Great Film: Once Upon a Time In China (Wong Fei Hung)
the best martial arts film ever made
The first time i saw this movie i hated it it was only with repeated
viewing
that i grew to love it. I think the reason why i initially didn't enjoy it
was because i was expecting light entertainment and i just wasn't prepared
for a multi layered film such as this. This film marks for director Tsui
Hark the peak of his creative genius when he was making this film there
was
a lot of worry in Hong Kong regarding the 1997 hand over to China Tsui
manages to transfer this tension and uncertainty into the film terrificly
and he injects each shot with a passion for his nationality and his love
for
the chinese heros such as Wong Fei-Hung. The next element of this film
that
is truly magnificent is the cast each character is given sufficient screen
time for complete character arcs Jet Li's acting is done with a level of
honour and intensity that has been lacking in every performance he has
done
since. Yuen Biao has perfected playing these king of roles because he has
played many similar roles in the past yet he still manages to bring
something new to the role and gives it a fresh twist that is lacking in
Max
Mok's performance in the sequels. there are also strong performances by
Jackie Cheung, Rosamund Kwan and Kent Cheng. overall the character that
steals the show is master yim i would say he is better than the rest of
the
cast combined. Now to the point that most people watch kung fu films for
the
fights the great thing about the fights in this film is that each fight
improves on the one before it so there is a visible progression before the
end ladder fight which i consider to be the best wire enhanced fight ever
put on film.
overall i would recommend this film to anyone who is looking for a great
movie but if you are looking for realistic fighting i would point you in
the
direction of Bruce Lee's films and the Prodigal Son . please note to get
the
most out of this film it must be seen in its original language and in its
original Widescreen format and it must be seen no less than five times to
get an idea of its multi layered complexities
Cast
- Wong Fei-hung played by Jet Li
- Aunt Yee played by Rosamund Kwan
- Naval Commander played by Shun Lau
- Iron Robe Yim (as Yee Kwan Yan) played by Shi-kwan Yen
- Leung Fu played by Biao Yuen
- Buck Teeth Soh played by Jacky Cheung
- Tiger played by Steve Tartalia
