When Bruce Lee said he was going to be the first and biggest Asian superstar in Hollywood, he wasn’t kidding. The world was stunned by Bruce’s precise martial art sequences that were both realistic and mind-blowing at the same time. It was as though the conventional virtues of oriental masculinity were ripped off along with his shirt, unleashing new imaginations of manhood that consisted of bare chests and signature poses. Now all the dudes wanna be like him. 

World cinema embraced Bruce Lee’s legacy and gave birth to larger, more formidable figures. Hollywood injected Bruce’s solitary spirit into jungle survival expert Rambo, the unstoppable one-man army Arnold Schwarzenegger, and combat underdog Jean-Claude Van Damme, who all fought solo with bizarre resilience. Tough guys stop at nothing for justice, and bros like the revenge-fueled David Chiang, tragic hitman Chow Yun-fat seeking redemption, innocent fugitive Takakura Ken, and rookie Rama on a suicide mission demonstrate lethal speed and intensity in their battles. Yet, it was fallible heroes like John McClane and El Mariachi who extended the essence of Bruce Lee’s portrayal of game-changing misfits, which infused courage into the rest of us, allowing people to believe that pipsqueaks could also take out terrorists single-handedly. Life could be a dump hole, but that’s okay, there ain’t nothing our bros can’t fix with a punch or two.
 
In an age of endless trends, we still find comfort in re-watching the tough guys who bombarded their way into our lives. Beyond the two hours of pheromone, Bruce Lee and all our favorite action heroes will forever remind us of how never giving up can defeat all odds; boy, are we glad they exist. Now it’s time to re-enter the BroNation. Behold, 14 hardcore movies will ignite the screens at TFAI for a battle of a lifetime.