Evengyny Thanks for the memories!

Curapedi I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.

WillSushyMedia This movie was so-so. It had it's moments, but wasn't the greatest.

Gary The movie's not perfect, but it sticks the landing of its message. It was engaging - thrilling at times - and I personally thought it was a great time.

Scarecrow-88 Wang Fei Hung will have to contend with a White Lotus Sect which wants Taiwan's independence free of "foreigners". Along with Aunt 13 and servant Foon, Wong is attending a special convention which brought together American physicians along with Chinese to understand the body's anatomy, when the White Lotus Sect attack the conference with flaming arrows. In Canton, the Telegraph House is the town's link to the outside world which is why it's a constant target of the White Lotus Sect. We see the outside modern influence in music, cuisine, and even dress(Aunt 13 whose western clothes, once she enters town, earn the ire of citizens, including unruly children). When a picture is taken of a White Lotus ceremony, Aunt 13 is almost captured.What Hung didn't realize is that a new leader is emerging, his abilities at raising an army in Hong Kong and elsewhere successful, Sun Yat Sen, a doctor he met at the convention where foreign scientists/doctors were killed. The language school massacre(where Chinese students learn other languages outside their own), changes Wong's perspective on the White Lotus Sect. Stuck with school students who hid from the Lotus attackers, Hung attempts to find refuge for them in Canton's City Hall to no avail. The British Consulate may be the children's only hope. In the consulate this is where Hung is introduced Christianity. Sun's expertise are in demand, knowing western medicine, when a flood of British injured need mending thanks to the Lotus attackers, Hung will be called upon to use his Chinese methods to help the wounded and hurt as well. Without enough anesthetics, Hung's acupuncture could be an affective tool to help those worse for wear. Luke, Sun's assistant also speaks English, is a definite asset due to Hung's inabilities to establish communication with the westerners.If martial arts fans can just remain attentive your patience will be rewarded. The bamboo stick fight between Hung and City Hall Commander Lan is just a taste of what is to come. There's the White Lotus exchange with Hung, Foon, Aunt 13, and Mr. Luke in the British Consulate.The speed of Jet Li is awe-inspiring, not to mention his body's athletic movements are "poetry in motion". Such as the Showdown at White Lotus Temple as Hung fights an army of soldiers(who are equipped with swords)with an umbrella! Check out how Tsui Hark uses tables stacked on top of each other to form a temporary altar for Priest Kung using wire fu and clever camera work.Balancing acts on plankboards. Dust kicked up off the wood floors. Faces socked in the kisser by deafening blows. Spinning torsos narrowly escaping the end of sharp blades. Long cloth used as a means to escape a nasty fall from high up. Hung's desire to show the followers of White Lotus that Priest Kung's religion was false, not carrying a message of peace but of violence, willing to go the extra mile to prove that they are beholden to a lie.Lan is after Luke and Sun, considering them international criminals. There's a name book hidden in the wall of a market and it is important that Luke retrieve it before meeting Sun on the pier out of Canton.If their previous battle wet your appetite, Lan and Hung's combat in the warehouse of the market should be a feast. Bamboo has never been used so effectively(or destroyed in such a fashion)as it is here. And Lan's "cloth stick" is a humdinger. Wait until you see what a bamboo splinter to the throat can do! It's all about a revolution for the Chinese people with Sun the proposed hero and Hung is the one who aligns himself with this rising leader to help in the process. Lan is the one who will do whatever it takes to see Sun fail. Li is a dynamo as the legendary cult figure Wong Fei Hung, his abilities on display for us to enjoy. What a privilege to watch such a talent in all his glory, a phenom Li is. Tsui Hark proves here he can make an epic when he's inspired. Definitely a Pro-Chinese message, though, very evident throughout.With Rosamund Kwan as Li's love interest, Aunt 13, Donnie Yen as Lan, Siu Chung Mok as the comedy relief Foon, David Chiang as the courageous Luke, and Tielin Zhang as Sun Yat-Sen.

Derek Carpet Once Upon A Time there was a place called China II. It was filled with fierce warriors, magical wizards, dragons, and hobbits. Yes, this is the sequel to Once Upon A Time In China III, and also the prequel to Part I. It isn't as good as the predecessor, but it's better than Part I. Our hero Jet Lee returns, and this time HE'S PERSONAL! Living the peacable life for a few weeks (or a fortnight if you like) he travels with his girlfriend Uncle Eleven by plane to Japan for a medical seminar on medicine. Yes, the plot is a lot like Fear And Lovely In Las Vegas but we'll excuse that (as well as the obvious physical similarities between Lee and Deppp). The peace doesn't last long of course (it is a murial arts film after all!) and the lecture is infiltrated by the bastardly Brown Daisy Clan. They are ninjas or samurais or something, but one thing is for sure- they kick shins! Another thing is for sure that they are hard but Lee is harder and decides to take them all on.This is the one where Lee takes on Donnie Osmond on the scaffolding of a building, up ladders, across wooden planks, and through cement mixers- it is usually not unregarded as one of the greatest if not worst fights of all times! It is very excitement with all sorts of kicks and punches and jumpings. When I watch I want to jump into the TV and join in. 'HEE YA!' I fly kick off the wall and knock some bad guy into the hay. Yeah! I love kicking things, it makes me feel super. As Bruce Lee once said, 'Kicking things that don't kick back is better- they don't kick back.' My brother Andy and me used to watch films like this, and then when our parents went out we would pretend we were ninjas and fight too. We would take off of our shoes, but leave on on our socks and fight. He was much smaller than me so I always won, though sometimes he would kick me in the gunnels. Sometimes we would swing at the same time and kick each others feet, that was really sore! It all ended though when the car came up the drive and we had to put all the cushions back on the seats. If mum saw there was a mess, she would turn into a ninja and beat us both, and we would end up in bed without any supper. Sometimes that chump from down the road, Brendan would come and annoy us when we were outside, so we would show off of our Kung Fu skills on him so he cried.This film has many amazement moments and could only have been bettered if Bruce Lee had been in it. One other small problem is the obvious budget cuts. Halfway through the film you can tell that the bad guys are just cardboard cut outs, most noticeably when Lee puts his foot through one guy's chest, gets stuck, and spends the next five minutes fighting with a supposed dead bad guy wrapped round his ankle. This wasn't as bad as the first film where they still used actors, although there only were 4 so when Lee beat up and killed someone, they would get up, sneak round the side of the camera and fight him again. You can also clearly tell that when they run out of cardboard they throw paper mache dummy bad guys into the mix- there is obviously a grip or best boy or producer off screen throwing them into the scene beside the camera. This lends an odd tone to the film. Of course as we all know the last 15 minutes of the film are copied exactly from the first film because of the budget- annoying yes because we never find out what really happens, but good because those 15 minutes from the first were the best from that film apart from the first 90! Best Scene: Lee kicking all the dummies that are being chucked into the room as real bad guys. The funniest part comes when someone grabs the director and throws him in and Lee kicks him in the throat. Ha Ha. The director never spoke again.

Sanou_san Once again I always appreciate highly martial arts movie of Chinese origin. They are so unique and so eye-catching, you wouldn't even drop your eyes for a moment to miss a glimpse of every exhilarating action scenes. Once again Jet Li proves his somewhat innate talent in portraying a real Kung Fu master, whose almost invincible at every angle you see. This sequel to the first Once upon a time in China movie attracts once again all action movie addicts especially of Chinese martial arts genre. Undeniably Chinese movies concerning martial arts action offer the best of them all, unlike nowadays some movies gets tired in furnishing the best product of their movie career. Foremost, even though the story is a bit eccentrically confusing the substance reminds us to look for something else noteworthy. Glad I have it in cheap original copy, watch it I promise you'll never be disappointed.And oh, this is the first movie where I saw Donnie Yen played his character.

MovieCriticMarvelfan Very,very good movie, on top of that it's a great martial arts flick. Any Jet-Li fan needs to have this in their library.A different reversal of roles, he plays a doctor who looks like a monk helping people and fighting occupation over territories in China. Typically nowadays Jet to most of his American audiences is known for playing dark, urban crime fighting characters and personalities like in "Unleashed" and "The Enforcer". That takes nothing away from this masterpiece. It's great in every way possible, the soundtrack, acting, story.His character Huang Feihong (sounds more like Wei-Fong) is well layed out, he has some flaws, but he is great when the time comes. Rosamund Kwan plays Huang's cousin who is very fond of him, I got the feeling she was in love with him as she says "I'll never leave you' The martial arts stunts are really top notch, I can even list all the stunts but the fights with the White Lotus bunch is outstanding.Pretty good acting too all around.