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Despite being almost three hours long, Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time in Hollywood won praise for both screenplay and direction, surpassing even the highest of expectations from critics. Still, a lot of controversy has been sparked by this 2019 movie.
It received a lot of positive reviews, and as time passed, it began to establish itself as a classic movie that everyone should see. But compliments have also been met with criticism. Though, this time, it was not from the critics only.
Even Donnie Yen, the co-star of Keanu Reeves’s John Wick 4, has lately stated that Tarantino made Bruce Lee seem “cartoonish” in his 2019 comedy-drama film.
Donnie Yen Blames Quentin Tarantino for Destroying Bruce Lee’s Legacy
Being in both Hollywood action films like John Wick 4 and all of his classic Hong Kong films, Yen actually has a unique and insightful perspective on how American films handle Asian characters.
And the star has a serious issue with one specific movie, starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Brad Pitt, and Margot Robbie, among others.
Donnie Yen Blasted Quentin Tarantino For Destroying Bruce Lee’s Legacy
There was a scene in Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time in Hollywood where Bruce Lee (Mike Moh) challenged stuntman, Cliff Booth (Brad Pitt). Booth was defeated in the opening round but came back to win the second, and the fight ended in a draw. Many people were offended by the scene’s portrayal because it painted Lee in an unfavorable light as a bully.
The director’s portrayal of Lee was criticized by Sharon Lee, the daughter of the late actor, who died on July 20, 1973.
And now Donnie Yen, a well-known figure in the martial arts world, has harshly chastised the director for what he considered to be a “cartoonish” depiction of the great Bruce Lee in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.
Donnie Yen
The 60-year-old told Variety:
“Everybody is entitled to their opinions. Quentin Tarantino is a very renowned filmmaker, and he’s entitled to his status – and I’m entitled to state my own view. Obviously, he was making fun of Bruce. It was cartoonish.”
As the outlet noted, Yen expressed her disapproval of Tarantino’s film and how Lee was portrayed in it, stating that he “finds it hard to watch his cultural heritage bastardized in American films.”
Furthermore, it was observed that Yen “bristles” when the topic of Tarantino came up.
Bruce Lee’s Daughter Slammed The Controversial Portrayal Of Her Father
There was a brief scene in Quentin Tarantino‘s film where Bruce Lee played by Mike Moh lost to Cliff Booth (Brad Pitt). Many people found this scene to be offensive. Prior to Donnie Yen, Lee’s daughter also voiced her disapproval of the unsettling scene.
Sharon Lee, the daughter of Enter the Dragon star, has also criticized Moh’s contentious portrayal of her father. She stated that the movie made her late father appear like “an a*shole”.
Quentin Tarantino on the set of Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
She made this claim to the South China Morning Post in 2020. To quote her:
“I tried to approach it from a cool, collected, and more calm, direct point of view, and I was very disappointed to see Quentin Tarantino’s response, which was to continue to say, ‘Oh, Bruce Lee was arrogant, he was an a*shole’. And, to incorrectly cite my mother’s book as a defence of him. I really thought it was irresponsible of him to do what he did and have that portrayal.”
She further argued:
“There were so many other creative ways he could have made the Cliff Booth character look cool in that film. So many other ways he could’ve treated the Bruce Lee character that would’ve got the same plot point across without having to essentially treat Bruce Lee the way white Hollywood treated my father when he was alive.”
Brad Pitt and Mike Moh in a still from Once Upon A Time In Hollywood
But Tarantino has stood by his work, claiming that Lee’s portrayal in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood was accurate. When he made an appearance on The Joe Rogan Experience to promote his novelization of Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, he made the following statement:
“Where I am coming from is I can understand his [Bruce Lee] daughter having a problem with it. It’s her f*cking father. I get that. But anybody else, oh s*ck a d*ck!”
But the director later decided to remain silent and did not take the scene out of the movie afterward. Nevertheless, the film took home multiple other accolades and was nominated for ten Academy Awards, including two wins.
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood is streaming on DIRECTV.
Source- Variety
