Enter the Game of Death

Enter the Game of Death
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Lee Tso-nam
Written by	Her Jin
Produced by	Kim Tae-Soo Robert Jeffery
Starring	Bruce Le Bolo Yeung Yeo Su-jin Nick Cheung Lik Nam Seok-hun Lee Hoi Sang
Cinematography	Jin Young-ho
Edited by	Hyeon Dong-chun
Music by	Jeong Min-seob
Production companies	Tae Chang Enterprises Co. PT Insantra
Distributed by	Cinematic
Release dates	3 November 1978 (1978-11-03) (South Korea) February 1980 (1980-02) (U.S.) 7 May 1981 (1981-05-07) (Hong Kong)
Running time	89 minutes
Countries	South Korea Hong Kong
Languages	Korean Cantonese

Enter the Game of Death was directed by Lee Tso-nam, who helmed previous Bruceploitation films Exit the Dragon, Enter the Tiger and Fist of Fury II. Bolo Yeung also appears as a protagonist (Yang San) beaten first at 15.02 in 'Enter the Game of Death'

Plot

There's a mysterious Chinese document that's hidden in the Tower of Death, and evil Japanese occupiers want to get their hands on it. Meanwhile, a Chinese fighter named Mr. Ang (Bruce Le) is training in the forest, only to be challenged by several Japanese fighters as well as one of the main Japanese henchmen Bolo (Bolo Yeung). He defeats the other fighters, but flees from Bolo when he pulls out a sword. Mr. Ang and Bolo meet again in a wrestling ring, where Mr. Ang once again defeats Bolo.

Mr. Ang's victory impresses the Japanese who want to hire him to go to the Tower of Death. However, Mr. Ang is a Chinese nationalist and refuses. This leads to Mr. Ang being challenged by another group of Japanese fighters in another forest, with Mr. Ang once again reigning victorious. Shortly afterwards, Mr. Ang discovers that a woman he thought was working for the Japanese is actually an undercover Chinese agent. They make a plan to retrieve the document from the Tower of Death.

They arrive at the Tower of Death and Mr. Ang enters the tower. On the first floor he fights a monk. On the second floor he fights a man who uses snakes as weapons. On the third floor he fights a nunchaku master. On the fourth floor he fights a possessed man who attacks when a red lamp is turned on and a shaolin master. On the final floor he fights a brute. However he discovers that the document is not in the tower.

Cast

• Bruce Le - Ang
• Yeo Su Jin - Lisa
• Kim Ki-Beom - Boss Chan
• Yeo Seong - Shai Yu
• Michael B. Christy - Keegan
• Park Dong Yong - Kawasaki
• Bolo Yeung - Yang See
• Sim Sang Hyeon - Wang Chun-Chan
• Hoi Sang Lee - First boss
• Nick Cheung Lik - Third boss with nunchakus
• Chiu Chi-ling - Fourth boss in red room
• Nam Seok Hoon - Fifth boss in red room
• Kim Wang Kuk - Sixth boss in top
• Samuel Walls

Reception

The Video Vacuum gave the film two and a half stars and said: "But it's Bruce Le who kicks the most ass in his fight scenes. Le has a lot more charisma than any of the Bruce Lee imitators and his considerable screen presence makes what would have otherwise been a lackluster action flick worth watching; making Enter the Game of Death a hair or two better than most Bruceploitation flicks."

In a double review on City on Fire, Joseph Kuby gave the film 4/10 and said: "Guaranteed, it's not really as good as some of the Bruce Li movies (e.g. The Chinese Stuntman, The Gold Connection a.k.a. Iron Dragon Strikes Back, The Lama Avengers a.k.a. The Three Avengers) nor is at as good as the official Game Of Death movies, but nonetheless Enter The Game Of Death has its moments and then some!" and Joe909 gave the film 2/10 and said: " This movie proves yet again that Bruce Le sucks, and was the worst "fake Bruce" of them all. Even Dragon Lee had some charm, compared to him. The reason behind Le's loathsomeness is the audacious levels of "action" he and his producers packed into each of his movies; plot, character development, and even dialog were cast aside whenever possible and replaced by unending kung-fu battles. At least Bruce Le was a good martial artist, with some impressive kicks, but the guy just looks too goofy with his overdone "Bruce Lee" expressions and mannerisms."

Comicbookandmoviereviews.com gave the film a C+ and said: "All in all 'Enter the Game of Death' is a film for die hard fans of this genre only. The plot is nigh on non-existent. The fights are fairly so-so by in large. Bruce and Bolo did give the overall production that extra added star power needed. But at the end of the day this flick was more Ka-rap than Ka-pow!"

External links

• Enter the Game of Death at IMDb
• Enter the Game of Death at Rotten Tomatoes