Watching The Rundown, I, II and III I suddenly realised that Ma Dong-seok, AKA Don Lee is the new Bud Spencer. At least in Korea he is.
Don Lee
I first noticed Dong-seok in the 2008 action comedy The Good the Bad the Weird. He played the giant hammer-swinging baddy, Bear.
He popped up again on my radar in the 2016 zombie “horror on a train” in Train to Busan.
Bud Spencer
Bud Spencer, aka Carlo Pedersoli, aka Tiger: starred in “Spaghetti Westerns.” Most notably with fellow Italian Terence Hill. After becoming world stars in the brilliant and funny comedy Trinity westerns, Spencer went on to work more on his own. *The two actors did share the screen on more than westerns, however. Sadly, they were not as good outside of their original genre outings.*
Not really alike at all
The two stars are not really anything alike at all. Spencer was a giant of man. (6.3 1/2) His trademarks were a “roundhouse” slap and a hammer, made of his fist, on the top of the head. His opponents were taken out in quick fashion. He was not a stuntman or a choreographer of fight sequences. He was just BIG.
Lee, aka Ma Dong-seok, on the other hand, started in the stunt world and is a stunt choreographer. His trademarks include that “roundhouse” slap and powerful punches to the abdomen and head.
Lee and Spencer do share one thing in common, besides that over-the-top slap, they are always the largest presence in the room. In a fight sequence, they both stand out.
Fights
Bud Spencer:
Don Lee Slapping:
Don Lee Fighting and Punching:
Similar but not the same
The two performers are similar, but not the same. Spencer is a giant of a man on screen. He towers over his opponents easily. Lee, at 5.10 is taller than most of his partners but he does not look down on too many.
It is their approach to the choreography that makes one think of them as almost inseparable. Each one is bigger than life and both offer up that “one and done” type fighting style.
*Although Lee is much more vigorous in his fight sequences, often landing multiple blows in an amazingly short period of time.*
Check them out
You can watch They Call Me Trinity and Trinity is Still My Name on Tubi for free. Don Lee can be seen on Tubi as well in The Roundup, a brilliant buddy cop film set in Vietnam and other Ma Dong-seok films on Prime (to rent or purchase) or on Freevee. Watch both Spencer as Bambino in Trinity and Lee as Ma Soek-do in Roundup and see if you think they are alike as well.
Don Lee Trailer
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