The brief and fascinating life of the utmost respected martial arts expert and actor Bruce Lee is portrayed in the biography of his life told by his widow Linda Lee Caldwell.

An only child raised by his father in Hong Kong, Lee is introduced to the study of martial arts. Something that prepares him for his new life in America, which is a necessity his father believes, in order to protect Lee from a satanic armoured dragon - A symbol of Lee's fears and his father's superstitions.

The cheeky and profoundly confident Bruce Lee (Jason Scott Lee) comes to America to make a difference to his life, but as a Chinese man is faced with vast amounts of discrimination and racial prejudice.

With financial help, Bruce studies philosophy while he develops a personal martial arts discipline Jeet-Kune Du, which blends Kung Fu fighting with lessons gained from his philosophical research.

But it's not long before his talent grabs the attention of TV producer Bill Keiger (Robert Wagner) the man who has made Bruce the national star he is today in making the movie that would launch his film career just three weeks after his untimely and sudden death.

This is not an expose of all that is unknown about the stars life. It is, however, the celebration of a great man who became the worlds first Chinese-American movie star.

In an attempt to depict the real Bruce Lee, Dragon encapsulates the energy and spirit of the man that has only been known in the Western world after his death. It fails however to stretch beyond the realms of one-dimensional emotion under Robert Cohen's direction.

Jason Scott Lee's performance, however, cannot be faulted, as he carries a strong impression of what Lee was indeed like as a bold and self-assured young man. Unsurprisingly, though (given the tale is narrated from his wife's point of view) it is wife Linda (Lauren Holly) who appears to be the heroine of the movie. The beautiful white American who guided her Eastern husband to become all he could be.

The fighting scenes are stunningly choreographed and exciting, though they are plentiful. But it's the climaxing brawl that adds an unexpected poignancy, where Bruce fights his nightmare demon for his son's life. In real life, Lee's son Brandon was killed in a freak accident during the filming of his film The Crow. This scene therefore is uncanny and massively effective.

Dragon is entertaining and certainly keeps audiences interested. A handsome effort that does what it's meant to - honour Bruce Lee's life.

Katie Shenkin