Thanks to earlier productions such as "The Chinese Boxer" and "King Boxer", (two of the most successful 70's Kung Fu flicks) the plot engaging the Chinese against the Japanese oppression built the foundation for many later "chop sockies". Bruce Lee of course went head to head with the Japanese in "Fist Of Fury" but after his character was murdered in the finale a sequel was surely on the cards. Lo Wei was the man responsible for the "official" sequel pitting a young Jackie Chan against the enemy in his one and only Bruceploitation effort, "New Fist Of Fury". However, as all fans of the Bruce Lee impersonators know, once is never enough, titles such as "Fist Of Fury 2", "Fist Of Fury 3" and "Return Of The Fist Of Fury" were all successful in their own right as audiences clamoured to see justice was done. Bruce Le was of course no exception and often trod familiar ground in productions such as "Bruce And Shaolin Kung Fu Part 2", "Bruce And The Dragon Fist" and "Bruce Leešs Greatest Revenge".

Of these three titles "Shaolin Kung Fu Part 2", is undoubtedly the best with Le's character representing the Ching Wu's and gaining vengeance for the past atrocities of the Japanese Karate school. The movie produced some great action sequences and our hero once again got the chance to show off his nunchaku skills, which whilst not on a par with Lee's, were of a satisfactory standard to keep most fans happy. Although this production did not come close to "Fist Of Fury" it was by no means a bad movie. "Bruce Lee's Greatest Revenge" on the other hand was only entertaining due to the miscasting of one of the foreign villains who unfortunately bore a passing resemblance to Monty Pythonšs, Eric Idle. During the films finale the viewer was never sure if the guy would try to kill Bruce or just launch into a chorus of "Always Look On The Bright Side Of Life"!

In 1982 a major marketing campaign began to make Bruce Le a household name. PT Insantra were able to negotiate a deal with Roy Winnick, head of Best Film and Video Corp based in America. Winnick made it his duty to verbalise outspoken opinions in the attempt to popularise his "latest discovery" on U.S. television. Therefore whilst the cunning distributor may have gained Le an army of new found fans amongst the unsuspecting public, he simultaneously managed to insult the memory of the Little Dragon. The proclamation that the real Bruce Lee was, "more of a happening than a talent" surely failed to win the respect of Winnick's original target audience, the Bruce Lee fanatic.

However, this would not stop Le in his quest to become the latest and greatest Kung Fu sensation and whilst Winnick was stuck in the past, Le had his sights set firmly on the future. Leaving Insantra and the rest of the Hong Kong independents behind, he opened up his own production company Dragon Films and created some of his best work.

When Le first hit the cinemas back in the mid seventies he had displayed a somewhat wooden screen presence and was clearly uncomfortable in most dialogue scenes. After battling his way through a multitude of good, bad and often bizarre adventures such as "Bruce And The Shaolin Bronzemen", "Return Of Bruce" and "Bruce The Superhero", Le eventually settled down into his acting role. After a short time this talented young martial artist began to get more involved in the film making process. Often working as fight choreographer, Le would also go on to act as director, producer and screenwriter on may of his better productions. Incidentally he was also the assistant director on Ho Chung Tao's, "The Chinese Stuntman", a firm favourite amongst genre fans.

The movies produced in the early eighties gave on-screen proof that Le could not only act but could also fight. The former Bruce Lee impersonator would set the screen ablaze with his speed and ferocity in three of his best movies, "The Supergang", "Challenge Of The Tiger" and "Ninja Strikes Back".

Whilst the latter seemed to be a last ditch attempt to hang onto the exploitation scene it was undoubtedly the swan song and nail in the coffin of Bruceploitation. An insane production combining elements of Bruce Lee with James Bond, the plot saw Le venture to Italy to take on the menace of Harold "Oddjob" Sakata before going one on one in the colosseum with the awesome Hwang Jang Lee. Cashing in on the Ninja trend, the movie also starred Chick Norris, (thatšs right, Chick!) and displayed x-ray bone crushing scenes in the style of Sonny Chiba's Streetfighter series. Although it is no work of art, this movie is tongue in cheek from start to finish and if taken in the right context, great fun to watch.

However, better things lay ahead. "The Supergang" was a modern day kung fu movie not to be missed. The premise dealt with the crime syndicate in Hong Kong thus, even though Le was the hero of the piece, technically he was still a bad guy. Still trading under his pseudonym, Kin Lung was lightning fast in this production giving a performance that was more akin to Jeet Kune Do than anything he had displayed in his Bruceploitation days. Not once did he seek to imitate Bruce Lee in fact this adventure confirmed that Wong Kin Lung could be a star in his own right. The real man who had hidden his true self behind Lee-like sunglasses for so many years was finally on screen for all to see, but maybe it was just a little too late for world-wide acceptance.

Meanwhile in America plans were underway to star Le in an international production, a kung fu/comedy titled, "Salt, Pepper and Soy Sauce". This was coupled with the concept for a "Mission Impossible" style TV show, to be called "F.I.S.T.". However, it appears that both projects failed to materialise at least with Le at the helm. Although the internet movie database lists "..Soy Sauce" amongst Lešs credits it was reported in the mid eighties that the agreement fell through and the role would go to Carter Huang.

Kin Lung would however make another attempt at international success with his role in "Challenge Of the Tiger" opposite popular "Ninja" star of the time, Richard Harrison. Produced by his own company, once again he gave the performance of his career at least from an action point of view. Now a veteran of the Hong Kong movie industry Kin Lung was also responsible for the screenplay, choreography, production and direction of the project. As always with a "Bruce Le" production the plot was a little unusual, seeing our hero act as an agent attempting to recover a deadly contraceptive! The movie once again featured the legendary kicking abilities of the great Hwang Jang Lee and the ever reliable talents of Bolo Yeung. It also quite surprisingly featured cameo appearances by TV stars, Jack Klugman, Jane Seymour and Morgan Fairchild, although it is doubtful that these celebrities even to this day realised that they were in the middle of a Bruce Le movie!

As Kin Lung seemed to be on the brink of escaping the shadow of the Little Dragon, distributors still intent on toiling in the exploitation genre would not allow him to escape so easily. Whilst he was no longer producing movies of this kind, the companies in question decided to rehash their own product. Taking several earlier releases including, "My Name Called Bruce", "Return Of Bruce" and "Enter The Game Of Death" they created "Bruce Lee Vs Ninja", the worst example of Bruceploitation to unfortunately ever be given a video release. The movie plays like a "Best Of Bruce Le" with a completely redubbed soundtrack but giving the viewer a mind numbing case of Bruceploitation deja vu.

In recent years there has been a great resurgence in the interest of the Bruce Lee exploitation genre particularly in America. Bruce Le along with his peers Bruce Li and Dragon Lee has gained a massive cult following. However it is Le in particular that has gone on to "sell" more products than any other Bruce Lee "wannabe". As ever confusion amongst video distributors runs riot as Le's image continues to sell titles such as, "The Chinese Stuntman", "Deadly Strike", "The Young Bruce Lee", and "Bruce Lee - A Dragon Story" amongst many others none of which actually star the man in question. Likewise, the kung fu movie, "Cobra" was once described as one of Bruce Le's better movies by a critic supposedly in the know. However this cheap chop socky actually starred Bruce Lei, the worst of all Lee-alikes which didn't say much for the original reception of Le. Almost thirty years on from the start of Bruceploitation, is it still too much to ask that the correct performers are credited alongside the correct productions? Like them or not, Le, Li and Dragon Lee are all completely different individuals each with their own fan base.

After a string of successes in the martial arts movie industry, Wong Kin Lung seemed to completely disappear for a considerable amount of time before reappearing in 1992 as quite an accomplished film director and star of the critically acclaimed "Comfort Women". Working under the name of Jackie Lui, he created a somewhat eclectic contribution to the Cat. III genre. The movie was described by one critic as "truly horrifying" and Kin Lung had definitely created an unforgettable product once again.

In 1993 he appeared as stunt performer in the third instalment of the "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" series. Many fans felt that going head to head as a stuntman with giant mutant reptiles was the end for the "King Of Bruceploitation" and unless Kin Lung is using an alternative pseudonym once again, it is unclear what current involvement, if any, he has with the movie industry. The TV show "Stop! Kung Fu", recently reported that Bruce Le had appeared in "A Bollywood Bruce", but when and if this movie was actually released was not made clear.

Therefore this marks the end of our journey into the career of Wong Kin Lung, a man who if nothing else has had more names than all other Bruce Lee imitators combined. A man who in his prime was hated by Bruce Lee fans, loved by Bruceploitation enthusiasts and continues to this day to bring confusion to the masses. Like the great master before him, Wong Kin Lung has left an on-screen legacy. A career, sometimes questionable but engraved in the martial arts movie history books forever. Long live Bruce Le - The Undisputed King Of Bruceploitation!