Is Jet Li as good as Bruce Lee

[don_o_neill]

I have just seen Kiss of the Dragon. an excellent film. Jet Li was brilliant in it.
By just watching this film i get the impression that Jet Li should be considered as good if not better than Bruce Lee. He has the intensity as well as the ability that Lee had. He is a worthy successer

[mediumtallsexy]

Go rent Enter the Dragon, and you will see why no one will ever replace the great Bruce Lee. Jet Li is good, but does'nt have nearly the same charisma as Bruce, and anyone after Bruce is just a replacement, thats all.

[don_o_neill]

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by mediumtallsexy:
Go rent Enter the Dragon, and you will see why no one will ever replace the great Bruce Lee. Jet Li is good, but does'nt have nearly the same charisma as Bruce, and anyone after Bruce is just a replacement, thats all.</font>

Bruce was the first martial arts superstar. People often argue that he was influencial in starting the whole kungfu craze. I would agree with this totally. He was the first. I actually own Enter the Dragon and am quite familar with it. Bruce Lee is a great fighter, no doubt about but he is not a great actor. If you want to see charisma go see lethal weapon. Jet Li is one of the most eveil looking charactors that has ever shown in an american film. The fact that he looks so evil in this film whereas he normally has quite a warm nature is testiment to not only his fighting but also his acting ability.
When one thinks off Bruce Lee who also have toi comapre him to The King(Elvis). Nobody really wants anyone to be better than them.

[Spidey]

Jet-Li is a very good martial artist ! But sometimes he works a little bit TOO much with wires and special effects.
Bruce Lee didn't need wires or computer effects to impress an audience.
Bruce Lee was not just a very good martial artist , he was much more then that.
He was a legend.
That's something jet-li will never be.

[don_o_neill]

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by Spidey:
Jet-Li is a very good martial artist ! But sometimes he works a little bit TOO much with wires and special effects.
Bruce Lee didn't need wires or computer effects to impress an audience.
Bruce Lee was not just a very good martial artist , he was much more then that.
He was a legend.
That's something jet-li will never be.</font>

I disagree with the fact that Jet Li needs wires to look good. no wires were used in lethal weapon. But Bruce Lee liked to be innovative when making films and I am sure that eh would have used wires as well.

[V dude]

Jet Li is with out a doubt much better than bruce lee in a number of ways!

A better martial artist
A better actor
Much more charistmatic

who the hell said Bruce lee was really chasrismatic! Jet Li is famed for that.

Bruce lee couldn't really act and all his movies were pretty crap and boring. Yeah he may well be famous and I will agree he started off the MA movie scene in the US.

But Jet Li is the best. He is the poo so take a big whiff.

Jet Li's acting and skills especially in his earlier films are spectacular.

His wire work is yet enough of his martial art abilities .. Jet Li is a champion Wu Shu star and excels in all the forms. If you've ever seen him perform his forms you'll see his speed, grace and skill. A small example for those who are only interested in his US movies is in the One. Where you see Gabe and Uilaw performing forms for there styles
Gabe = baguazhang
Uilaw = Hsing-I

and whoever said this:
"little bit TOO much with wires and special effects"
has only ever seen The One and Romeo Must Die by the sounds of it. OOOh it was the same person who said Jet Li wasn't a very good martial artist. Jeeesus you really have only seen The One and Romeo Must Die

Bruce Lee was only the first MA super star in US .. many others came before him in China
And Jet Li is simply better. Oh yeah maybe bruce was more of a fighter than jet li .. he made his own martial art. Which isn't all that anyway.

Jet Li is by the far the better of the two. And anyone who doubts it should begin actually watching his films.

Fist of Legend
Tai Chi Master
Once upon a time in china 1,2,3
Kiss of the Dragon
are some nice easy ones to begin with. And that isn't even scratching the surface.

[idealdiscountdude]

This thread belongs in the Best/Worst/Favorites/Etc. Forum.

Moving There.........

[This message has been edited by idealdiscountdude (edited 02-11-2002).]

[mediumtallsexy]

Well to be honest with you I cant sit through an entire Jet Li movie. I admit the guy does have skills, but from a movies quality point of view, he does'nt even come close. Im 31 years old and have a second dan in Wado-Kai Karate and even competed in Japan on an International level, and I will be the first to admit that even Bruce Lee was not technically the best when it came to fighting, the camera can make any fight look good after 10 takes. You can also take guys like Chuck Norris and Bill "Superfoot" Wallace, these guys were not even good enough to make the All Japan team back in the seventies, so what did they do?, they came back to America and started their own federation which Chuck Norris just happens to be a three time world champion in his own federation. But when it comes to films Bruce Lee was great and for this he will be the greatest, everyone else like the Jet Li's, Segals and Van Damme's get forgotten in 5-10 years. Sorry, but thats just the way it is.

[V dude]

well firstly you some how managed to put van damme and segal in the same category as Jet Li ... I've no idea how you managed to do that but it must have been in a table with two options bruce lee and other martists

Jet Li has been really popular for 23 years. With the Shaolin Temple in 1979 i believe and remains so and is still incredible big in China and remains along side Jackie Chan as the top asian actor. And you some how slipped in Chuck Norris etc all these are karate stars, and karate isn't particular technically the best at all. Especially since its now incredible commercialised and you can find a Karate McDojo in any old town, just follow the big bright signs. And I'm not picking on karate as MA I'm just stating a fact.

And in my opinion Bruce Lee is only refered to as the greatest because he is once US legend that died young and at the height of his career. And his films weren't really all that good.

[This message has been edited by V dude (edited 02-11-2002).]

[mediumtallsexy]

Well as far as Im concerned, Im just talking about the North American movie industry and martial arts therein. As for Karate, it's the same as any martial art, the student is only as good as the teacher.

[The Rob]

Jet Li is monotonous, he's not funyn and NOT charismatic.......


Bruce would kill Jet in a fight, he had TONS of charisma and was an all around better actor.

[SIREN30]

http://www.joblo.com/ubb/rolleyes.gif of course not. (sigh.)

[jeppe]

Well Jet Li is a pretty good martial arts star but no one is as good as the legendary Bruce. He sure was one of a kind.

[don_o_neill]

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by The Rob:
Jet Li is monotonous, he's not funyn and NOT charismatic.......


Bruce would kill Jet in a fight, he had TONS of charisma and was an all around better actor.</font>

Bruce Lee was not a great actor. He can fight no doubt about that, If someone acted the same way today he would be laughed off the screen.

[Deft]

Okay, first off...whoever brought up "The One" in Jet's defense needs to be shot. That movie was ass, martial-art-wise anyway. Anytime you incorporate computer fx in a martial-arts movie, it becomes crap. In my opinion, anyway.

And those who trash Bruce for poor acting or bad form or whatever, please oh please look at the other acting of the time. All actors sucked in the 70's. That was a requirement apparently. Just because Bruce had poor writing and made movies in a bad age of cinematography doesn't make him a bad actor.

And in terms of martial-arts skill, yeah Jet has superb form and style. He's absolutely one of the best around right now. But ever? I hardly think so. Bruce made people think he could do ANYTHING, and the bottom-line is, he probably could have.

Speed? Bruce. I direct you to his home-video footage.

Power? Bruce. Again, check the home movies.

Charisma? Bruce. He was practically revered as a god back in China, and he MADE the martial arts scene in America. Jet Li isn't even reinventing it, he's just modifying the flow somewhat.

That looks like 3-0 in my book. Any other points are moot, really.

[KickyVonKickerton]

We meet again, Deft. Anyway, here's my stash. Any man who can lift two police motorcycles without using any wires or specialFX, is the bomb in my book. Not only did Jet lift two bikes, but he also used them to sandwich a cop.

[Deft]

Well said, Kicky. You accentuate my post relatively well. The movie itself was good, but it begs to be called "Matrix Kung-Fu"

[meccajay]

Think about this...

Back when Mike Tyson was at his best(mid to late 80's) Everyone used to say that he would kick Ali's ass in the ring. He could do this, and he could do that etc. Now that years have past and we see the HUGE glaring holes is Tyson's game, we rescind our declaration that Tyson was the greatest heavyweight.

Same thing here..

Jet Li is a great martial artist. The fact that some of his experience and skill comes from competition in tournaments in his homeland speak to the fact that he is more authentic than most other martial artists that began in the acrobatic Chinese theater(as jet did), but never furthered there artistry with more than a working knowledge of different fighting skills. That said, I'll simply say Bruce Lee he is not!

Bruce Lee did all the training and beyond like a lot of serious Martial Artist do, but few people know how many times Bruce Lee has responded to personal challenges by other "real" martial artist in HK, and in the US. These were never filmed, so they get forgotten quickly. Many very skilled fighters have challenged Bruce on the street, on the set, during kung-fu training etc...

No one has ever beat him...

Not in any challenge, on any day, under any circumstances.

That fact combined with his artistry and charisma on film make him the best ever.

EVER!

[Spidey]

Another interesting fact is that Bruce Lee could do push-ups ,with one arm using only two fingers;his thumb and his indexfinger.
This isn't relevant to this topic , but I just thought it was a cool fact !

[dicaprio_travolta_man]

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by Deft:
Okay, first off...whoever brought up "The One" in Jet's defense needs to be shot. That movie was ass, martial-art-wise anyway. Anytime you incorporate computer fx in a martial-arts movie, it becomes crap. In my opinion, anyway.</font>

Oh, so The Matrix was crap??? Right!

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Orinally posted by Deft:
And those who trash Bruce for poor acting or bad form or whatever, please oh please look at the other acting of the time. All actors sucked in the 70's.</font>

Excuse Me? Did I just hear you say that ALL acting sucked in 70's?? Have you ever heard of Al Pacino, Robert DeNiro, Marlon Brando, Gene Hackman, Jack Nicholson, and Jack Lemmon? All of those actors were in there prime in the 70's and either winning or being nominated for academy awards left and right. So, I don't think ALL acting sucked in the 70's. Oh, and IMHO I think Jet Li is better. His movies are better, he's a better actor, he has better style, and his fighting is better.

[Deft]

In retort:

1st issue) In terms of martial-arts movies, yes The Matrix was crap. It was a sci-fi movie, and a good one don't get me wrong. However, I'm referring to the martial-arts here, and that's it.

2nd issue) Are you saying that Jet Li compares with current actors such as Brad Pitt, Edward Norton, and Russell Crowe? I didn't think so. Can you argue that action movies from the 70's were that well-written? Or well-acted? There was so much crap in that decade, and well into the 80's, that it's pretty hard to siphon out the good stuff.

3rd issue) And by stating your opinion on Jet being better, I can now easily judge your taste in martial-arts and knowledge of it. Thank you.

[The Rob]

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Oh, so The Matrix was crap??? Right!</font>
God YES!

comparing Bruce Lee to Jet Li is like comparing Apocalypse Now to Slackers.

[KickyVonKickerton]

I think Mr. Dicaprio/Travolta needs to officially remove himself from this thread. It's obvious that he knows nothing of the martial arts genre. Go watch Exit Wounds, my friend.