“Enter The Dragon” was not the first martial arts film but it was the first to bring the genre into the mainstream. It’s a great film starring Bruce Lee (“The Big Boss”, “The Way of the Dragon”) and that’s something that can’t be said for his other pictures as despite the outstanding fight scenes, his earlier films always felt like an endurance test between the fight scenes but “Enter The Dragon” is stylish and fun.

In “Enter The Dragon”, Lee stars as a martial artist and spy that has to infiltrate an island ruled by a crazy villain. It’s sort-of as close as you get to a martial arts version of “James Bond” as Lee takes on a small army’s worth of henchmen in order to save the day.

Bruce Lee is not the greatest actor and that’s clear here but his martial arts skills are incredible and that has never been clearer than in “Enter The Dragon”. Jim Kelly (“Black Belt Jones”) and John Saxon (“Joe Kidd”) are also pretty entertaining as the other major characters. The villain is pretty entertaining; he does seem like he is right out of a “James Bond” film with his evil island lair reminding me of the likes of Dr. No and Scaramanga. Watch out for Jackie Chan (“Rush Hour”) as an extra.

“Enter The Dragon” has a scene where a guy punches through a board of wood and Lee tells him ‘Boards don’t hit back’ and then he proceeds to batter the guy and it’s that stylish approach that makes “Enter The Dragon” great. Lee’s earlier efforts always felt like they were poorly funded and they also were filled with dull characters and poor comedy so “Enter The Dragon” is a significant improvement. The end fight scene is particularly memorable and well-choreographed with its uses of literally thousands of mirrors.