Jet Li reprises his role as martial arts legend Wong Fei-Hung in this movie that is not part of the original series featuring Li, but a film that gives a comedic twist to the story where Fei-Hung stumbles upon a kidnapping scheme after unknowingly opening a martial arts school next to a brothel.
Like previous Fei-Hung movies, this film has plenty of martial arts action and breathtaking battles, including the fight between the lion dancers and the giant human-controlled centipede. While Jet Li stays true to form as the serious, wise and powerful Wong Fei-Hung, this film also has a good dose of humor, courtesy of actor Chan Pak-Cheung, who plays pimp-turned martial arts wannabe Mass Tar Cheung, and actress Kingdom Yuen, who plays the brothel madam. A host of other all-star actors can be seen included Sharla Cheung, Anita Yuen, Dicky Cheng, Gordon Liu and members of Sammo Hung/Jackie Chan's stunt team - all giving us some top-notch acting performances.
The plot is pretty solid and gains momentum as the movie progresses, with a captivating story and classic good guy vs. bad guy elements. Just about everything is thrown in this movie - action, adventure, drama (which the story could use a little more of), comedy and period costumes/settings - all resulting in pure entertainment.
Grade B+
Like previous Fei-Hung movies, this film has plenty of martial arts action and breathtaking battles, including the fight between the lion dancers and the giant human-controlled centipede. While Jet Li stays true to form as the serious, wise and powerful Wong Fei-Hung, this film also has a good dose of humor, courtesy of actor Chan Pak-Cheung, who plays pimp-turned martial arts wannabe Mass Tar Cheung, and actress Kingdom Yuen, who plays the brothel madam. A host of other all-star actors can be seen included Sharla Cheung, Anita Yuen, Dicky Cheng, Gordon Liu and members of Sammo Hung/Jackie Chan's stunt team - all giving us some top-notch acting performances.
The plot is pretty solid and gains momentum as the movie progresses, with a captivating story and classic good guy vs. bad guy elements. Just about everything is thrown in this movie - action, adventure, drama (which the story could use a little more of), comedy and period costumes/settings - all resulting in pure entertainment.
Grade B+