Videos (1)
Reviews (1)
As the work of a true enthusiast, Death Promise exudes sincere ambition and guileless naïveté. Bruce Lee became an icon not only in Asia, but also in the United States, especially among the visitors of cut-rate cinemas, who comprised mainly ethnic minorities and the lower social classes, with whom Lee’s films strongly resonated, as they dealt with wronged and underappreciated heroes who overcome their oppressors through martial arts. The makers of Death Promise do not conceal the fact that they drew inspiration from Lee’s films, in the spirit of which they attempted to create a fight movie in field conditions with a social theme involving the struggle of oppressed impoverished tenement dwellers against wicked, greedy developers who want to force them out of their building. The agit-prop storyline is complemented by classic motifs of trashy fight movies, such as revenge and a training segment with an old master. In the end, however, the film remains rather an amusing curiosity whose seriousness contrasts with the amateurish acting and choreography. Mainly, it illustrates how Bruce Lee’s legacy inspired avid enthusiasts abroad to create their own work despite a lack of resources and talent.
()