In the early ‘90s, Brandon Lee was on the verge of breaking out as both an action star and as a character actor, but his life tragically ended on March 31, 1994 as a result of a firearms accident on the set of “The Crow”.
Though Brandon only lived for 28 years on this Earth, he built an unforgettable legacy as both a martial artist and an actor, while touching the lives of millions of people around the world (including industry professionals like his good friend and future “John Wick” director Chad Stahelski). Part of Brandon’s legacy, of course, also includes the martial arts movie fight scenes he delivered in his all-too-short career.
Brandon only starred in a handful of movies and TV shows before his untimely death, but his abilities as a martial artist and his charisma as a leading man is seen ten times over in the kind of action scenes he helped orchestrate and perform in. And that can only mean that another top 10 list is upon us, KFK readers, so brace yourselves for tons of Rapid Fire action – as here, in descending order, are the Top 10 Brandon Lee Movie Fight Scenes!
10. Eric Draven vs. Tin Tin – The Crow
With 1994’s “The Crow”, Brandon Lee was trying to branch out from the action-oriented roles he began his career with, but he still dabbles in a rougher blend of fight choreography in Eric Draven’s revenge mission.
In Eric’s first fight scene in the “The Crow” against one of his and his fiancé Shelly’s killer’s Tin Tin (Laurence Mason), Eric is mostly having fun getting the hang of his newfound invincibility upon his resurrection, letting Tin Tin punch and throws knives his way before finally striking his finishing blow.
“The Crow” stands as a testimony to Brandon’s versatility as an on-screen presence, while Eric’s alley brawl with Tin Tin exemplifies Brandon’s flexibility in delving into a more savage kind of fight scene.
9. The Alley Fight – Legacy of Rage
Brandon Lee only made a single Hong Kong movie in his all-too-short career, 1986’s John Woo-esque “Legacy of Rage” under the direction of Ronny Yu, but Brandon brought all of his charisma and physical prowess to the movie’s action scenes.
Brandon’s character Brandon Ma first displays his capability as a fighter when he faces an unruly restaurant patron (played by the legendary Bolo Yeung) and several of his cronies in an alley brawl, with Brandon defeating them in a flash before the cops arrive.
Brandon’s alleyway smackdown is a little on the short side, but it’s still a nice sampling of his skill as a martial artist at work in a Hong Kong action scene, and with Bolo Yeung as his adversary, no less.
8. Jake Lo vs. Tau – Rapid Fire
1992’s “Rapid Fire” culminates in a Bo staff showdown on the Chicago El with quite the electrifying outcome.
Tzi Ma’s Kinman Tau spends the bulk of “Rapid Fire” as a crime boss who largely lets his underlings handle his dirty work, but as the movie’s opening Bo staff fight shows, he’s no slouch when the time comes to handle things himself.
Jake Lo’s final smackdown with Tau comes after he’s had to fight his way through a dozen henchmen in Tau’s drug lab, so it’s a bit more of an epilogue-type fight with Jake relying more on his brains than his brawn, but both are equally important in combat, as we can see in Jake’s method of achieving victory, brains also get the job done.
7. Johnny Murata vs. Chris Kenner – Showdown in Little Toyko
Brandon Lee’s first Hollywood movie is as much of a “what could’ve been” action-comedy would be franchise starter as any, namely 1991’s “Rush Hour” before “Rush Hour” buddy cop movie “Showdown in Little Toyko”.
Brandon’s Johnny Murata walks into a tea house fight with Dolph Lundgren’s Chris Kenner, with the two exchanging some kicks and throws before realizing they’ve been assigned as partners in the L.A.P.D. Dolph and Brandon have hilariously engaging buddy chemistry in “Showdown in Little Toyko” to such an extent that the two could’ve easily carried an entire cop martial arts movie series side-by-side for years.
Brandon’s tragic death sadly prevented that or any future Brandon vs. Dolph rematch from happening, but “Showdown in Little Tokyo” at least provides a fun glimpse at how each could’ve gone in Murata and Kenner’s quick fight scene.
6. Eric Draven vs. Top Dollar – The Crow
Eric Draven finally meets the man behind his death and that of his fiancé Shelly in the climactic church fight of “The Crow”, and the swordsmanship of Michael Wincott’s Top Dollar proves to be a big challenge for the suddenly much more physically vulnerable Eric.
Despite this, Eric avenges his and Shelly’s murder in a fittingly supernatural way for the tale of “The Crow”.
While “The Crow” preceded the modern superhero movie boom by almost a decade, Eric’s final showdown with Top Dollar shows the hero’s fortitude Brandon Lee could bring to a comic book movie, leaving the world to forever wonder how much he could have later elevated a DC or Marvel movie with his fighting skills and screen presence seen so vividly in “The Crow”.
5. The Nightclub Fight – Showdown in Little Tokyo
After first showing Johnny Murata and Chris Kenner briefly as opponents in its opening, “Showdown in Little Tokyo” shows them working as a formidable team in their fight against some Yakuza henchmen in a nightclub.
Dolph is the straight man of the duo, dispatching his opponents with straight-faced potency while Brandon is the wild card of the pair, taking out enemies with spinning kicks and inviting one enemy to have a seat in a decidedly emphatic manner.
It bears repeating that Dolph Lundgren and Brandon Lee are a thoroughly engaging and dynamic buddy cop duo in “Showdown in Little Tokyo”, with the pair fighting side-by-side having just as much fun as their initial fight scene opposite one another.
4. The Apartment Fight – Rapid Fire
In “Rapid Fire”, Jake Lo gets a big surprise when the FBI agents he thinks are guarding him turn out to be hired assassins, but he handles the situation effectively in one of the movie’s highlight fight scenes.
Brandon’s use of Jeet Kune Do leg stoppage techniques add some technical fun to the fight, while his repeated kicks to the door behind him sprinkle some levity with the cop’s reaction to his broken nose.
“Rapid Fire” is also cognizant to remember that Jake is a college student thrust into a fight for his life, and the look Brandon gives when he is forced to kill one of the crooked agents sells how overwhelming fighting for survival can be for someone who was just minding his own business a few days ago.
3. Johnny Murata vs. Sato – Showdown in Little Tokyo
Brandon Lee’s big climactic fight in “Showdown in Little Tokyo ” comes against Toshihiro Obata’s Sato, and it’s definitely Johnny Murata’s best action scene in the movie.
Aside from Brandon’s sharp kicks and takedowns, Murata’s duel with Sato also exemplifies the kind of action hero image Brandon was just starting to cultivate for himself, that of an amiable, jokey martial artist with a more loosey-goosey attitude whenever he’s called upon to use his skills.
Murata’s modified rendition of Miranda Rights as he fights Sato showcases the casual charm Brandon could bring to any fight scene, with Murata’s and Sato’s ending proving more explosive than our hero was expecting.
2. The Restaurant Battle – Rapid Fire
All hell breaks loose when Jake Lo is caught by the mob at the same time that the FBI has their restaurant hideout surrounded in “Rapid Fire”.
Jake not only finds himself fighting off mobsters left and right, but dodging bullets being showered through the restaurant’s windows, and even gets briefly cornered by Tongo Longo’s massive mob enforcer.
One of Brandon’s best moments on film PERIOD even comes in the “Rapid Fire” restaurant fight, when he backflips over one mobster, shoots another with a shotgun, quickly exhales when he finds himself surrounded by five more, before taking each of them down.
Rapid Fire – talk about writing a check with your movie’s title that the movie itself then proceeds to epically cash!
…And in at number 1 is…
Jake Lo vs. Minh – Rapid Fire
Action movie fans know that there are some stunt men and screen fighters who mostly appear as either unnamed or silent henchmen or side villains, whose role in the movie is to be on-hand to give the protagonist their most formidable opponent.
Jeff Imada, Simon Rhee, and James Lew often spring to mind in this regard, and so too does the one and only Al Leong, who appears in “Rapid Fire” as Kinman Tau’s right-hand man Minh. And, of course, “Rapid Fire” doesn’t disappoint in bringing Minh up against Jake Lo in the movie’s climactic showdown.
Al’s attacks make Minh Jake’s most formidable enemy by far in “Rapid Fire”, while Brandon also really breaks out the Wing Chun elements of Jeet Kune Do in the trapping and in-fighting Jake puts to work against Minh.
Brandon also tips his hat to Jackie Chan at numerous points throughout “Rapid Fire”, with Jake’s final showdown with Minh incorporating bits of fight choreography from “Dragons Forever” and “The Protector”.
Brandon Lee’s career and life both tragically ended far too soon, but he showcased both his strong acting chops and innate talent in martial arts fight scenes throughout his career, with the climactic Jake Lo vs. Minh showdown of “Rapid Fire” earning the medal of the best Brandon Lee martial arts movie fight scene ever! We miss you Brandon and we’re looking out for your next incarnation…we know you’re out there…!