Once Upon a Time in China 3

 

 

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Wong Fei Hung is an important figure, not only to Chinese history, but also to me as a student of the style, which he helped make famous. The Hung Gar Style is traced back to Hung Tsi Kwan (there are lots of debates over the spelling of his name) who taught Luk Ah Choy, and Wong Tai (Wong Fei Hung's grand father) who taught Wong Kei Ying (Fei Hung's father) who refused to teach Fei Hung, forcing him to turn to Luk Ah Choy for lessons. Fei Hung then went on to teach Lam Sai Wing who wrote the book that more or less made the style famous. Hung Gar is a very common style in Southern China, but is very rare stateside with only a small number of schools teaching it. Wong Fei Hung is therefore a matter of great interest to me, which is why I bought this film without actually seeing it first. Sadly I was disappointed.
The voice-overs for the English dub of OUATIC 1 and 2 were decent, and I liked the voice actor behind Jet Li in the first two films. Sadly he was replaced with a less appropriate voice actor. I didn't really notice if any of the other mainstays of the series had different voices, but Fei Hung's voice was very different and not as good as the previous installments. Granted bad voice-overs are to be expected with Kung Fu movies, but why fix what isn't broken?
The editing in this movie also leaves a lot to be desired as it is the worst editing I have seen in a modern Kung Fu movie, period. Story line wise the movie is very good with a story that sets the stage for the Boxer Rebellion, which shook the very foundations of the Qing (or Ching depending of your spelling preference) Dynasty. In that time frame the Empress decided to use the anti-foreign attitudes of China to what was supposed to be her advantage. The idea was inspire the Martial Artists to revolt against them; she never anticipated that the Martial Artists (many of them Ming Dynasty patriots) would not only violently revolt against the foreigners, but also the Ching themselves. This movie is kind of a precursor to that bloody massacre, with the empress trying to inspire the revolt by hosting a Lion Head (King) competition. Parts of this story are indeed based on actual history, which make this story perhaps the most intriguing of the trilogy. However, now Wong Fei Hung and Cousin Yee are discussing marriage, and while Wong Fei Hung was married three times it was never to his cousin-by-marriage. The bizarre and arguably incestuous relationship gets even more interesting when Lilly Lee meets up with an old flame that has now turned into a Russian-Japanese double agent who is plotting to kill China's President Li. Also in this film is a poorly portrayed Wong Kei Ying, who was in his prime one of the Ten Tigers of Canton (China's greatest fighters at the time). Here the one fight scene he has he looses... and I am sorry, but seeing such a legendary fighter get beaten was kind of an eye roller. I'm as much of a fan of Wong Kei Ying as I am of Wong Fei Hung... I wasn't happy with how the elder Wong was portrayed. On the plus side while the action sequences failed to meet expectations set by the first two the Lion Head sequences are simply breathtaking. I have always loved Lion head dances and hope that one day my SiFu will allow me to participate in one myself. This movie did a fantastic job or portraying the multiple sides of the Lion Head tradition. On the one side, its fascinating to watch, amazing to participate on, and can be a lot of fun over all. On the dark side, they were used to pass messages around during various revolts, and in many cases Lion Heads were used as vehicles of assault, or assassination. This move does a superb job of focusing on both aspects.
Although the movie is still good I only recommend it over all for fans, or completists as this is sadly not the OUATIC series' finer moment, and the casual movie goer may not get into it as much.

it a very good movies, especially if u have the new dvd you can acutally see two different movies, everything is the same but some on the dub version are really not on the original one, have fun if you have this movies, i have seen it 10 times since i got is and i still like it.

In the third film in this series, martial arts film legend Jet Li stars as Dr. Wong Fei-Hung, a real life folk hero of 19th century China. Combining solid martial arts action (as you'd expect from a Jet Li movie) with decent storyline which delves into some historical elements, this movie is a decent flick all-around. While not quite as captivating in terms of action or story as the previous films, III still delivers an acceptable performance.

THE STORY:

It is 19th century China and Western influence is growing. The Empress Dowager, in an attempt to showcase Chinese power to the foreigners, hosts a martial arts tournament, the Lion King competition, pitting the finest martial arts schools against one another. Wong's family's cultural society becomes caught in the middle of the martial arts wars.

In the midst of staving off the attacks of their rivals, Wong is also caught in a personal dilemma as he and his secret-lover, his cousin (through marriage) Yee, decide to marry and try to find ways to announce it to their family. Added to this is the arrival of a Russian friend from Yee's past who is infatuated with her himself, showering her with great Western gifts such as the motion-picture camera.

Throughout all of this turmoil, things become a bit more interesting as foreign interests decide to use the tournament as a backdrop to a political assassination plot...

THE COOL STUFF:

If you love martial arts action you've got a good portion of it here. The fight scenes are NUMEROUS as you'll be treated to tons of fighting set in 19th century China in tons of marketplace settings as well as vintage Chinese dwellings and buildings. The sets and costumes are just awesome, particularly all of the Lion dresses. The fight scenes between Wong and the rival martial artists are just awesome. In addition this film does incorporate some humorous moments into it.

THE DVD FEATURES:

The features of the DVD, while not extensive as most new DVDs are, are perfectly acceptable. Included on this DVD are the following:

1. Bonus Movie Trailers for the following:

a. Once Upon a Time in China II

b. Once Upon a Time in China Trilogy

c. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon

d. Miracles by Jackie Chan

2. Filmographies for Director Tsui Hark, Jet Li and Rosamund Kwan.

THE VERDICT:

The most common criticism for most martial arts/action flicks are that the stories [stink]. The redeeming quality for them is, of course, the action. Like its predecessor, Once Upon a Time in China III overcomes these criticisms by delivering solid action and (lo and behold) a decent story. In addition, the film, besides having an awesome story and action sequences also incorporates just the right amount of humor to make it a nice package all around. While not quite as captivating in terms of action or story as its two predecessors, Once Upon a Time in China III still delivers an acceptable performance.

Overall, besides oohing and aahing to cool fight scenes you'll also be treated to a great look at a crucial period in Chinese history.

Recommended

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2.0 out of 5 stars The Lions get in the way
I have never found a Jet Li movie I haven't truly enjoyed until this one. Like a lot of his movies, there are a lot of martial art sequences and some are terrific. Read more

Published on April 30 2002 by TheOne2023

4.0 out of 5 stars one of the best ,but not the best
this movie was awesome.but a little dissapointing.same thing as the other 2 jet li plays as wong fei hung a kung fu master.but my favorite character is thunderfoot. Read more

Published on April 24 2002

2.0 out of 5 stars Enough with the Lions!
I completely understand and genuinely enjoy the Chinese tradition of the lion dance. It is a visually stunning and moving thing to see when done by a capable dancer. Read more

Published on Aug 27 2001 by rushylon5

5.0 out of 5 stars 5 Stars for Purely Personal Reasons
For those of you who might not know, this third in a series film features Jet Li as Wong Fei-hung, a real life Cantonese kung fu master/physician who lived approximately in the... Read more

Published on Aug 8 2001 by somebody nobody

1.0 out of 5 stars Stop the Insanity!
This movie should have never been released in the United States. I could not believe that people actually gave this movie more than one star (there were no minus star's to choose... Read more

Published on Aug 8 2001 by R. Alvarado

4.0 out of 5 stars Third time at bat is a triple
Of the three OUTIC series the third one isn't as deep. The fight scenes between Wong fay hong and club foot are great, but the movie faulters at times. Read more

Published on Aug 1 2001 by Peter Lin

3.0 out of 5 stars Not the best in the series
What happens when you take Yuen Wo Ping out of the mix? You get a mediocre kung fu movie. There is almost no martial arts in this movie only lion dancing and ridiculous plot that... Read more

Published on July 19 2001 by greg_rodgers

3.0 out of 5 stars Story O,K.--Video Quality Poor.
This film was enjoyable and fun to watch. However, OUTIC2 still remains the best effort in the series for me. I was bitterly disappointed in the video quality. Read more

Published on July 19 2001 by johnroliver@prodigy.net

4.0 out of 5 stars want to buy but.....
i really liked this movie and would rate it a 5 but the subtitles are so awful, i'll just wait til jet li becomes popular enough they'll reissue it with clean visuals and good... Read more

Published on May 18 2000

4.0 out of 5 stars Extremely good, almost measured up to the previous two
This was a excellent movie staring the ever amazing Jet Li, although the final scene could have had more of a one on one fightng theme the overall quality of the movie, as in... Read more

Published on Nov 18 1999

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