II trailer and the “new” Game of Death II trailer).
That’s all though. Sorry to get your hopes up. While we’re on the
subject, sorry if you’ve read this far.
It’s all so terrible that this movie can actually be a joy and a pleasure
to watch, given the right frame of mind. Pretentious movie-lovers may want to
avoid it though – it’s really not for the faint-hearted. Wait to
catch this one in the bargain bin (if it’s not there the day of its release,
that is). Game of Death II is the perfect thing to throw in
the DVD player on those late nights with friends and nothing to do but laugh
at something stupid.
DVD Film Score: D+
DVD Special Features Score: F-
Overall Score: F+
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