Joe Rogan is Disappointed by Bruce Lee’s Representation in Quentin Tarantino’s New Movie Once Upon a Time in Hollywood…
Joe Rogan has been involved in martial arts for all of his life. The comedian was a national level Taekwondo athlete in his late teens and early twenties, before transferring his attention to Muay Thai and then finally Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. Martial arts mean a lot to him.
He’s been a UFC commentator since… and is a feature at every major US event. No show is complete with Rogan’s insightful analysis and generous use of hyperbole. So the man is well-placed to talk about how Bruce Lee was represented in Once Upon a Time in America. He really was not impressed.
Rogan slammed how martial arts legend Lee was depicted in Quentin Tarantino’s latest film. A lot of people have complained already – including the Enter the Dragon star’s daughter.
Not Impressed
Speaking on a recent episode of his podcast, Rogan derided the fact that the director basically turned Lee into an arrogant dummy figure. He told his guest Brendan Schaub that it was a shame because it was the only thing he didn’t like about the movie. Rogan said:
“That was f**ked up. He was a dummy in the movie. The problem was in real life, there was no evidence that he was an egomaniac dummy. He was a very interesting guy. Very insightful. The problem was that they made him look like a buffoon. There was no evidence that he was a buffoon… it’s a movie about a real person who has a real legacy and a bunch of people love him. There was a lot of evidence that Bruce Lee was this brilliant insightful guy and in that movie they made a character of that. I didn’t like it. You’re making the guy looking like a f**ing idiot, when he wasn’t an idiot.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VENApn-nC_A
Last Spoiler Warning
Rogan has a point that there’s no evidence Lee was an idiot. However, he was also infuriated by the way the Hong Kong martial arts legend was beaten up when he fought Brad Pitt’s character Andy Booth – a Hollywood stuntman. However, Brendan Schaub had no issue with it. He said:
“He was a philosopher and he’s brilliant. But when it comes to actual toughness, we don’t know. And you’ve heard the narrative before – that he’s not an actual tough guy.”
Lee created Jeet Kune Do, a hybrid philosophy of martial arts, mostly influenced by Kung Fu.
Not Shredded
Rogan still wasn’t done though. Lee is renowned for his ridiculously toned physique, and the comedian took aim at actor Mike Moh, who played the martial arts legend. Rogan said:
“The dude who played Bruce Lee was not quite shredded enough”
What do you think? Does Rogan have a point about respecting a martial arts legend who still has a family – who weren’t consulted at all by the way? Or should he just calm down and remember that this is a Tarantino movie. It’s probably lucky that he didn’t have a duel with Hitler or something crazy.
