Once Upon a Time in China III

Name: Once Upon a Time in China III

Genre: Action/Adventure/Drama/History

Cast: Jet Li, Rosamund Kwan, Max Mok, Tsui Hark (Director)

Synopsis: During the last years of regime of the Qing Dynasty, China was experiencing turmoil as foreign powers were increasing their influence significantly. To restore their pride and their might of their martial arts in front of foreign powers, empress Dowager Cixi order and governor Li decided to organize a Lion Dance competition, where all the martial art schools around the country will participate for the title of “Lion Dance King”. Wong Fei Hing with Aunt Yee and his student Leung Foon arrived in Beijing to visit his father’s residence in Canton. When they got off the train station, they meet a Russian diplomat called Tomanovsky who knows Aunt Yee as they both had studied in Britain. He tried to kiss Aunt Yee’s hand but seeing this Wong Fei Hong gets annoyed and tells Tomanovsky that this western culture is considered bad in Chinese culture. When Wong Fei Hong reaches the association’s centre to meet his father, he came to know that his father was attacked by a wealthy businessman called Chiu Tin Bak and his men; one of those was Thunderfoot (clubfoot) but his father sustains minor injuries but very happy to see his son and Aunt Yee.

Before the actual competition took place, local martial arts club organized a competition of their own just to show their might to the others. Wong Fei Hong didn’t participate in that but was watching the competition from a roof of a building. Meanwhile Foon and some students of Wong Fei Hong though of participating in the competition and accidently meet Thunderfoot which they also encountered previously when they were taking rickshaws. Foon and Thunderfoot had a fight but Foon manages to escape and during that Thunderfoot got hurt very badly during the rampage of the horses. Wong Fei Hong after seeing that the martial clubs are unnecessarily beating each other, jumps into the competition and tries to stop them and asks if they want to show their might why not try him. One of them tried but later on they said they have understood Master Wong’s point. Chiu Tin bak throws a party for winning the local lion dance competition. When injured Thunderfoot goes to the party, Chui’s men make fun of him and humiliate him. Also Chui Tin Bak abandons him. Being abandoned and dejected Thunderfoot goes to Wong’s house and challenges him. Wong Fei Hong sees the injured condition of Thunderfoot asked him that first let him treat after that he can fight with me. Thunderfoot seeing the kindness of Wong agrees to him and later starts to live with them. Aunt Yee’s camera was thrown in Local Lion dance competition and later it was retrieved by Wong. She sees the camera reel and uncovers that Governor Li’s life is in danger and will be killed during the Lion Dance Competition and Tomanovsky is one of the conspirators. Learning that truth, Wong Fei hong decided to take part in the competition with Foon and Thunderfoot as his assistance. As the competition start, all the participating men fights with each other to try to reach at the top scaffolding to have the Gold plate, so that they can be pronounced as winners of the competition. Tomanovsky sees that Yee is recording the competition through the camera and fearing that she will also record the assassination goes for her to take the camera away. Yee seeing him running towards him also runs from there. Wong Fei Hong, on other side, over come all the odds against him and Thunderfoot wins the competition. Someone from the Russian camp fires at governor Li during that moment but luckily bullet didn’t hit him and he was alive.  Hearing the bullet voice Tomanovsky went want with the pistol in hand. Seeing pistol in hand all the Governor Li’s men point guns towards him but someone from the Russian Camp kills Tomanvsky and accuses him of Japanese spy. Wong Fei Hong refuses the gold medal and being accepted him as winner and told governor Li that China has today lost men for just no reason. Real victory will only be there when every Chinese will play its role with wisdom for restoring national pride. He tossed the gold medal in front of governor Li and walked away.

Review: Another great sequel made by Tsui Hark with absolutely brilliance. Another great performance given by Jet Li. Acting of Rosamund and Max Mok were as usual, good. But this time, the martial arts sequences in the movie were even better than the previous two prequels. But the performance of Chin Chui wasn’t much impressive. Story of the movie was somewhat a predictable. Leaving some negatives apart, movie is full of action, some brilliant direction and some great martial arts sequences. A must watch for everyone and specially for those who are followers of Jet Li or who are following Once upon a time in China film series.

Stars given: 4 out of 5.

Once Upon a Time in China II

Name: Once Upon a Time in China II

Genre: Action/Adventure/Drama     

Cast: Jet Li, Rosamund Kwan, Donnie Yen, Tsui Hark (Director)

Synopsis: Wong Fei Hong was travelling to Guangzhou through train to attend a seminar where doctors of both Western and Chinese medicine were about to meet, with his student Leung Foon and Aunt Yee. White Lotus Society was gaining popularity and was performing demonstration on streets. Aunt Yee was seeing that demonstration. She tried to take a picture of the demonstration and caused a flash which men of that society got scared and treated her as evil as she can produced lightening and also was wearing foreign cloths and tried to take her away to burn her but Wong Fei Hong came for her rescue and beats the followers of the society. At the Medicine seminar Wong Fei Hong was having difficulty to make the western doctor understand his lecture on the benefits of Acupuncture but Dr. Sun Yat Sen, helps him to translate in western language what he wants them to understand. As seminar was going on, White Lotus Society tried to disrupt it on the orders of their priest leader Kung. Their main aim is to drive foreign powers out of their homeland. After a series of events Wong Fei Hong came to know that Dr. Sun Yat Sen, is the leader of a society who wants to topple the government and wants to establish a democratic china. A school of foreign languages was set on fire by the White Lotus Society. Some children hide in the shelter of the school and later were found by Wong and Aunt Yee. After having some difficulty in providing shelter to children, Aunt Yee, takes the children to British Consulate. On other hand, Wong tried to talk to Commander Lan asking him to provide security to the children and to do something about White Lotus but Commander Lan told him that already all the men are deployed on borders to deals with foreign power and he doesn’t have enough power to support a fight with them.

When Wong goes back, he sees that those children from foreign school as well as Aunt Yee and Foon are not there. Soon Foon came there and tells Master Wong that the children are safe in British Consulate. Soon followers of White Lotus attack the consulate. Wong Fei Hong helped Dr. Sun Yet Sen, in treating the injured. Commander Lan have some information that rebels including Sun Yet Sen, is hiding in British Consulate and came with force to search the consulate but wasn’t able to do so as they were told that consulate is not under their jurisdiction. Commander Lan ordered to cut down the telegraph wires so that Dr. Sun, could contact the outside world. At night White Lotus attacked the consulate but Wong Fei Hong and his aides defeated the white lotus followers but soon Commander Lan came their and arrested those followers. Dr. Sun had already escaped before the attack of White lotus but now Wong planned that Foon impersonating as Dr. Sun’s companion named Lu Hao Tung runs from there, Wong takes Lu with him as impersonating Foon and asked permission from commander Lan to destroy the White lotus Society. Later on, he destroys the society and their leader King got accidently killed during the fight. They meet Foon near the docks but foon told them he forgets to take the book containing the names of their rebel brothers. Lu asked them that they had to go back to take the list as it is a matter of life and death. All of them went back. After retrieving the list, they were going back but Commander Lan and his men came there and shot Lu. Lu asked them to destroy the list and Foon stars doing that. Wong Fei Hong fights commander Lan as he is desperate to get the list and Wong knows that after he gets the list, Lan will kill them. There starts a fight between them but in the end Wong Fei Hong defeated Lan which eventually lets him killed. They ran to the pier to and arrived just when Dr. Sun’s ship was about to leave. Wong Fei Hong throws a cloth containing the design of the flag for free china for which they were fighting.

Review: Another great movie made by the great director Tsui Hark. He once again proved his excellence in film making. As laid in the previous part, the direction in the movie this time was also great. Jet Li was performance as Wong Fei Hong in this movie is damn good. Donnie Yen and Rosamund Kwan performance were good although Rosamund Kwan role in this part was not much. Music as per the previous was good and so does the martial arts sequences of the movie, Just awesome and including historical and main figures of China in the movie also provided an extra edge in the movie.

Stars given: 4 out of 5.

Once Upon a Time in China

Name: Once Upon a Time in China

Genre: Action/Adventure/Drama

Cast: Jet Li, Rosamund Kwan, Yuen Biao, Tsui Hark (Director)

Synopsis: Western powers were increasing its influence in the Foshan region. Liu Youngfu the general of the Black Flag Army came to Wong Fei Hong and asks him to give training to a group of people who can defend the town. Some of them were Porky Wing, a butcher and an American educated Chinese named Bucktooth So. Wong Fei Hong came to visit Siu Kwan, who is around the same age as him. As they are not directly blood related but her father was sworn brother of Wong Fei Hong’s grandfather so she is considered elder to him. Leung Foon comes in the town hoping that he will become student of Wong Fei Hung. He ran into a stage performance hoping that he will meet Wong there but Shaho Gang cause trouble in that stage performance. Wong Fei Hong defeated them but due to some misunderstanding Leung Foon and Wong Fei Hong, now Leung can’t become his student. Being in despair Leung was roaming in the streets of Foshan region when he sees a fight between 2 masters. A master called “Iron Vest” Yim emerges as victorious and impressed from him, Leung asks him to take himself as his student. Later on Yim told him that he wants to be the best around and wants to open a school here. Leung told him that he has to defeat Wong Fei Hong here as he is the best Master here, so defeating him will show the rest that he is number one master around. Shaho Gang, on other side, set Wong’s clinic Po Chi     lam on fire as a warning that he should not indulge in Gang’s matters. But a Church’s father came to the aide of Wong and told the police that he knows who set his clinic on Fire. Arrest warrant was issued against Shaho Gang. To avoid the arrest they came in the shelter of Americans, from Sino pacific Company and in return of that the Gang will help them in kidnapping local women which can be sold as prostitutes. Shaho Gang meets Yim and asks him to take revenge against Wong Fei Hong which Yim readily agrees.

The gang abducts Wong Fei Hong’s “Aunt Yee” when she was helping a laborer who had escaped from America and told her about the wrong doings of the Americans and his pain over there and how he managed to escape, so as to avoid local government inspection. Wong Fei Hong and his followers were arrested and were sent into prison as they cause ruckus to buy time from their escape. Bucktooth came to Wong and told him that Aunt Yee has been kidnapped by the Gang. Being dejected that what should he do now but the very moment some men from the police freed Wong as they have utmost regard for him and told him to rescue Aunt Yee. Shaho Gang’s leader tries to rape Aunt Yee but Leung sees it and fight with them so that no harm could be made to her. They try to beat hell out of Leung. But the very moment the gang got informed that Wong Fei Hong and his men very clever entered the American Base and are searching for Aunt Yee. Wong Fei Hong battles with Yim and later on defeated him. When he was running out of the Go down where fight took place between Wong and Yim, Americans starts firing at Wong but Yim as his last attempt to defeat Wong came running at him but eventually got him by the shots and Later on took all the bullets on himself and save Wong Fei Hong and asks him to move ahead.  Wong Fei Hong successfully rescued Aunt Yee and rest of kidnapped women over there. Wong also killed American leader Jackson by shooting a bullet into his forehead with his hands and all this time Leung was with Wong to help him. Later on, in the end Leung Foon was being accepted as a student by Wong Fei Hong.

Review: The movie proves why Tsui Hark is considered one of the great directors in Asian Film Industry. He combined all the ingredients of a great movie into this. Awesome direction done by him combing with the story, which he associated with Chinese hero Wong Fei Hong. On top of that, emphatic and energized performance given by Jet Li in the movie. Rest of cast performance was also at its best. Every role in the movie was given proper importance which is to be needed in. Excellent martial arts demonstration was there and what adds more to it was the music given by James Wong and George Lam who also had given the theme song of the movie, which is exceptionally good. Truly, a great movie full of Martial Arts action.

Stars given: 4 out of 5.