PART ONE - JET LI MOVIES
Time for some action in what will be an admittedly brief marathon. As well as a few ruminations on the nature of remakes and star power. Is it odd to consider Jet Li's Fist of Legend a better film than Bruce Lee's Fist of Fury? Perhaps not in many ways. In fact it remains my firm favourite from the
Wushu champion's back catalogue, although there are a lot of high points to consider. As remakes go it's certainly amongst the better ones, retaining the original spirit while adding a lot of extra layers.
It certainly has a more complex attitude towards the Japanese occupation by presenting an
educated central character. The story is more balanced overall; both heroes and
villains have varied personalities regardless of which side they're on.
Which isn't something that can be said for many of the films in this brisk screening.
They also add elements to the romantic sub plot just to cover all the bases. Japanese allies and lovers certainly weren't part of the original story's anti-authority vibe, so everything that was old is new again. Even the guy whose treachery kicks off the story has a more sympathetic cause, they've thought of everything in terms of fleshing out the little details. Of course it helps that the action set pieces are also excellent. The stand-out is easily the final showdown with General Fujita, with all those high kicks in stiff formal outfits and the improvised belt nunchaku. To nobody's surprise he doesn't get given a nuanced personality or a softer side. A blind-folded duel and a new version of the original karate dojo battle also stand out. As a result it's a film that holds up to repeat viewings.
As part of this small marathon I also revisited the original three Once Upon a Time in China movies, as well as the semi-related comedy spin off
Last Hero In China. The latter has the amazing alternate title Iron Rooster vs Centipede,
which describes the tone of everything it has to offer far better. It has the same central character Wong Fei-hung, the Chinese folk hero in Drunken Master and many other stories. Or for fans of the old dubs maybe it's 'Freddy' Wong. The ensemble also includes a number of his recurring students. One's an overweight butcher, another has ridiculously large teeth, it's all very familiar stuff. The
tone is far more camp and the style of the movie utilises a lot more
wire work than any of the 'real' stories in this canon. But that's part of the fun with retelling old tales.
As for the whole centipede thing from the alternative title... honestly I can't tell you what's going on there. Just check it out for yourself or simply watch a clip of that sequence online, you won't regret it. Yet another traditional lion dance set piece this is not. As for the first three instalments of the Once... trilogy itself it starts out strong. There's a lot of great production design and intricate back lot locations. It's a great looking movie. Perhaps it was given a larger budget than the usual Hong Kong action fare, instead just being filmed outside in the woods or on that coastal cliff-side which appears in so many films from the late 1970s and early '80s. There's a fairly standard plot about rival street gangs and sinister foreign invaders from the West, but the action is inventive and the comedy relief elements are used more sparingly than many other films in this genre.
Which is appreciated as it gives everything a bit more gravity when dramatic twists are necessary. Unfortunately there's an immediate sense of diminishing returns when it comes to what the sequels have to offer. The quality drops with part two which has a less well thought out storyline. It goes totally overboard in the finale with a really silly evil cult showdown, which just feels out of place against the more sober political plot. Donnie Yen gets an early role as a shady official, but it feels like his involvement is part of an extraneous thread that could have been cut to allow more focus elsewhere. There's still a lot of good action but the strain is beginning to show. Which is a shame because it still looks great and it's fun to spend more time with the central duo of Li and Rosamund Kwan.
But by the time part three gets started things have lost their way even more. Half
the movie seems to be taken up by huge lion dance sequences that look as
though they were included just to have a lot of extras and props on
screen together. It may be spectacular, keeping with the style of the others, but it's never very engaging. As the lion heads and the performers fly all over the place the action is
lost in the madness of the competition. It does tie up a few romantic plot
lines with Kwan's 13th Aunt at least, even if they can't decide on her characters name. The subtitles change in every film on the versions I have to hand, which is a little confusing. Ultimately it's a
simple case of that lightning in a bottle being lost. Of course later they would keep the series going anyway and replace Jet Li with
another lead.
To cap this off I also made time for some additional viewings, with varying results. One that is only worth a foot note unfortunately was Black Mask. It tries a few typical masked vigilante ideas but doesn't go anywhere interesting. There's a mix of half-baked science fiction ideas and a drug dealing plot, but it really needed to include some more action beats. Hero on the other hand was far more interesting and holds up to repeat viewings. It remains a
beautiful Wuxia epic with some nice characterisation, even if
everyone's motivations become a little unclear by the time the final
twist arrives.
Still, it's a high point for the genre, and later efforts by director Zhang Yimou (particularly Curse of the Golden Flower) didn't ever recapture the same magic. As for Mr. Li himself, there's plenty of entertainment elsewhere. There will be time in the future to consider the likes of the the Shaolin Temple series and Tai Chi Master. Even Fearless and Unleashed could be worth discussion.
[PART 2] [PART 3]
BONUS RETROSPECTIVE - Meltdown
