(6/29/2002) "Once Upon A Time In China" is perhaps the best all-around martial arts movie you'll ever see. I say all-around because it has both wirework and straightforward fighting. Also, the production value, which was notoriously low for most films in Hong Kong a few years back, is above par here. It's beautifully shot, well acted, and very well written. The story centers around the exploits of Wong Fei-Hung, the most filmed (and the most revered) character in HK cinema history.
This is probably the best of the straightforward Wong Fei-Hung movies, where Fei-Hung is stoic, wise and mature (The Jackie Chan version of Fei-Hung is in a category of its own). Jet Li brings power and authority to the character, and no one can match him in terms of sheer martial arts prowess. Supporting him is the criminally underrated Yuen Biao (Foon), the Peking Opera School "little brother" of Jackie Chan and Sammo Hung. The action was beyond compare, but what really attracted me once the movie got rolling was the story. Tsui Hark did a great job co-writing the screenplay. And, when you throw in the fact that he also produced and directed, you might just have a new respect for HK cinema.
As for the DVD itself, I was a little disappointed at the picture quality, but I wasn't too surprised since Media Asia retained the rights. The picture appears double frequently on my DVD-ROM. However, this only occurred on the original language version. The English-dubbed version was better quality, but the dubbing was so God-awful. Jet Li sounded like Dudley Do-Right. As long as I can make out the action and follow the story, I'll stick to the Chinese version. If you haven't seen it, and you like--or claim to like--HK cinema, then I can heartily recommend it. If you're not too fond of action, but you like historical dramas or epics, then try it. You might be surprised.

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Created May 05, 2009 at 11:58pm • Submit your own review...