Bonnie Hunt, Dustin Nguyen, James Franco

Bruce Lee's shocking death left legions of stunned fans and a legacy of 12 minutes from his unfinished Game Of Death. Undeterred, studio executives launched a search for his replacement chronicled her...( read more  read more... )e through the eyes of five aspiring thespians who find out what the real game is.

Flixster Users

47% liked it

2,126 ratings

Critics

35% liked it

34 critics

Unrated, 1 hr. 28 min.

Directed by: Justin Lin

Release Date: January 21, 2007

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DVD Release Date: June 24, 2008

Stats: 265 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (265)


  • July 21, 2008
    "You offend me. You offend my family."

    It's been a wild ride for Justin Lin, and he's the first to concede the pun: that most filmmakers would never have been able to finish his new film, Finishing the Game. Catapulted to fame in 2002 with his high school-themed da...( read more)rk comedy Better Luck Tomorrow, Lin became something of a film festival phenomenon, crossing over into the mainstream as one of the most promising film artists of his generation. But unlike others who have used the festival circuit as a launching pad for sustainable indie careers - think Wes Anderson, Kevin Smith, or Noah Baumbach - Lin's journey has taken a few unexpected turns. No one could've possibly seen this coming.

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    Finishing the Game: The Search for a New Bruce Lee sets itself in the wake of Bruce Lee's death (1973), where the production of The Game of Death got hung up, pending how to move the film forward. As we now know, old footages of Bruce from previous films, and stand-ins were used to try and complete principle photography so that it could still be released and audiences could lap it up when it is all Bruce Lee the master himself taking care of things up along the pagoda. So herein lies the premise for Finishing the Game, as a mockumentary looking for the next possible Bruce Lee stand in.

    And the process of doing so is genuinely hilarious, playing to various stereotypes and a throwback to the cheesiness of the '70s with the diverse group of actors and actor wannabes turning up for casting and auditioning. In fact, every character featured has a likeability factor, and you can't help but to laugh along, and laugh at them. The major favourite of mine is Breeze Loo (Roger Fan), a two-bit Asian actor who's a dead ringer for Lee, and the name being a mimicking of the various "Bruce Lee" incantations that erupted in the video-film market with Lee's demise, each starring in various action films copying Lee's signature movements.

    Watching the "spaghetti" type productions starring Breeze Loo, never fails to bring on rip-roaring laughter from the audience, and the thing is, it's pretty damn funny! Sung Kang (a Justin Lin regular) stars as a happy-go-lucky, always smiling Cole Kim, a struggling actor who can't shake off his smiley face, and Raja (Mousa Kraish), who thinks he's half-Chinese. So does Tarrick Tyler - except this one is white. Then there's one of the most hilarious, Vietnamese actor Dustin Nyugen's Troy Poon, yet another actor in a fictionalized spoof of '70s detective films. His role in "Golden Gate Guns" has to be seen to be believed, and that one-liner of his about doing other people's laundry, makes him a one-liner hit wonder.

    But it's not all fun and laughter throughout thefilm, as underlying it is a very keen look at the Hollywood of the '70s, where "coloured" folk often got sidelined, or cast to play the villains, bit roles, supporting characters and the likes, I mean, a television series like "Kung Fu" (which Lee had developed himself) with David Carradine in the lead, speaks volumes. Fortunately it's not all that serious, as it skirts around these issues, but you get the point real quickly, about discrimination and unequal opportunities. Mainly though, this is a hell of a fun flick and a very deserving homage to the great and never-forgotten Bruce Lee.
  • November 21, 2007
    A spastic satire, as producers struggle to replace Bruce Lee.
  • April 25, 2009
    OMG this movie is a trip! Love how it comically, but truthfully portrays the disappointment and racism actors of color face in Hollywood.

    Roger Fan was spot on as a pretentious, egotistical celebrity, Sung Kang played the innocent, wide-eyed actor from the South, and Brian Tee ...( read more)was almost unrecognizable as an emotionally and physically damaged Vietnam war vet!
  • June 30, 2009
    nothing like any bruce lee films
  • April 7, 2009
    It's really funny, granted it's a bit racist, but still really funny. I enjoyed watching this movie
  • October 18, 2008
    Pretty interesting, and boring, and "funny"
  • August 18, 2008
    I thought it was good a tad humourous pretty well executed and James Franco makes an appearance which was a fun surprise
  • August 7, 2008
    Pretty damn funny. I can't really put into words what I liked in particular.
    But the whole audition process was hilarious.
    The mockumentary genre is getting pretty full with also-rans, but this definitely is at the top of the heap.
  • July 27, 2008
    Slightly disappointing...not nearly as amusing as the trailer made me think.
  • July 24, 2008
    a movie spoof based on completing the rest of " game of death: after bruce lee death..
    has some funny points and highlights but forgettable as well

Critic Reviews


October 2, 2007
Nick Schager, Slant Magazine

If its critique sometimes lacks grace, it's nonetheless bolstered by a shrewd understanding of the way pop culture exploits minority differences for entertainment purposes. full review

View more Finishing the Game reviews at RottenTomatoes.com

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