david-sarkies First thing about this movie are a few criticisms. It is not a bad movie; in fact as it comes to the end the action heats up so much that you are left on the edge of your seat. Unfortunately there are a few things that hold this movie back from being great. Firstly it is quite long: there are a lot of scenes in the movie that really don't need to be there and you start to become agitated and bored waiting for the real action to heat up. Then there are the characters: they are all the same. As such it is very difficult to work out who is who, though by the end of the movie I was able to tell. Finally I find that the structure of the movie was quite bad. It was as if bits had been cut out to shorten it even more and thus I had difficulty following what was going on. Still, the action in the movie is stunning, and by the end of the movie you do have an idea of the plot. Then again, Hong Kong action movies were never known for their plots but more for their stunning martial arts sequences. This movie delivers though.The time is China at the turn of the century, possibly even earlier in the 19th Century, but it is a time when the United States had a stake in China and had fortresses there along with other European countries. This puts it somewhere between 1870 to 1900, though the weapons suggest that it is earlier rather than later. The movie is based around a dojo run by Heung (Jet Li), a Kungfu master. Heung is fighting against the Sheueng gang and the authorities to keep his dojo running, but everything seems to be going against him. There are salesmen wandering around selling passages to America, the Golden Mountain where people go to get exceedingly rich. What is really happening is that these salesmen sell the Chinese to the Americans as slave labour and take their money as well. The Sheueng gang is also involved in this as they are kidnapping Chinese women and selling them to the Americans.This movie is at the end of the Chinese empire. The Western nations have entered and carved it up and the Emperor is powerless. In fact China is sitting on the edge of revolution. Justice does not exist for the Chinese as they are treated as second class citizens, and it seems that China now exists for the Westerners. They are in China for the trade, but they own the trading cartels and the Chinese now exist around them. They have no stake in the Westerner's business and are kept in order by a militia run by the British.This is a time of hopelessness for the Chinese. They have lost all autonomy, and there is no justice for the meek. Heung's Dojo is burnt down by the rival gang and nobody offers themselves as a witness. When he is ripped off by a Fortune God, nobody is interested in helping him, and he is the one to blame for the results. Then there is the stage play that is ruined by an ambush by the rival gang. When the fighting erupts, the Americans shoot everybody indiscriminately. It is a crime simply to be Chinese. Though one learns later that it is because the Americans are working with this rival gang and it was a setup.Once Upon a Time in China is a very anti-Western film. In this movie, it is the westerners who are the bad guys, especially the Americans. In this movie, we sympathise with the Chinese and begin to hate the westerners because they are unjust and torture the original inhabitants of the land. The movie is also anti-imperialism for it attacks the imperialist nature of the western powers. The word western is always spoken with venom in the mouth of the people because they have invaded and taken their land.This movie is awesome when the fights really start up. Though it is slow at the start, once the action begins this movie speeds up and drags you in. It is the action that makes this movie what it is. The action is intense and awesome, and with typical Tsui Hark style, there is one fantasy element, and that is Iron Robe, the martial artist whose stomach is like iron and sword blows simply bounce off of it.

Sassy Cat This is a wonderful movie. There are many great fight scenes. The fight among the ladders is spectacular and creative. Incredible choreography. The story is smooth and engaging. The details are listed in other reviews here. If it's one thing that I'm learning from watching a lot of Chinese made movies, China's history with the US has made for so many generations of pain. Americans would do well to learn more about Chinese history before we are so critical of them.Jet Li is amazing -high flying and flexible as ever, graceful and solid and a riveting dramatic portrayal of legendary figure Wong Fei-hung. Yuen Biao is brilliant - stunning fight sequences and of course his trademark acrobatics, and his dramatic performance is emotionally nuanced as his character takes a few turns. The cast of supporting characters are just great. "Buck Teeth So" is adorable and lovable, "Porky Wing" as the translation calls him is a riot and very loyal. Aunt Yee (who was called Aunt 13 in the translation for some reason which made me laugh) gives excellent balance in a female role and Rosamund Kwan played her brilliantly. Some nice little touches of incidental humor thrown in as well.

lastliberal 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.

Andrei Pavlov 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.