Frank Lee is a legend of martial arts.

He is world renowned as a full master of White Crane kung fu and for creating his own style of full-contact fighting after immigrating to Canada in 1960.

However, Frank Lee, the man, remains a mystery to the one person who looks up to him the most - his son, Corey Lee.

Produced, written and directed by the junior Lee, Legend of a Warrior follows Lee as he attempts to forge a bond with his father and learn about his dad’s past while training with him at his martial arts gym in Edmonton for several months.

By watching Frank Lee as a trainer and a fighter, he becomes human.

When the training begins, the frustration and tension between the pair is so thick you can feel it. Frank is patient with his son, but still pushes Corey to do his best.

As the training progresses through the weeks, and the film follows the men to Hong Kong to explore Frank’s childhood, mutual respect is there, and even a sort of tenderness and silent admiration shines through.

Frank’s students, some of whom have been training with him for decades and have come to know him more intimately than his own son has, also shed light on the film’s subject.

However, the best moments in the film come when the men are simply sitting around discussing the past.

Frank may never have been there for Corey, but he always wanted what was best for his son, and to be the father he never had.

A heartbreaking moment occurs when the Frank admits he had written hundreds of letters to his own father back in Hong Kong, and they had never been opened.

Some great black and white, comic book-style animations are utilized to illustrate “the legends” of Frank Lee, and to break up the training and reminiscing footage.

As someone who is not even remotely interested in watching martial arts or knowing the history of it, the film held my attention.

While I will admit that my attention waned during some of the extended fighting scenes, Legend of a Warrior is less a film about kung fu, or even about Frank Lee as a fighter, but more about a son reaching out to his father to repair their familial ties and start anew.