Justin Lin's "Finishing the Game"

About a year ago I started to read about a rumor that Justin Lin, director of movies such as Better Luck Tomorrow, Annapolis, and Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift, has started a pet film project about a fictional account of making of “Game of Death”. For those who are not familiar with this 1978 film, it was a truly atrocious attempt to exploit Bruce Lee’s posthumous popularity by using a few minutes of his fight footages he filmed prior to his death 5 years earlier and adding new footages with various stunt doubles and outtakes from his previous films.

This rumor actually became the film that was released recently in select US theaters as “Finishing the Game”, a mock documentary style film released through IFC Films, starring Sung Kang (BLT, The Motel, FATF: Tokyo Drift), Roger Fan (Annapolis), and Dustin Nguyen (21 Jump Street). Even though the film is not due to hit the theaters in Seattle until November 2007, I was able to see the film through IFC’s OnDemand release via Comcast Cable. I had a high expectation for this film, and maybe because of it, Finishing the Game (FTG) is a bit of a disappointment. Ultimately the premise, (a failed attempt to find the “next” Bruce Lee to stand-in for Game of Death), while promising probably was not a deep enough one to sustain a feature film. Throughout the film, I waited patiently to either be a provocative commentary on the plight of Asian/Asian Americans in cinema (past or present), or a laugh out loud funny comedy. And even though there were glimpses of both, I was left feeling unsatisfied in either cases.

The three actors I mentioned were all excellent. I was pleasantly surprised at Mr. Nguyen’s performance, playing an actor tired of rehashing the stereotypical Asian roles. Maybe his own personal experience dealing with Hollywood? And I always enjoy Mr. Kang’s acting. He would already be a huge star if he were anything but an Asian American. Who knows? He might just be the one to finally break through that Hollywood “glass ceiling” that Asian American actors seem to run into time and time again. Roger Fan’s character (Breeze Loo) was essentially a caricature of Brucee Lee knock-offs that was prevalent during the 70’s.

So, is “Finishing the Game” worth viewing? For me, it’s an absolute YES. Until there are abundant choices in cinema catering to Asian American audience… correction…. In order to create a demand for Asian American themed films, I believe we as audience have to support films such as this. This may not be a great film, but it’s certainly worth supporting. Justin Lin’s success would only help open doors for other Asian American directors and hopefully would lead to more diverse storytelling about people like myself.

Hopefully, there would be a time when movies made by Asian Americans starring Asian Americans about Asian Americans would no longer be a cause for celebration and write-ups. Until then, go watch (or order On Demand) Finishing the Game!