Writer: Edith Yeoh

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Watch this if you liked: “Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story,” “The Real Bruce Lee”

Nearly 40 years since his untimely death, Bruce Lee remains not only the most influential father figure of martial arts but a true screen idol and culture icon. While millions of fans worldwide know Lee through his kung fu films, little is expounded on his early life in Hong Kong especially. So that's what directors Raymond Yip and Manfred Wong set out to do - to piece together a biopic about the legend based on a memoir written by his younger brother, Robert Lee.

"Bruce Lee, My Brother" starts off with a steady stream of conceptual shots around the house in which Lee and his family grew up. The movie then begins with Lee's birth in San Francisco, where his father, Lee Hoi Chuen (Tony Leung Ka Fai) was touring at that time with the Cantonese Opera troupe. It's interesting to see the way the story unfolds and how Lee got his English name, Bruce.

Fast forward 18 years and we see the young Lee, played by "Echoes Of The Rainbow" star, Aarif Lee. Here, he is depicted as a cocky and mischievous young fella, whose crimes involve street brawling and vandalism. While certainly handsome enough to play the legend, Lee however, isn't much of a crowd-pleaser. Yes, he has his fans, but this reviewer feels that there is still plenty of room of improvement for the budding actor and singer.

The problem with "Bruce Lee, My Brother" is that, with all the excitement and seemingly life-changing events that are happening to the characters, nothing impressive really takes place in the film. This reviewer blames the incoherent plot, where sometimes along the way, the storyline appears to be choppy and badly edited. Some parts of the movie appear to be rather boring and hastily made - to save cost, perhaps?

The movie could be better, if more time is spent on developing the story and supplying more details to the plot. Surely, a movie about Bruce Lee cannot fail the die-hard fan. However, it's thrilling in the beginning and just falls flat during the second half. "Bruce Lee, My Brother" is a movie with great packaging but contains nothing of real, lasting substance on the inside. Do give this a try if you're a fan of the screen legend or if you're not put off by this slightly negative review.

Cinema Online, 25 November 2010