Very well executed

Am I Missing Something?

It is not deep, but it is fun to watch. It does have a bit more of an edge to it than other similar films.

.Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.

Eyes and ears. The movie is very stylish. Costumes, choreography, music - everything is fine.Mind. This film has rich national atmosphere and it is done sensibly. This movie doesn't present itself like kidstuff and does not relies of cheap plagiarism. It's original and therefore does not make a viewer's mind melt under the influence of "pop-culture" for masses.Heart. The point of the film when one person sacrifices his life for another (even for a stranger) is carried out quite well. There are many touching moments, which at the same time do not make the whole production feel too melodramatic.Overall quality. It's of the same quality as American "Gone with the Wind", Japanese "When the Last Sword is Drawn", and Russian "War and Piece". Of course, only the American movie is on the top 250 list now. If anybody starts to chat about kung fu movies disrespectfully, this title is to be mentioned to cool the chatter-box down a bit.The positive Chinese characters are provided with powerful looks (mind the haircuts, and as to Mrs Rosamund Kwan - she is orientally beautiful as always), righteous behaviour (cannot help admire the doctor's self-control), and insane stamina (to survive in such hostile surroundings seems to be impossible but the heroes live). The evil European characters in the movie are also well cut: they are disgustingly vindictive, their gestures and face expressions are sodden with contempt and hostility. They treat Chinese folks like cannon-fodder and some kind of dim-witted aborigines. And that character trying to fight the doctor in the restaurant is a memorable baddie ("Tiger"?). The doctor could whip him real hard but... And as a good add-on, there are Chinese baddies with bad looks, bad attitude, and bad behaviour.The follow-ups have no such quality - at least the second installation did not impress me much: its ridiculous wirework put me off instantly.It deserves a 10 out of 10 - a gem in its genre. Thank you for attention.

When most people thinks of martial arts movies, the immediate thought will be either a Bruce Lee film, or one of his countless imitations that filled the screen through the 70s and part of the 80s. And while it's true that some great films were made in those years, it's also sadly true that most were of average quality, due not only to their low-budget, but also to the fact that most were cut and awfully dubbed when shipped overseas. Being a patriot and a nostalgic, Hong Kong's legendary director Hark Tsui decided to resurrect the martial arts genre in the 90s, using one of the most respected Chinese national heroes: Wong Fei Hung. Hark's retelling of the life and times of the legendary healer and martial artist became one of the best epic stories ever filmed, the series of films known in America as "Once Upon a Time in China".In this first chapter of the saga, we are introduced to Wong Fei Hung (Jet Li) and his China, a land who by the late 19th Century is discovering the Western civilizations and is forced to open to the world. Made leader of a team of militia warriors, Wong Fei Hung discovers that a group of Americans are kidnapping women to send to America as prostitutes. To make things worse, another Kung-Fu master, "Iron Robe" Yim (Yee Kwan Yan), arrives to town and is decided to defeat Wong Fei Hung to prove his martial arts are better. Soon the skilled warrior Wong Fei hung will experience first hand the pros and the cons of the clash of cultures his people and the newly arrived Westerners.Written by Hark himself and his usual team of collaborators, the movie is at first sight an overtly nationalistic story of patriotism and Chinese pride, however, "Wong Fei Hung" is not only about China, as it's more about changes and adaptation than about traditionalism. Through the character of Wong Fei Hung, we see a man that is at the same time intrigued and repulsed by changes, but that has to make up his mind about if he wants to be the leader and the hero his people needs. Sure, at its core it is a tale of the adventures of China's most representative hero, but the way the story is written make the story a more complex and interesting one. Literally, a story that transcends its own film genre."Wong Fei Hung" showcases Hark at his best, with his defined style (influenced by comic books and the cinema of his youth) reaching its full potential and enough creative freedom to make whatever he desired. Hark delivers a film that can not only be seen as another martial arts film, but also as the epic journey of a hero facing his most difficult challenge: an inner battle with himself. With amazingly choreographed scenes and a great vision for cinematography (by a great team lead by Arthur Wong and David Chung), Hark creates an epic film on the level of Sergio Leone or John Ford. "Wong Fei Hung" is a film that surely proves that Hark Tsui is more than a mere director of action films, and that the films he did in the U.S. ("Double Team" and "Knock Off") are not really a display of his talent.Jet Li excels at playing Wong Fei Hung (one of the most portrayed character in movie history), in a performance that captures the essence of the film without making it over the top. While not exactly faithful to the real Wong Fei Hung's fighting style, Jet Li's skills showcase his enormous talent and ability as a fighter and choreographer and every move of his is perfect. Rosamund Kwan plays Siu Qun, a young woman who falls in love with Wong Fei Hung, but only creates more confusion as while not blood-related, she is technically her Aunt (he calls her Aunt 13th). She adds good humor to the film, and makes a great supporting actress to Jet Li.Humor is indeed an important characteristic of the movie, and Biao Yuen (who surprisingly, has little chance to show his fighting skills), Jacky Cheung and Kent Cheng make great comedic performances. While not exactly a perfect cast, it's safe to say that overall they give a good job, although the dubbing for the Westerners is remarkably bad. "Wong Fei Hung" is probably one of Hark's best films, and it's hard to find a flaw in it, as it's also one of the best martial arts films ever made. Sure, it may feel overlong at times, but the film takes advantage of its runtime as almost every detail is of importance and very few scenes feel unnecessary."Once Upon a Time in China", or "Wong Fei Hung", is a must-see for every fan of martial arts films, and a very recommended movie to those who dislike them. The way it transcends its own genre has proved to be influential now after the releases of "Wo Hun Cang Long" ("Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon") and "Ying Xiong" ("Hero"), two films that reinvigorated the old Wu Xia genre in the same way this movie did for the martial arts genre. After this, Hark found a difficult time in the U.S. (and the flops of his two films done there), but what he did in this film (and its first sequel) remains an accomplishment rarely equaled. 8/10

Once Upon a Time in China is quite simply one of the best films ever to come out of Hong Kong from almost every perspective.Jet Li stars in the role he was born to play (in my opinion), real-life martial arts master, doctor and commander of the local militia, Wong Fei-Hung. Despite not even being able to speak Cantonese his acting in this just using facial expression, and body language is highly impressive, conveying a man of great dignity and command above the real age of Jet Li, answering the critics who considered him too young for the role. It must have been a difficult role for him to take on, with Kwan Tak-Hing (played Wong Fei Hung in around 100 films) and Jackie Chan (Drunken Master I and II) being his predecessors. The story is very complex - possibly a little too complex - and transcends a good many martial arts films whose plots can easily be summed up in a single sentence. Wong Fei-Hung has to deal with American slavers, local gangs, a renegade martial arts master and even his own wayward (but well-intentioned students). On top of this he has to contend with his growing affection for Aunt Yee (Rosamund Kwan) which is important as it is set around the end of the 19th century when there were great social changes in China. This is typified with his relationship with his aunt who is not related to him by blood, but with whom it would be taboo to marry. The fact that this is a series of films allows the relationship to develop also sets it apart from many Hong Kong films where any romances are usually very fast-moving and unrealistic.The rest of the cast is extremely good, slightly more so than later episodes. The wonderfully athletic Yuen Biao plays Leung Foon, a trainee actor who wants to learn kung fu to protect himself - it is a shame he allegedly fell out with director Tsui Hark over screen time as his replacement in subsequent films is comic but has not got the martial arts skills. Kent Cheng is perfect for the role of the larger-than-life Lam Sai-Wing who is Wong Fei Hung's head student. His other students are played with vigour by Jacky Cheung and Yuen Kam-Fai.The villains are suitably colourful, and the lead bad guy played by Yam Sai-Kun is interesting because he is not as two-dimensional as he could have been and is almost a double for Wong Fei-Hung and what he could have become had he gone down the wrong path.The action is superb which is unsurprising considering it is choreographed by Yuen Woo-Ping, though critics will still fault the wire-work and use of doubles. The final showdown is a masterpiece of editing as Jet Li was injured and had to be doubled for many of the shots that weren't above the waist, but his fist techniques make up for this. The film has a long running time for a martial arts flick so for once there is plenty of time for story and action. An honourable mention has to go the music written by James Wong, as it is one of the greatest and most memorable of all martial arts theme music.In short they don't come much better than this. People who enjoyed Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon would probably love this and it should also be seen by anyone who has seen Cradle 2 the Grave and thinks Jet Li can't act. The first 2 sequels for this are also warmly recommended.

Once Upon A Time In China is a good and ambitious movie with generally good performances. However, it also has boring parts and is, I think, generally a bit overrated. I rate this movie a 7 out of 10, and I have to say it is not as good as, say, Last Hero In China, or even Fong Sai Yuk.I am certainly a big fan of Wong Fei Hung (not to mention Jet Li and Yuen Biao!), but the problem with this movie is that it tries to be both a history movie and an action movie, and because of the disturbing influence of each of these elements upon the other, it doesn't quite succeed in being either one or the other. There isn't enough kung fu in it to be a really good kung fu movie, and the history is not quite treated seriously enough for it to be a really good history movie.I'd recommend watching Tai Chi II (a.k.a. Tai Chi Boxer, from 1996) for a movie that extremely successfully blends humor, history and brilliant kung fu. It is far superior to this one.