Once Upon a Time in China

1991 [CANTONESE]

Action / Adventure / Biography / Drama / History

59
Rotten Tomatoes Critics - Rotten 88% · 30 reviews
Rotten Tomatoes Audience - Upright 88% · 10K ratings
IMDb Rating 7.2/10 10 21161 21.2K

martial arts kung fu hero china colonisation 19th century

Plot summary

Set in late 19th century Canton, this martial arts film depicts the stance taken by the legendary martial arts hero Wong Fei-Hung against foreign forces' plundering of China.

Director

Hark Tsui Photo
Hark Tsui

Top cast

Jet Li Photo
Jet Li as Wong Fei Hung
Mark King Photo
Mark King as British General Wickens
Jonathan Isgar Photo
Jonathan Isgar as Jackson
Rosamund Kwan Photo
Rosamund Kwan as Aunt Yee
720p.BluRay 1080p.BluRay
1.13 GB
1280*534
Cantonese 2.0
NR
Subtitles cn  
23.976 fps
2 hr 14 min
Seeds 21
2.16 GB
1920*800
Cantonese 2.0
NR
Subtitles cn  
23.976 fps
2 hr 14 min
Seeds 54

Movie Reviews

Reviewed by lastliberal 7 / 10

A Chinese classic

Two of my favorite films are "One Upon a Time in America" and Once Upon a Time in the West." So naturally, I would be attracted to this film just to see if it matches the others. It does.Jet Li stars as the legendary Chinese hero Wong Fei-Hong. He is fighting against intruders from the West. Yep, invading armies like us. The people of China are not going to give in. He is asked to train the locals in kung fu. Things get complicated with the arrival of Wong's "Aunt" Yee (Rosamund Kwan), just back from a two-year stay in the West. She is not really his Aunt, so romance simmers between the two.There are plenty of evildoers in this film. Gangs looking for protection money, corrupt government officials (no surprise there!), and those nasty foreigners. You will want to watch this film more than once. Jet Li's performance, coupled with his kung fu wizardry, carries the viewer through any shaky patches. The fight scenes are the main attraction, of course, and the film delivers the goods again and again.
Reviewed by Einsiedeln 6 / 10

Pretty good, but not great.

Although the fu is powerful in this Jet Li vehicle, the plotline is slow as molasses and easier to read than your average elevated-train map. "Oh, I cannot break the law, I must remain in my cell and be judged. Wait, you say my cousin is in danger? Wong Fei-hung to the rescue!" Predictable and unimpressive. Additionally, the acting was shallow even for a kung fu movie. I've seen porn films that emoted more effectively than the actors found here.Anyone who claims "this is the best kung fu movie ever!" is culturally deprived, and needs to be exposed to better works like Enter the Dragon, Fist of Legend (the 1995 version with Jet Li), and The Legend of Drunken Master. All three are vastly superior to this, even though the kung fu was quite solid. Only 6/10, for having decent fight scenes but not straying an iota from the age-old wuxia cliches.
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