Bruceploitation returns in the 21rst century in a big way with DRAGON THE MASTER, one of two Joseph Lai productions solely designed to rip off Bruce Lee. The plot from the back of the DVD reads:
"The Legend of Bruce Lee lives on in Dragon the Master. Dragon Sek steps into the Master's shoes in this martial arts extravaganza as he takes on all-comers to prove that Jeet Kune Do - 'The Way of the Intercepting Fist' reigns supreme above all other fighting styles."Now, the copywriter of that synopsis wrote something so vague because either they were (a) lazy or (b) just as confused about this film's baffling plot as I am. Let me see if I can sum this one up in a nutshell (takes deep breath)...okay, Shelly works for a computer company and is designing a new game called "Dragon's Eye" which is modeled after Bruce Lee. She also has the hots for her supervisor Ko Wei. Now, her brother Ti Lung (YES! His name is Ti Lung) is a kung fu instructor and Bruce Lee look-a-like. Her best friend (a girl named Sherwood) is a kung fu movie actress whose boyfriend Miles is a student of Ti Lung and part time private detective. Sherwood gets into a fight at a bar but is saved by Gordon (Billy Chow); a mainlander who comes to Hong Kong to fight in a tournament after his wife kicked him out for fighting. So Gordon starts to train with Lung but is asked to leave after he beats up all the students. Meanwhile, Ko Wei, evil double-crossing bastard that he is, has stolen Shelly's computer program and sells it to Mr. Tong, HK's biggest bootlegger. Along the way, Ko Wei runs into Gordon, who happens to be his old friend. Ko Wei offers to sponsor Gordon in the tournament and then blackmails Gordon into a life of crime because he finds Gordon's wife is dying and needs $60,000 for an operation (I'm not making this up!). The duo kidnaps Shelly and her other brother because the program on her computer was a fake. So, it is up to Ti Lung and Sherwood to head to the main villain's PAGODA! and save his family.
"Forget it..you're useless! What kind of guards are you anyway? You're completely useless. Can't even handle street punks! What are you going to do when you run into real trouble? Train harder! And don't hang out with Miles anymore. That is if you want to keep your job."Thanks for the positive words boss! And everyone in the film keeps referring to the stolen computer program as a "formula." Later, when Billy Chow turns on Dragon Sek, he screams, "In that tournament, I will beat everyone. EVERYONE! And that includes you!" Of course, this tournament they spend over half the film talking about never even happens. What a jip! Regardless, this film really took me back to the reckless era of 70s Bruceploitation, where you just needed a guy looking like Lee as a reason to make a movie. That is definitely the case here.