How the hell is this movie rated 7/10?

Hmmm. Around here, a flick needs around 8 to get into the top 250 and close to 9 to make it into the top 10 of all time.

And, ETD is 7.6, today, which is pretty freaking high if you survey the lot on IMDb.

Maybe ETD could earn itself an average of 8-ish someday, with some wider exposure and a possible resurgence of interest.

But you seem awfully shocked at about a 0.5 point potential gap between what is and what realistically could be.

Not a big deal.

I would be pooping "how the hell?" questions if this flick was down in the 5 or lower range...but would expect ETD to be in the 7-8 range, when the tastes of all viewers are polled, considering the nature of the movie and genre.

Kung Fu flicks, after all, aren't the broadest in appeal. Consider the genre something like "horror/slasher" but different. That's why Halloween ain't ever going to be the highest regarded movie, mass market either. Though it serves an ETD like role to its subgenre as well, and likewise rates in the 7s.

I mean, ETD isn't ever going to get the acclaim of, say, a Citizen Kane and so on, regardless of whether you and I personally enjoy ETD more than CK.

i loved this film, but i liked Fist of fury more

ya...i agree pal! ETD is one of the best but i like "the way of the dragon" more..that does not rule out the fact that why this movie should not have entered the top 250...As i see, about half of the movies in the top 250 do not deserve to be there,its an half crapped list.ETD was inspired by the 007 movies and thats not a mistake atleast there should have been a suave looking 'M'..the script could have been much more engrossing,never mind LEE compensated it with flawless fight choreography,the best to this day not giving room for dramatic-ism.i agree,the movie is worth sittin in the top 250

This was a ground breaking, trend setting, grandfather of ALL martial arts films that followed. Everyone, tried to copy Bruce Lee after this. Sure there may be better produced films with better actors, but this film, was a true trail blazer. Every film after this, tried to copy it. And the "silly" faces, and scrams that Bruce Lee makes, were the sh*t. I saw it in the theater, and It was and still is, a CLASSIC.

Not sure considering it was the film that opened the door to Hollywood Kung Fu films, not to mention how huge it was at the time and how popular it is now.

I guess unless its filled with CGI and Robots people don't care anymore.

I agree. How the hell is this rated 7/10? I'd give it 6/10 at best. There's more cheese in the movie than in a Swiss cheese factory. The storyline is as many already mentioned is a mere James Bond ripoff. There were already 7 James Bond movies around when ETD came out and an 8th on the way, so this was already a way too tired concept.

The acting was average at best and bad more than often. Most people sounded like they were reading q-cards and even having trouble with that. The few characters that were dubbed into English were even worse off. Sometimes the voice actor would still talk while the mouth wasn't moving...that's not something you'd see in a good movie. The sounds were dull and the music cliched and so were the characters.

All in all the movie is average at best and hadn't it been for Bruce Lee I doubt it would even be remembered today. There were way too many martial arts movies made in the 70s and this one would have been just one of many.

I consider anything from 5/10 on here watchable. The current rating which is already leaning towards 8 stars is promising way more than the movie can deliver. That being said: I enjoyed watching it and after almost 40 years it still holds up well enough to be watched, just not to be taken seriously (same goes for many Jackie Chan movies btw).

And just to name two examples of martial arts movies that top this one by far:

IP Man: Movie based on the life of the master of Bruce Lee. Contains impressive and unique martial arts choreography and looks very realistic. The storyline is gripping and probably one of the best a martial arts movie has ever seen.

The Raid Redemption: Indonesian movie that is reminiscent of Die Hard. A unit of Indonesian SWAT have to storm a building filled with thugs. Indonesian martial arts at its finest. Brutal, bloody and looks realistic.

Both movies have higher ratings than ETD. This is a pretty clear answer to the initial question: No, it's not the best martial arts movie ever - not by a long shot. If you search IMDB I'm pretty sure you'll find plenty of martial arts movies with higher ratings than ETD and rightly so.

return to the 36th chamber is way better, only rated this 4, kinda bored all the way through the movie. oh well

"I collect blondes and bottles" - The Big Sleep

indeed and I gave it 10 and want to give 1000
martial arts movies would be completely diferent if Bruce be alive today.