I first saw this in the late 80s on a vhs. Then again in the early 2k on a dvd which I own.

Revisited it recently with my family.

This time Lee plays a martial arts instructor who is approached by the British Intelligence and is persuaded to attend a martial arts tournament on a private island owned by Han, a crime lord.

Lee's assignment is to gather evidence that will prove Han's involvement in drug trafficking and prostitution.

The movie has amazing star cast, few top notch martial arts fight scenes n wonderful music score.

This one is not as intense as Fist of Fury but very entertaining.

The villain Han is not intimidating or a convincing fighter yet he is able to take down the character of Jim Kelly.

We have Sammo Hung in an uncredited role in the opening fight scene against Lee at the start of the film.

Enter the Dragon along with Game of Death were the foundation for fighting games. Both these movies inspired various martial arts n action movies.

We also have Bolo Yeung before he became the usual villain in JCVD's movies.

In Fist of Fury, Lee's character bites the leg of a Russian fighter during a duel.

In this movie John Saxon's character bites the leg of Bolo Yeung during a duel.

This film is the best of all the Bruce Lee films--period. No other film he did came even close to it in production values, plot, music, supporting characters or action. It is the "Rolls Royce" of kung-fu movies--even though the story is at times very silly! My advice is that instead of turning the film off because of its many bizarre and Austin Powers-like plot devices, just turn your brain to the neutral position and take it all in without thinking!! Otherwise, if you think too much about what's going on, your head just might explode! Don't believe me? Well read on,....

The film begins at a Shaolin temple where Bruce Lee is a kung-fu teacher. His master comes to him to ask him to embark on a secret mission to stop a renegade member of their school--the evil Han. It seems that Han has forgotten the good teachings of the school and is now sort of like a kung-fu version of Dr. No or Blowfeld!! In so many, many ways, this film is like a morphing of these James Bond films with a traditional martial arts film. So, in this case, Lee is a spy sent to infiltrate Han's tournament--where the greatest martial artists and John Saxon are invited to his island fortress to compete.

Once on the island, everything seems relatively normal at first. Later, you learn that Han has really bizarre detachable hands--ranging from claws to iron fists to knives. In addition, he is ruthless in his dealings with his underlings---actually having several killed in front of his guests who are there for the tournament! From this point on, it's pretty obvious Han is basically Dr. No with cooler fake hands! Who is killed and what exactly occurs is something you'll just have to find out for yourself--I just don't want to reveal too many secrets. However, the film has great action and Han's real purpose for this island fortress is eventually revealed. All you really need to know is that the film is totally cool and most guys will probably love it. Women, on the other hand, may not go for all this machismo and action and they might actually complain that the film has got an incredibly silly plot (which, of course, it has)! If you want to see a funny parody of this movie, try watching KENTUCKY FRIED MOVIE. The last third or so of this AIRPLANE-style film is a knockoff of ENTER THE DRAGON and is very, very funny and insightful. I particularly liked the names given to some of the marital artists in the parody as well as voice they used for the Lee-wannabe. Like the real life Lee, he spoke with a bit of an Elmer Fudd accent.

This cult classic adventure plays like James Bond with martial arts - which is exactly what it is, and rather blatantly so. The film concerns a young secret agent who has to secretly infiltrate a cruel dictator's island retreat and discover his terrible secrets. As if that wasn't enough, there are underground factories and a white cat which the chief villain strokes. Convinced yet? Surprisingly, it's actually not that bad, despite having a low budget and a clichéd plot, and it's easy to see why this became the iconic film it is today.

This type of plot - martial arts contest plus intrigue - later served as a template for Van Damme's early work, including films like BLOODSPORT. Here's it's presented in a fresh and interesting way, with lots of attention to detail. It's interesting to watch the different culture on screen, with the strict rules of society, the whole mythology of the martial arts, and the strong themes of honour and vengeance running through it. This is a Chinese film through and through, despite the presence of American director Robert Clouse.

The action is frequently exciting, and in the film's most memorable fight we have Lee taking on a couple of dozen enemies without breaking a sweat. He kicks hard, he blocks, and he even breaks a few crunchy necks (complete with the twig-snapping sound effect of which I have become so accustomed). Lee exerts a powerful presence on screen, and in the fight scenes he's a presence to be reckoned with. There's a spark of pure animal spirit which frequently shows itself in the actor's eyes, a total opposite to his usual gentle persona. He can be nice to you, but then he can turn around and break you in half in a second. Lee's skill was to move extremely fast, faster than all around him, and there's no denying that he's very impressive. He has quite a small figure, too, so you wouldn't think of him as a top-class fighter.

The Chinese co-stars are all fine, especially the chief villain who is really having a ball and giving it his over-the-top best. Later Van Damme opponent Bolo Yeung stars as a young, cruel bodyguard. The reliable John Saxon is on hand as an American fighter and also proves himself in the action. That's what I call versatile! There's even a blaxploitation aspect with the introduction of Jim Kelly, playing an afro-ed fighter. Eagle-eyed viewers may spot Sammo Hung and Jackie Chan in bit parts.

My favourite part of the film is the excellent finale, where Lee he battles the evil dictator once and for all and gets slashed up by a cruel, Freddy Krueger-ish hand. The celebrated, dream-like hall of mirrors ending, where Lee stalks his prey while distorted images play around him, is inspired and the villain's death is great, and deserved. ENTER THE DRAGON isn't an amazing film, and it's pretty lightweight in terms of storyline, motivation and reason. But it is a solid one, and a fine and fitting showcase for Lee's talents.