Riding high on the overseas success of the defunct "Green Hornet" TV series (re-titled "The Kato Show" in Hong Kong), Bruce Lee was given his big break by Golden Harvest head honcho Raymond Chow. After outbidding the Shaw Brothers, the famous producer cast the promising young Lee in the 1971 HK production, The Big Boss. No one, including Bruce Lee himself, could have predicted the film's massive success.
     Known to most American fans as Fists of Fury, the film traces the story of young brawler Chang Chow-An (Lee), who comes to live with his uncle after promising his mother to leave his fighting days behind. With the help of his relatives, Chang gets a job at the local ice factory. Things seem relatively fine until several of Chang's coworkers mysteriously disappear.
     Unbeknownst to our hero, the ice factory is really just a cover for trafficking illicit drugs, and Chang's missing pals are dead (Note to self: If anyone ever asks you to join a drug ring, say yes - THEN report them to the police.). Recognizing Chang as a viable threat to his emerging dope enterprise, the titular "big boss" chooses to make Chang his unwitting ally. In a clever move, the villain promotes Chang to foreman and tempts him with assorted vices (booze and hookers!). Chang's new all-too chummy relationship with the boss alienates his coworkers. These people, once Chang's staunchest supporters, now call him a traitor.
     Of course, Chang eventually discovers the evil plot and vanquishes the evildoers in the requisite Bruce Lee style. Overall, Fists of Fury isn't a fantastic piece of cinema, but it's certainly an entertaining installment of the Bruce Lee canon - and well worth seeing. (Sanjuro 2002)