Once Upon A Time in China

Now I'm going to try to review all 6 of these movies at once, since I watched all 6 in a row. Why? Because I just happen to have that kind of time, that's why. I'll admit it took me a couple days to do it though, even I can't sit through 12 hours of kung fu movies without getting a little antsy. And yes these are definitely kung fu movies, don't let anyone try and tell you different. You can tell because the secondary characters are not well thought out, and the romance leaves much to be desired. I do like that it is a continuous plot throughout these movies, and Jet Li seems to suit this role quite well. I also like that the setting changes occasionally, on the even numbered movies it seemed. Oh I should point out that this series is almost entirely about Wong Fei Hung, a big folk hero in China from about the same time as the "Wild West" for us North Americans. That sticks it in the late 1800s, which considering my family history, isn't that long ago. Long enough though.

Any way our hero Wong Fei Hung, played by Jet Li, is an army trainer, a doctor, a martial arts expert, and a peace-maker. He is essentially the perfect Chinese hero, well-learned, well-meaning, flexible, and good at kung fu. All the things I'm not, barring the well-meaning part.So we follow along with him while his city falls apart from gangsters, his country falls apart from foreigners, and his life falls apart when he falls in love with his "aunt", which is actually his cousin, but only by marriage, and not hers. I guess you have to watch the first movie a couple times to get that one straight, because the first time I just didn't get it.

The rest of the movies are quite similar, but don't generally follow the same plot as the first movie. I'd say all in all though that each of these pass mustard in their own right, but the first 3 are my favourites!