Wolff rating: GOOD
Plot summary: Legendary hero Wong Fei-Hung finds his kung fu dojo and hospital at the center of a complicated intrigue involving colonial powers.
Biased, pithy comments: This is another case of a movie that is just a mess, but has so much good in it you can't help but like it. With a plot that must baffle even the Chinese and clashing tones and ideas that jostle for attention from moment to moment, this is a wildly uneven tale of historical intrigue and Hong Kong action. Once the story gets rolling, there are some amazing fight scenes (the ladder scene at the end is much imitated by American directors; ``Xena'' ripped it off momemnt-by-moment) and some touching character drama. There are also scenes of out-and-out horror, mostly at the hands of the evil colonists, and these are hard to watch in comparison to some of the more fantastic kung fu sequences. No, even with Li, Yuen, Kwan, Cheung, Yee, Cheng, and others giving great performances, the movie only sometimes makes continuity-sense and very little thematic sense. It's a mixed bag, but has such wonder and excitement in it it's stupendously interesting to watch. See it, but check in with some other Hong Kong action first, most specificially ``Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon,'' and ``Project A.''
Other Notes: Breakthrough film for Jet Li and Tsui Hark.
How many times I have seen it: x1
Starring: Jet Li, Biao Yuen, Rosamund Kwan, Steve Tartalia, Jacky Cheung, Kent Cheng, Yee Kwan Yan.
Directed by: Tsui Hark