Finishing the Game

"Enter the Dragon" is the greatest martial arts movie ever made. As a lifelong Bruce Lee fan, this has been my martial arts movie mantra. Sure, there have been other wonderful kung fu movies, such as "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" and "Hero", but "Enter the Dragon" for pure fighting skill, speed and quality is the best. However, in an alternate world where Bruce Lee did not die an untimely death in July of 1973, "The Game of Death" might have taken its place as #1 martial arts movie.

Unfortunately, Lee did in fact die after putting together only about thirty minutes of footage for this movie. Movie executives, concerned with the bottom line, hussled to throw together what turned out to be a disappointing homage to Lee.

Now, "Finishing the Game" intends to put the final punctuation mark on Bruce Lee's life and legacy. What many people might not know is that his punctuation mark is more of a squiggly exclamation point than a somber, memorial-looking period. The truth is that "Finishing the Game", directed by Justin Lin, is a satiric farce about some aspiring actors who either want to be Bruce Lee or want to be just like him.

It would be nearly impossible to describe the plot of this movie with any kind of coherence, since the movie seems to be striving to avoid exactly that. However, by the end of this silly movie, the audience member who has paid close attention is thinking about Lee's legacy and the issue of racial prejudices that Bruce Lee was certainly dealing with when he was alive.

The film is well acted and surprisingly well directed by Justin Lin, whose previous work includes "The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift." It would be inaccurate to call the film subtle, but the satiric material is manipulated and executed quite deftly.

"Finishing the Game" was an official selection of the 2007 Sundance Film Festival, and it fit right into the line-up of movies showing in Park City this year. For this reviewer, who lives about two hours south of Park City, "Finishing the Game" was a fun, somewhat thought-provoking treat. Oh, and if you do see this movie, watch for James Franco in a surprising cameo.