Once Upon a Time in China III (1993)

The Third Installment kicks..

Jet Li. China. Wong Fei Hung. Need I say more? The 3rd in the phenomenal series delivers insane action that the rest of the world is just discovering. (Funny enough, through Jet Li's Fearless, Hero, and Unleashed) Well, you like the man, now see the legend. Unofficially, check out Iron Monkey for a prequel to this series. May 14, 2007

Once Upon A Time in China 3

A good movie from the other two. This one is in english.. February 9, 2007

u should check out Vol 4 if u love this one..

vol 3 isnt completely good as the first 2 for me, and here's why.
The last lion scene is a mess... a total mess, they lost control of it, it isnt fun to watch at all even with Jet Li's martial art skill still doesnt help the picture much. I know they havent make vol 4 and 5 to reach here, but let me tell u this, in vol 4 they have the lion fight scene expand to a ..well.. somewhat bigger scale and its whole lot better to watch than the one in here. The lion fight scene is absolutely a downside and its taken at the end of the film which make me feel a bit lost after teh movie. Yet this is still one awesome kung fu movie watch though, the part which involves "club foot" is very unique and charm, it show Jei Li character's charming side, something rather than just supreme fighting skill that attracted all his students and family members and friends around him with trust. And the laughable romance between the 2 goes further that they finally need to meet the parent. This movie is good one with decent fights in between scene, didnt top vol 2, but it still owns its place. Mark my word for it, go find vol4 on ebay, the new guy is just about as good looking as Jet Li if not more, his fighting talent isnt sharp as Jet Li but just a tiny scotch short u hardly can see it. the huge paper lion fighting scene is even better than this one. February 2, 2005

Not as it seems

I know that there have been a lot of reviews deploring the relatively lower standards of fight choreography, plot, etc. of this third installment. Yet of the 4, this was the movie that left the deepest impression on this humble reviewer - I remember being moved to tears after watching this as 12 year-old. I do understand, though, why other reviewers might have panned this one - it's much easier to understand tsui hark's intentions from the perspective of someone brought up in a more... "chinese" environment, so to speak.

The theme song of the series (the one with the drums and chinese-trumpets and people chanting "ahhhh... ahhhhhaahhhahhaahhahhh..." - yes, don't you know it) is about a man who wants to become a hero and win glory and honour - he calls others to join him in his quest, and sings of a fire burning in him that is "brighter than the sun" - an example of the sort of nationalistic, patriotic tradition that is very much ingrained into mainland-chinese culture (how much of it is part of a communist government's propaganda-package is anyone's guess). The character of Huang Fei-Hung is the embodiment of all the values inherent in The Patriot: a man unafraid of standing up to oppressive powers (foreign or otherwise) and fighting for the masses. This theme is emphasized throughout the series, and never so well-depicted as in Part III. ***Spoiler*** This episode ultimately ends tragically, as Wong realises that in fighting to "save face" and win honour for his people, he has in reality failed them. As such, the film (in a somewhat didactic approach - it is Tsui Hark, after all) deviates from the stereotypical kung-fu-hero-kills-all-the-baddies-and-saves-the-day ending in an attempt to teach its audience just what it really means to fight for your country - that it isn't just scrabbling for some abstract, pedantic bragging rights, but to be prepared to make sacrifices to bring about change that is real and good.

For those who just want to watch some chop-socking action, catch the first film. But if you're looking for some insight into the source of Chinese nationalistic fervour, and what drives a man to put everything at stake for family and country, this really is one of the essentials. October 1, 2004

Poor editing and voice overs don't kill this movie entirely

Wong Fei Hung is an important figure, not only to Chinese history, but also to me as a student of the style, which he helped make famous. The Hung Gar Style is traced back to Hung Tsi Kwan (there are lots of debates over the spelling of his name) who taught Luk Ah Choy, and Wong Tai (Wong Fei Hung's grand father) who taught Wong Kei Ying (Fei Hung's father) who refused to teach Fei Hung, forcing him to turn to Luk Ah Choy for lessons. Fei Hung then went on to teach Lam Sai Wing who wrote the book that more or less made the style famous. Hung Gar is a very common style in Southern China, but is very rare stateside with only a small number of schools teaching it. Wong Fei Hung is therefore a matter of great interest to me, which is why I bought this film without actually seeing it first. Sadly I was disappointed.
The voice-overs for the English dub of OUATIC 1 and 2 were decent, and I liked the voice actor behind Jet Li in the first two films. Sadly he was replaced with a less appropriate voice actor. I didn't really notice if any of the other mainstays of the series had different voices, but Fei Hung's voice was very different and not as good as the previous installments. Granted bad voice-overs are to be expected with Kung Fu movies, but why fix what isn't broken?
The editing in this movie also leaves a lot to be desired as it is the worst editing I have seen in a modern Kung Fu movie, period. Story line wise the movie is very good with a story that sets the stage for the Boxer Rebellion, which shook the very foundations of the Qing (or Ching depending of your spelling preference) Dynasty. In that time frame the Empress decided to use the anti-foreign attitudes of China to what was supposed to be her advantage. The idea was inspire the Martial Artists to revolt against them; she never anticipated that the Martial Artists (many of them Ming Dynasty patriots) would not only violently revolt against the foreigners, but also the Ching themselves. This movie is kind of a precursor to that bloody massacre, with the empress trying to inspire the revolt by hosting a Lion Head (King) competition. Parts of this story are indeed based on actual history, which make this story perhaps the most intriguing of the trilogy. However, now Wong Fei Hung and Cousin Yee are discussing marriage, and while Wong Fei Hung was married three times it was never to his cousin-by-marriage. The bizarre and arguably incestuous relationship gets even more interesting when Lilly Lee meets up with an old flame that has now turned into a Russian-Japanese double agent who is plotting to kill China's President Li. Also in this film is a poorly portrayed Wong Kei Ying, who was in his prime one of the Ten Tigers of Canton (China's greatest fighters at the time). Here the one fight scene he has he looses... and I am sorry, but seeing such a legendary fighter get beaten was kind of an eye roller. I'm as much of a fan of Wong Kei Ying as I am of Wong Fei Hung... I wasn't happy with how the elder Wong was portrayed. On the plus side while the action sequences failed to meet expectations set by the first two the Lion Head sequences are simply breathtaking. I have always loved Lion head dances and hope that one day my SiFu will allow me to participate in one myself. This movie did a fantastic job or portraying the multiple sides of the Lion Head tradition. On the one side, its fascinating to watch, amazing to participate on, and can be a lot of fun over all. On the dark side, they were used to pass messages around during various revolts, and in many cases Lion Heads were used as vehicles of assault, or assassination. This move does a superb job of focusing on both aspects.
Although the movie is still good I only recommend it over all for fans, or completists as this is sadly not the OUATIC series' finer moment, and the casual movie goer may not get into it as much. June 1, 2004

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