Quentin Tarantino's latest film 'Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,' has received both praise and criticism. Critics spoke out about the way Bruce Lee was portrayed in the film. The scene features a scuffle between Bruce and stuntman Cliff Booth on the set of "Green Hornet." Bruce Lee manages to send Cliff to the ground, but Booth comes back in the second round and tosses Bruce Lee into the side of a car.
The fight is broken up before it can be determined who is the better fighter.
The main issue is the way Tarantino decided to portray Lee and how he was written into the popular film. Lee's daughter Shannon praised Mike Moh's performance as Lee but did not support the way Bruce Lee was portrayed. Shannon believes Tarantino turned Lee into an "arrogant asshole" full of hot air. Lee does not approve of the assertion that Bruce thought he would win a fight against Cassius Clay/Muhammad Ali. She says that Bruce held Ali in the highest regard and would have never said that he could win a fight against Ali.
Quentin Tarantino fires back at his critics
Quentin Tarantino responded to his critics over the Bruce Lee issue, saying the fighter was in real-life an arrogant guy. He believes Lee would have said that he could win a fight against Ali. Tarantino says he learned this from the 1975 biography of Lee.
In the film, Cliff is a Green Beret who killed men in World War II through hand-to-hand combat. In the film, Bruce Lee talked about how he admires combat and how boxing is a closer approximation of combat as a sport. Cliff is a warrior and combat person.
Tarantino says that Lee could beat Cliff in a martial arts tournament, but with Cliff's background in hand-to-hand combat, he would end up being the winner.
Friends and family of Bruce have said that the legend knew he could never beat Cassius Clay and even respected him.
Tarantino turned Bruce Lee into a caricature
As Tarantino continues to defend the depiction of Bruce Lee, he's avoiding the main concern. "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood," is full of real characters such as Sharon Tate. along with fictional characters including Cliff Booth. While they're all a part of Tarantino's toy box, it's up to him who is the winner. In the film, real-life characters Sharon Tate, Steve McQueen and Jay Sebring were all portrayed reverently and never used as a joke.
This fight established Cliff as the rough and tough fighter, he would prove himself to be by the end of Tarantino's film.
Moviegoers believe that Quentin Tarantino should have portrayed Bruce Lee in a better-respected light, instead of turning him into some kind of caricature. Despite the criticisms, Tarantino released a great film, in tune with his previous films.