5/5 Brandon Lee shows what he is capable of...
  by run_rabbit_run2000
I watched Legacy of Rage after I saw Brandon's final film, The Crow, and I was literally blown away. Unlike most dubbed films, Brandon's sheer presence and force of character made the film very watchable--I never had a sense that I was missing a part of his performance (although of course I was) because of the intense physical acting of his character.

For The Crow fans who are already familiar with the intensity of Brandon's performance, this is a rare treat--we have proof now that he didn't just miraculously portray The Crow's Eric Draven, but was capable of portraying the angst, confusion and rage of extreme situations in a believable and caring way very early in his too short career.

It is hard to believe that Brandon was so young when he filmed Legacy of Rage--he carries himself with a poise and confidence that belies his tender years...he is believable as a man who has suffered the unbelievable.

In Legacy of Rage, Lee portrays Brandon Ma, a hardworking Chinese youth, holding down two jobs, and saving his money to wed his beloved. Ma's best friend is Michael, whose father is part of the organized crime syndicate, who is being groomed to take his over the family business. When a Michael sets Brandon up to take the fall for a mob hit, sending him to prison for eight years. Brandon loses his love while in prison, and only later learns of Michael's betrayal. After he is released from prison, Brandon is provoked to revenge to save his beloved and the son he didn't know he had from the power maddened Michael.

The fight and shooting scenes are well balance with thoughtful character development. The final confrontation between Brandon and Michael is often compared to John Woo style Hollywood action epics, and rightly so...you will rewind it again and again to catch all the action! The initial fight scene between Brandon and the bully is a treat for Bruce Lee fans. Brandon does several "Brucisms," like cracking his knuckles by clenching his fists, and such. This is the only time you will see Brandon emulate his father on film.

If you are a Brandon fan, this is a must see...forget about Laser Mission and Showdown in Little Tokyo...this is Brandon as good as Rapid Fire, with distinct foreshadowings of The Crow. Get it.

5/5 Totally cool. The Lee Legends continue to be the best.
  by
Brandon Lee won the newcomer award in Hong Kong for his portrayal of a guy plagued with adversity, but a passionate will to overcome. Bruce Lee had advised his followers to "try again," but by being his son, Brandon had no alternative but to "try harder." His Hong Kong martial arts style demonstated in Legacy of Rage is without equal.

3/5 [3.5] this is rage, only, without any martial arts combat
  by dominion_ruler (Carolina, USA)
In a way, this is really a very good HK movie, but in many other ways it is just as lacking. I was actually blown away by how well the story is told. What I was dissapointed with were the little things like horrible dubbing and lame dialouge at times that got rather annoying. To top it all off, an almost embarassing cameo from Bolo and really no martial arts action to speak of. Overall, this is a fine film, it just all depends on what you are expecting to get out of it.

Three main reasons I purchased Legacy was for Brandon Lee, Bolo Yeung, and hopefully to see some amazing martial arts action. I guess I expected some bad dubbing and cheesiness, and oh yes, there's plenty of that here. But what really blew me away was the story. Things start out a little boring, but once the plot gets kicking it is actually quite engaging. You've got Brandon, who is your every day working guy with a girlfriend, and his best buddy Michael, who unknown to Brandon, is just a dirty drug-dealing guy. Michael sets up Brandon for the murder of a rival dealer, and Brandon gets 8 years of time. While in prison, Michael harasses Brandon's girlfriend, who has become pregnant with Brandon's son and is asked to leave the country with an older, yet kind, man who has been infatuated with her. Eight years later, Brandon is set free, and with help of a friend from prison, gets his revenge on Michael, in what is a bloody gun showdown without any martial arts combat whatsoever.

Despite the dubbing, which the excellent story actually covers up after awhile, Brandon seems to deliver a solid performance. It kind of reminded me of his capabilities in The Crow. However, I was hoping for some good kung fu action like in Rapid Fire, but there were only a couple of scenes of quick one two punches and out. Speaking of which, Bolo appears near the beginning of the film and challenges Brandon to a fight in the street. Well, its over as fast as they begin and Bolo doesn't land one punch. Seemed like such a waste for someone as good as Bolo.

To sum it up, you have to go into this film expecting a great story without so much action. I, on the other hand was hoping for some, and all I got was gun fight action. If that's your thing, you will love the last 10 minutes, but for kung fun lovers, this is not the film.

4/5 Something special :-)
  by W.C. III (South Ozone)
Legacy Of Rage is a wonderful action thriller with great storytelling and character development, emotionally captivating actors and actresses, a cool sountrack, and explosive gun battles and few but very brutal non-stylistic, white-knuckle fight sequences choregraphed and starring Mang Hoi, and featuring the late-great Brandon Lee who showed such wonderful potential for HK (and perhaps US) action hero stardom.

So buy it already!

5/5 Great HK underground movie
  by visual memory (Germany)
Legacy of Rage is a good HK action movie with some noteable action scenes and a good score. The movie is clearly dominated by two men. The well-known director Ronny Yu (Yu Yan Tai) who did a great job with Legacy of Rage, some of the scenes are really visually impressive, and the starring actor Brandon Lee (Li Guo Hao) with his great onscreen presence (at the age of 21). Also, Lee managed to not just be an "action robot" in this movie but to also to convey the emotions and the love story of his character (involving gorgeus Regina Kent) in a credible, gripping way.

Just a few words about the action scenes in this movie. Don't expect a martial arts movie because of the main actor's last name. The action scenes consist mainly of shooting, although there are some hand to hand combat scenes. Brandon Lee did all the fighting in the movie himself but of course his fighting skills are nowhere near his father's. Yet, the fighting in Legacy of Rage is decent. Brandon gets to beat up superstar Bolo Yeung (Enter the Dragon, Bloodsport).

Yu and Lee make Legacy of Rage one of HK's best low budget movies of the 80's. If you like such films or one of those two men, you should buy Legacy of Rage. It shouldn't be too expensive.

PS: I suggest a Cantonese version with English subtitles