TrueJoshNight Truly Dreadful Film

Maidexpl Entertaining from beginning to end, it maintains the spirit of the franchise while establishing it's own seal with a fun cast

Gurlyndrobb While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

Melanie Bouvet The movie's not perfect, but it sticks the landing of its message. It was engaging - thrilling at times - and I personally thought it was a great time.

Paul Magne Haakonsen Running at 128 minutes, this movie had a tendency to drag on and become slow-paced at times. And that made it somewhat difficult to sit through the entire movie and keep the interest and attention on the screen.The story is the tale of legendary Wong Fei Hung (played by Jet Li) in a time where China is under Imperial rule.The action sequences in "Once Upon a Time in China" (aka "Wong Fei Hung") were quite good and there is a lot of showcasing of martial arts skills. But the story was a bit too strained and forced onto a period of over two hours.Despite most of the wardrobe was quite simple, then it worked out quite well, and came off as believable. Well, aside from twice where shoes from the 20th Century could be seen. The first was where the Western priest scaled a wooden fence, and the second was where the Chinese doctor with buck teeth went down a ladder on a ship.Hopefully parts two and three have more to offer. At least they are not as long as the first movie.While "Once Upon a Time in China" was entertaining, it just wasn't extraordinary.

leonblackwood Review: I quite enjoyed the first movie in this massive franchise. Its good to finally see a Jet Li film were there not flying in the air and fighting on strings. Anyway, the movie is basically about Americans trying to take over China. Some of the gangs buy into the Americans policies and attack the people that are trying to keep China the same. Its quite a simple storyline, but there are other aspects to the story, like the down and out fighter who wants to fight Jet Li so he can prove that he is the best and open his own fighting school. The fighting scenes were quite impressive and the different disciples who are working for Jet Li, we're quite funny. Aunt Yee, who was the lady character, did become annoying after a while but the showdown at the end was brilliant, mainly because it reminded me of the old Kung Fu movies and the ladder work was amazing. Anyway, the film does seem a bit long but it's an enjoyable movie which is worth a watch. Enjoyable!Round-Up: You can tell that this film had quite a big budget because of the epic scenes but it still looks unAmericanised. Personally, I think that there is a hidden message behind the movie, from a Chinese point of view, which is why this franchise was so big overseas. The added wit to the script made the movie original and interesting but it's the action that's second to none. I just hope that the rest of the movies in this franchise, are in the same calibre as this one. Budget: N/A Worldwide Gross: HK$30millionI recommend this movie to people who are into their Jet Li movies about a doctor trying to stop China from becoming Americanised. 6/10

BA_Harrison A traditional kung fu movie with elements of the Wuxia sub-genre, Once Upon A Time In China is considered by many to be one of the finest martial arts movies of all time; I don't rate it so highly, preferring my action to be a little more realistic and a tad more 'bone-crunching'.Set in a troubled 19th century China, where centuries of tradition is being threatened by an influx of foreigners, this historical epic is directed by Tsui Hark and stars the incredible Jet Li, ably supported by Rosamund Kwan, Biao Yuen, Jacky Cheung and Kent Cheng. With a pedigree like that, I was expecting something truly astounding, but what I got was an overlong, over-stylised and definitely over-rated film. Saddled with a dreadfully dull story and some particularly poor comedic moments, it does not entertain as much as I had hoped.Li plays Wong Fei Hung, martial arts master and all round good guy, who, along with his students, battles the foreign invaders who are plundering China. Kwan plays his love interest, Aunt Yee, who has recently returned from America, and who tries to educate Hung about the wonders of the Western world. As the troubles mount, Aunt Yee becomes the target of unscrupulous traders who try to sell her into prostitution, leaving Hung and his men no option but to pit their fighting skill against guns in a daring rescue attempt.Although the movie admittedly features some well choreographed fight scenes which will undoubtedly appeal to fans of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (as will the breath-taking cinematography), the action relies too much on clever wire-work and skillful editing for its impact, and the whole affair left this particular viewer rather disappointed.

anirudh3001 jet Li at his best . the legend is brought to life by jet Li . this movie made his join the club with Bruce lee and Jackie Chan.The movie had very good action with a good story too. the piturisation is very good and the whole of the action looks real. the movie is based on the life of Wang Fei Hung a Chinese martial arts master and also a doctor played by jet Li.Factual errors: A 31-star US flag is seen shortly after an adult Wong Fei Hung attempts to defend the Po Chi Lam clinic from a fiery attack. The 31-star flag was used from July 4, 1851 to July 3, 1858. Wong Fei Hung was born on July 9, 1847, and so could not have been older than a few days shy of his eleventh birthday when this flag was still in use. Also, the rows of stars shown on the 31-star flag are inverted. The flag shown has rows of 7, 6, 6, 5, and 7 stars respectively (from top to bottom). The actual flag has rows of 7, 5, 6, 6, and 7 stars top to bottom