An adaptation of Bruce Lee’s Fists of Fury, Jet Li’s Fist of Legend shares the same occupied Shanghai, the same Jingwu School, and the same tensions between its Chinese and Japanese fighters. However, it’s an entirely different story. Rather than the straightforward conflict over the dojo, Fist of Legend takes on a more complicated plot, with both the Chinese and Japanese fighting amongst themselves, not just with each other. As such, it’s less gung ho than the original. Jet Li’s Chen Zhen isn’t as nationalistic as Lee’s– instead Chen and his opponents celebrate their craft and what they can learn from each other. So while Fury might be more exciting, Legend has the higher ambition of depicting its characters as people with principles, not just representatives of whichever country they come from.
Chen returns to his school when he finds out that his martial arts teacher has died. When he learns that his school students are harassed by some hooligans, he gears himself up to save them.
