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Wong
Fei Hung (who is a physician as well as a martial artist) attends
an international medical conference, and introduces the British
to acupuncture. Presently, Wong and his followers find themselves
in mortal danger at the hands of the anti-foreign White Lotus Cult,
and they take refuge at the British embassy. Wong teams up with
Dr. Sun Yat Sen to, fight back the cultists, and keep a name list
of revolutionaries from falling into the wrong hands.
In many ways this film is superior to the original OUATIC. This
is firstly because there are less supporting characters, and therefore
more time is afforded to Wong Fei Hung, Aunt Yee, and Fu. This helps
to develop their relationships and this part of the plot adds nicely
to the continuity of the series. Jet Li has had time to adapt to
his role and does more of his own fighting here than in the original
(in the previous film he sustained an injury early on in production
and needed to be doubled by stuntman Hung Yan Yan). The two standout
fight sequences are versus fan favourite Donnie Yen, and it is a
bit of a disappointment that him and Li never go toe to toe. Instead
we get two extremely well choreographed pole duels where both him
and Li really show what they can do. These are truly amazing and
the only minor quibble I would have is that the editing of the last
section (where Jet defeats him) is a bit drawn out. Tsui Hark has
again delivered a film that has a very distinctive look. It is shot
in an almost sepia looking colour balance and shafts of light are
used to give the film a very interesting look. The production design
is also excellent - Tsui's team have succeeded in giving the most
realistic rendition of 19th century China yet seen in Hong Kong
cinema.
This film delivers in all departments, drama, action, acting, comedy,
directing and plot and is definitely one of the better (if not the
best) OUATIC films. Watching this you can clearly see why the new
wave kung fu film genre is so popular. This is a very intelligent
and mature addition to the much imitated but rarely bettered film
series.
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