Once Upon A Time In China (1991)

 

Do you enjoy insane martial arts fights that feel more akin to intricate ballet than straight up fistfights? Do you have a penchant for history? And can you enjoy the at times erratic style of Tsui Hark?

Then this might be a thing for you. 

Sure, it might not be the best film out there, but the fight choreography is absolutely the main reason to watch this and be gobsmacked at how insanely good the performers are. Truly, Jet Li (and others here present whose names I can't remember) deserves a lot more credit than he sometimes gets - in the Western world, that is. 

Damn, that guy was good. 

'Once Upon A Time In China' tells the story of Wong Fei-Hung, a practicioner of kung fu who has his own school in Fanshan and who is increasingly troubled by Western influence and abuse in the region. The Americans, British and some French are all imposing their own views and laws upon Chinese territory and importing their standards, which doesn't sit well with Fei-Hung. 

And even though the Westerners are all depicted as complete douchebags, the film does indeed have a point here. 

Because of various shenanigans, Fei-Hung butts heads with the local administrator and some Westerners and is constantly being harassed, even though he is trying to keep the peace. To make things worse, there's a violent gang creeping in and they unsettle everything to the point that Fei-Hung has little choice left but to intervene. 

And then another martial arts master shows up... 

The story isn't this one's strong suit. Not only is it at times hard to follow, but Tsui Hark makes a few edits that are downright weird and feel out of place. The frenetic pacing doesn't help either. But you just need to remember that Jet Li is the good guy and pretty much everyone else is a bad guy. Besides, few people watch a Tsui Hark project for the story. We're here for the fights.

And how truly magnificent they are indeed. Not only is it fast, energetic kung fu in various styles, but some wirework as well and edits are relatively sparse here, thus fully showing off the athleticism and control these guys all have when performing their art. And yes, fighting can be an artform, especially if it is done as masterfully as this. A lot of the fights are fun to watch and a lot of them have that at times childish humour that Tsui Hark loves so much, but if you need a great example of how the choreography is, try and check out the warehouse fight near the end, where Jet Li and his opponent not only use every inch of the 'arena', but also do a constant dance with and on ladders that are always shifting. 

It is absurdly engaging and poetic.

So definitely watch for the fight scenes, because most of the story will be forgotten as soon as the film is over anyway.