The Legend of Bruce Lee was a 50 part Chinese language series on the life of Bruce Lee released in 2008. Kwok-Kwan Chan played Lee beginning with his Hong Kong teenage years, through his marriage in the United States, and his return to Hong Kong to make movies. Each episode is approximately 45 minutes and was produced by Lee’s daughter Shannon (IMDB).
Reviewers praise Kwok-Kwan Chan for his portrayal of Bruce Lee. They cite his ability to mimic Lee’s movements and facial expressions (IMDB). They like how closely Kwok-Kwan looks to Lee and the entertainment of the fight scenes (Amazon Review).
Reviewers have less praise for the other actors and think some of the fight scenes were unrealistic. Viewers noted continuity issues along with many innacuracies. For example, the series incorrectly shows Lee injuring his back with a kick, Dan Inosanto being portrayed as Chinese, Chuck Norris having a pony tail, and Van Williams looking too skinny (Amazon Review). Others complained of anachronism moments such as the use of modern vehicles and a Justin Timberlake t-shirt (Amazon Review, IMDB). The English audio dubbing is so bad that it can distract from the story. Some may prefer to listen to the original Chinese audio along with English subtitles. Other reviewers described it like a Chinese soap opera and one said it’s “cheesy and kind of ridiculous” (Amazon Review). It was rated a 6.9/10 on IMDB and a 4.2/5 on Amazon.
It is currently streaming on Netflix and Amazon Prime with English dubbing as the only audio along with optional English subtitles. Currently, Prime only has the first 20 of the 50 episodes to stream.
DVD
It is also available for purchase on DVD. Each DVD contains 10 episodes and there are currently 3 volumes released for a total of 30 episodes. Audio is English only with optional English subtitles.
Movie
In 2010, Lion’s Gate significantly condensed to 20 hours into a 3 hour movie. The movie rated a 4.2/5 on Amazon but one reviewer complained that “characters sort of come and go without explanation and you’re likely to feel like you’re missing something when you watch it.” (Amazon Review). The DVD has both Chinese and English audio tracks along with English and Spanish subtitles (Amazon Review). There was also a U.K. Blu-ray with only Chinese audio and English subtitles (theaterbyte).
| Type | Available | Rating | Language |
| TV series streaming | Netflix, Amazon Prime (20 episodes only) | 3.2/5 stars on Amazon Prime | English dubbed only, optional English subtitles |
| TV series DVD | Volume 1: Early Years (10 episodes), Volume 2, and Volume 3 (10 episodes) | Approximately 4/5 on Amazon | English dubbed only, optional English subtitles |
| Movie DVD | Amazon | 4.2/5 on Amazon | English dubbed or Mandarin Chinese audio, optional English subtitles |
| Movie Blu Ray | Amazon | 4.2/5 on Amazon | Mandarin Chinese audio only, English subtitles |
Overall The Legend of Bruce Lee is a mixed blessing. We were lucky to have such a comprehensive series on Bruce Lee, but the many inaccuracies were sure to irritate hardcore fans. Kwok-Kwan’s portrayal of Lee was highly praised but many felt the series was like a soap opera. Some really liked the fight scenes, but others saw them as unrealistic. The English dubbing might be the worse flaw of all. It is so comical that it is distracting and takes away from the story.
Resources:
The Legend of Bruce Lee (IMDB).
The Legend of BruceLee (Netflix).
The Legend of Bruce Lee (Amazon Prime).
The Legend of Bruce Lee: Volume 1 (The Early Years) (Amazon DVD).
The Legend of Bruce Lee: Volume 2 (Amazon DVD).
The Legend of Bruce Lee: Volume 3 (Amazon DVD).
The Legend of Bruce Lee: Feature movie (Amazon Blu Ray).
The Legend of Bruce Lee: Feature movie (Amazon DVD).
Blue Ray DVD Review (Theaterbyte.com).
The Legend of Bruce Lee Volume 1 image (cityonfire.com).
The Legend of Bruce Lee Volume 2 image (Amazon).
The Legend of Bruce Lee Volume 3 image (Amazon).
The Legend of Bruce lee Blu Ray Front Cover (Amazon).
The Legend of Bruce Lee Screenshot (Netflix).
AI Narration provided by elevenlabs.io.