Top 30 Muscle Movies (#27)

#27. Enter the Dragon (Robert Clouse, 1973)

Look, we know what you’re thinking. “How could this film be so low on the list!? I mean, it’s Bruce Lee’s masterpiece!” Settle down friends. There’s a reason to our madness.

We agree that Bruce Lee was one bad ass dude. And if this was the top 30 Kung Fu films, this would be number one. We promise. But there are far bigger muscles ahead of us – so let’s give Bruce Lee the rare opportunity to take a breather from the spot light.

So here’s the gist. Lee plays a master Shaolin martial artist from Hong Kong who receives an invitation to a martial arts competition. All put together by a shady individual by the name of Mr. Han. British Intelligence asks Lee to go on an undercover mission to take down Han for drug trafficking and prostitution. Lee agrees to help in their efforts, believing that he can redeem the Shaolin honor that Han has disrespected. But when Lee learns that Han’s bodyguard was involved with the death of Lee’s sister; he finds himself on a mission of revenge above all else.

This is the first Chinese martial arts film to be produced by a major Hollywood studio and is often considered one of the greatest martial arts films of all time. It’s also the last film completed before his tragic death – leaving behind one of the greatest films to his legacy. It currently holds a 95% rating on aggregate review website, Rotten Tomatoes. And it even has a young Jackie Chan among the stuntmen – way before he was kicking it in his own starring roles…and way before he was kicking it with Chris Tucker.

And if that’s not enough for you, even the Library of Congress can’t keep themselves from gushing all over the film. In 2004, it was deemed “culturally significant” and selected for preservation in the National Film Registry. That’s right, even the government can’t get enough Bruce Lee.

Maybe we shouldn’t have put this as #27…

 

Love the movie? Hate it? Think we’re blasphemers for ranking it so low? Sound off in the comments below or on Facebook! And while you’re at it, tune in tomorrow to check our next choice for top muscle movie #26.

 

Photo courtesy of BlackRaindergamsa.