Criterion US Blu-ray Synopsis: One of the pinnacles of Hong Kong cinema's golden age, the Once Upon A Time In China series set a new standard for martial-arts spectacle and launched action star Jet Li to international fame. It brings to vivid life the colourful world of China in the late nineteenth century, an era of immense cultural and technological change, as Western imperialism clashed with tradition and public order was upended by the threats of foreign espionage and rising nationalism. Against this turbulent backdrop, one man – the real-life martial-arts master, physician, and folk hero Wong Fei Hung – emerges as a noble protector of Chinese values as the country hurtles toward modernity. Conceived by Hong Kong New Wave leader Tsui Hark, this epic cycle is not only a dazzling showcase for some of the most astonishing action set pieces ever committed to film but also a rousing celebration of Chinese identity, history, and culture. Having chronicled the social upheval wrought by Western influence in the opening chapter of the Once Upon A Time In China series, Tsui Hark turned his attention to the perils of the unchecked nationalism in his sensational follow-up, the rare sequel to equal the dizzying highs of its predecessor. Jet Li returns to the role of Wong Fei Hung, who here takes on the diabolical White Lotus Sect, a virulently xenophobic cult whose anti-foreigner sentiments unleash a wave of destructive violence. Fellow martial-arts icon Donnie Yen dazzles in a star making turn as Wong's nemesis, who faces off with the hero in a battle royal that showcases the kinetic brilliance of revered Hong Kong action choreographer Yuen Woo Ping. (112 Mins)

 

Eureka Video UK Blu-ray Synopsis: Tsui Hark's phenomenal Once Upon A Time In China trilogy finally arrives on Blu-ray in the UK from brand new 4K restorations! Starring Jet Lias the real life Cantonese folk hero, Wong Fei Hung,a physical embodiment of traditional Chinese values and moral incorruptibility, this martial-arts epic charts China's transition into the modern-world as it gradually abandons its old traditions and begins to accept the inevitable encroach of Western cultures. Wong Fei Hung faces off against the White Lotus Cult, a dangerous xenophobic group seeking to drive all European influence out of China, as well as a conflicted military officer, played by Donnie Yen in his breakthrough role. (112 Mins)

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Cineasia UK DVD Synopsis: Jet Li is back as irrepressible folk hero and martial arts master Wong Fei Hung in the No.1 Hong Kong Box Office smash hit “Once Upon A Time In China 2”. Featuring a tense, atmospheric story which centres on Canton and the destructive power struggle between the official government, the emerging democracy movement and the rabidly xenophobic White Lotus Cult, this movie entered the record books as the 100th movie to depict the life of legendary hero Wong Fei Hung, making the series the longest running in movie-making history. This movie has everything which made its predecessor such a success: a dynamic, incorruptible hero brought brilliantly to life by Jet Li, a supremely talented supporting cast, beautifully conceived sets, stylish cinematography and breath-taking fight sequences. (108 Mins)

 

Hong Kong Legends UK DVD Synopsis: Jet Li is back as irrepressible folk hero and martial arts master Wong Fei Hung in the No.1 Hong Kong Box Office smash hit “Once Upon A Time In China 2”. Featuring a tense, atmospheric story which centres on Canton and the destructive power struggle between the official government, the emerging democracy movement and the rabidly xenophobic White Lotus Cult, this movie entered the record books as the 100th movie to depict the life of legendary hero Wong Fei Hung, making the series the longest running in movie-making history. This movie has everything which made its predecessor such a success: a dynamic, incorruptible hero brought brilliantly to life by Jet Li, a supremely talented supporting cast, beautifully conceived sets, stylish cinematography and breath-taking fight sequences. (108 Mins)

 

Made In Hong Kong UK VHS Synopsis: The World's Number One martial arts star Jet lee returns opposite Donnie Yen and the devastating Rosamund Kwan as Wong Fei Hung, legendary Chinese folk hero battling for the honour of Imperial China in the face of foreign invasion. Director Tsui Hark (Once Upon A Time In China, Zu Warriors Of The Magic Mountain) helms this tragi-comic masterpiece, flawlessly interweaving mind-blowing stunt comedy and gut-wrenching carnage with trademark aplomb. High art meets explosive Eastern action as never before. (106 Mins)

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Chinatown Video Australian VHS Synopsis: Late 19th century China, weakened by corruption, poverty and the invasion of imperialist forces is thrown off balance again by a new invasion of foreign culture, beliefs and technology. While for revolutionaries like Sun Yat-Sen, this is a time to adapt or die, legendary martial artist Wong Fei Hung (Jet Lee) remains puzzled by western culture and clings to tradition. Although lighter in tone and with more comedy than it's grim first part, this sequel still conjures up some sobering images. The ransacked language school, full of massacred teachers covered in xenophobic spells, is a shocking sight. Martial arts are incidental to the plot, but there is still plenty of hair-raising kung fu action, notably a cracking pole fight between Jet Lee and Donnie Yen, performed at breakneck speed. Even more thrilling is the showdown at the temple of the White Lotus where Wong uses his umbrella to whip and whack his way through hordes of incensed disciples. He then fights the high priest precariously balanced atop a tottering tower of wooden tables. Flawlessly combining art and commercialism, it's exciting, dynamic escapism. (113 Mins)

 

Views: Tsui Hark returns with the first sequel to his groundbreaking martial-arts epic, Once Upon A Time In China – a film that launched a string of sequels and connected television show, as well as a host of copycats and homages. It was also the film shot Jet Li to major stardom in the role of Wong Fei Hung – a role he would go on to play numerously in the films sequels and other stand-alone titles. This first sequel of the series is somewhat a little darker than the first, yet challenges it scene for scene in terms of entertainment, action-choreography, story, and excitement; often standing out as my favourite chapter of the series. This time, Wong Fei Hung, Leung Foon and Aunt Yee travel to Guangzhou (Canton) where a feared, and worshipped, society of fanatics (known as the White Lotus Cult) have taken over the town – determined to drive out all Westerners and their influences, destroying any foreign objects at hand and beating on their countrymen who followed Western traditions. While attending a medical conference, Wong and the other attendees come under attack! As they rush to safety, Fei Hung puts himself at risk to defend his new friend, Dr. Sun Yat Sen – a revolutionary and fellow physician (who also became the first president of the Republic of China) that was in town trying to re-organise his followers. Both of them, along with the rest of their party, soon cross paths with Commander Lan; a determined and twisted army leader who is determined to stop Dr. Sun and those that help them. Pulled in all directions while standing up to the White Lotus Cult and Commander Lan, as well as keeping his beloved Aunt Yee safe among others, Wong Fei Hung finds himself up against his biggest challenge yet and must take his martial-arts skills to the next level in a bid to save the day!

 

I absolutely love Once Upon A Time In China 2! I feel that it's a much stronger film than the first on many levels – technically, artistically, visually, and even in terms of its action-choreography. Tsui's execution of character development continues to impress and I really felt that Jet Li had a much better grip of playing Wong Fei Hung, delivering a fun performance that showed him at the top of his game. Vietnamese-born director Tsui Hark had been stunning audiences for well over a decade by the time he had started the Once Upon A Time In China series. From his fun directorial debut with The Butterfly Murders to the ground-breaking Zu: Warriors From The Magic Mountain, Hark had already been creating a stir with his style of 'New Wave' wuxia action on films such as A Chinese Ghost Story 1–3, Swordsman, and A Terracotta Warrior which were all great tasters of what was to come from this amazing film-maker. As with the first one, Tsui returns in the roles of writer/producer/director for Once Upon A Time In China 2, joining forces once again with Golden Harvest to bring the second chapter of his Wong Fei Hung stories to life. As mentioned before, Tsui and Jet had teamed up for the so-so US based martial-arts comedy, The Master – a film that was deemed so bad it was shelved until Once Upon A Time In China made a superstar out of Li. Of course, soon after that, The Master got its release and a retitling of Wong Fei Hung '92 in some places, and has since garnered a healthy following with Hong Kong film fans. Much like Jackie Chan, Jet Li did an amazing job in playing the legendary folk hero and delivered a very different take on Wong than those before him. Launching into the film world in the highly regarded and very enjoyable, Shaolin Temple, Jet fast became a firm favourite with his good looks and fast moves, going on to star in sequels such as Kids From Shaolin and Martial Arts From Shaolin – with the latter being directed by the great Lau Kar Leung. In 1988, Jet set out to make his directorial debut with Born To Defence – an interesting war-based action film that definitely had some good moments to offer but, ultimately, was a bit of a flop and Jet would never direct again. A role alongside Chow Sing Chi in Billy Tang's underrated US-based fight flick, Dragon Fight, would follow with Jet sticking around in the West for Tsui Hark's The Master before his life would soon take a whole new direction with Once Upon A Time In China. Since then, Jet became one of Hong Kong's most bankable stars with many great roles to follow in these sequels, as well as Once Upon A Time In China & America, Swordsman 2, Fong Sai Yuk 1 & 2, Tai Chi Master, Fist Of Legend, Black Mask, and so much more – leading to a healthy Hollywood career that would help make him a household name. And while I still managed to catch a few moments of doubling when Jet was on screen, it was still amazing to see him display even more fantastic kung-fu moves than before – this time, thankfully not hindered by a pair of broken legs.

 

Once again, a wonderful cast joins Jet Li in Once Upon A Time In China 2 with the handsome Max Mok taking over Yuen Biao in the role of Leung Foon. I absolutely adore Mok, but it was such a shame that Biao didn't stick around for the rest of the films. Like many Hong Kong stars of his generation and most before him, Max Mok made his debut as an actor in the Shaw Brothers studios starting with The Enchantress, directed by Chor Yuen. From there, the handsome hero would go on to star in films such as Holy Flame Of The Martial World, Journey Of The Doomed, Last Eunuch In China, The Dragon Family, Pedicab Driver, Outlaw Brothers, and so much more. His role here as Foon just elevated his status even more, with Mok continuing to play the character through every sequel (and series) except for part 6. The delightful Rosamund Kwan returns as Wong's 13th Aunt. Of course, Kwan would go on to join Li in the part 3, as well as starring alongside him in Tsui Hark's Swordsman 2 and Ching Siu Tung's Doctor Wai & The Scripture With No Words, as well as returning to star as Aunt Yee for Once Upon A Time In China 5 and Once Upon A Time In China & America. Kwan does a wonderful job as Yee, getting herself in trouble due to her Western influences and love for photography, while the love between her and the young kung-fu master grows. And while fans may feel the lack of star power with the absence of Jacky Cheung and Kent Cheng absent from the cast list, martial-arts superstar Donnie Yen and Shaw Brothers legend David Chiang help to fill the gap – along with the addition of Hung Yan Yan as the leader of the White Lotus Cult. Although he had made an explosive debut in 1984 as the leading man of Yuen Woo Ping's awesome Drunken Tai Chi, Donnie still only had 9 titles under his belt before nailing the role here as Commander Lan. Of course, many of these were genuine hits such as Tiger Cage 1 & 2, and In The Line Of Duty 4 – with others such as Crystal Hunt, Cheetah On Fire, and Holy Virgin Versus The Evil Dead winning over fans with their wild and exciting content – so, in essence, the super-kicker was still pretty fresh-faced in comparison to most other Hong Kong stars who were dishing out 12 films a year on average. As the menacing Commander Lan, Donnie proves to be quite the match for Jet Li under the direction of his long-time mentor Yuen Woo Ping; who would also have given him the freedom to work-in his own choreography at times. As it happens, 1992 was one of Yen's busiest years with the aforementioned Cheetah On Fire coming out just ahead of this and another villainous role in Tsui Hark's New Dragon Gate Inn – leading to a run of 'new wave' martial-arts films with Butterfly & Sword, Iron Monkey, Hero Among Heroes, and Wing Chun respectively. It was also great to see the wonderful David Chiang appear in such an epic movie. Having started his film career a good 40 years before he starred in Once Upon A Time In China 2 and racking up over 100 titles during that time, most of which were martial-arts based, I must admit that I was slightly disappointed that he didn't get to join in with any of the kung-fu action. Regardless, Chiang does a great job in the role and only adds to the impressive cast on offer. And then there is the fantastic Hung Yan Yan (Xiong Xin Xin) who stars as the wild cult leader of the White Lotus Society – returning as a different character to the previous chapter that saw him play a throw-away gang member, as well as doubling-up for Jet Li most of the time after the main star broke both his legs halfway through production. As Priest Gao Kung, Hung Yan Yan gets to display some hugely impressive martial-arts and go wild with his performance that sees him go up against Wong Fei Hung in a furious showdown. Having made his debut opposite Li in Shaolin Temple 3: Martial Arts Of Shaolin, Hung would go on to appear in films such as Tiger On The Beat 1 & 2, Aces Go Places 5, City Cops, God Of Gamblers, and Skinny Tiger, Fatty Dragon before joining Tsui for his run in the series. But, as any true fan of Hong Kong cinema knows, it would be his role as Clubfoot in Once Upon A Time In China 3 – and from there on in – that would highlight the skills of Hung Yan Yan, and earn him the nickname of that same character with fans around the world.

 

Due to the setting of the story, with focus on the influence of Western people and inventions, a number of Hong Kong based Westerners pop-up along the way also. These include Australian actor Mike Miller, in what would have been his 4th role over 2 years after appearing in Rings Untouchable, The Greed Of Man, and The Deadly Rose which was made the same year as this. In fact 1992 would be a busy enough time for Miller with roles in the latter, Black Cat 2, Pom Pom & Hot Hot, Invincible, and obviously this. Spending just under a decade in the business, Mike would go on to star in around 20 films, with appearances in classics such as City Hunter, Swordsman 3: The East Is Red, Bodyguard From Beijing, Red Wolf, Knock Off, and The Black Sheep Affair. Starring alongside him is Paul Fonoroff, a noticeable bit-part actor who has appeared in films such as Fight Back To School 2, Once Upon A Time A Hero In China, Inspector Wears Skirts 4, The Final Option, and the Sunny Luk thriller, Helios, which also featured my good friend Mike Leeder who, incidentally, worked on Once Upon A Time In China 2 and had his own brief role also. And fan favourites such as Dion Lam, Yen Shi Kwan, William Ho, Zhang Tie Lin, Kent Chow, Patrick Ling, and others, help to fill things out...

 

Compelling for the most part and showing its two main kung-fu stars at the top of their game, Once Upon A Time In China 2 saw cinematographer Arthur Wong return to capture the stunning visuals on offer throughout. Over the years, Wong has starred in and produced many titles since the late 1970s, and went on to make a name for himself as the DOP on classics like Operation Condor, Moon Warriors, Eastern Condors, The Warlords, Bodyguards & Assassins, and League Of Gods, and worked with Brandy Yuen as one of the directors on In The Line Of Duty 3: Force Of The Dragon. The production also saw the return of Herman Chow in the music department along with the infamous Wong Fei Hung theme song, sung by Jackie Chan in Mandarin and George Lam in Cantonese. Of course, one of the biggest highlights of the show is that of the fantastic martial-arts action courtesy of the one-and-only Yuen Woo Ping. As mentioned, I have no doubt that Woo Ping gave Donnie some creative freedom to add his own ideas to the mix, and it's quite possible that talents such as Hung Yan Yan and other members of the Yuen Clan were involved also. Regardless, the team deliver a host of exciting and beautifully crafted work that allows everyone involved to look their best and wow martial-arts fans with some genuinely stunning fight action, with the final showdown between Jet Li and Donnie Yen being the best of the lot. All-in-all, there's no denying that this sequel is just as impressive as its predecessor and is a film that deserves to be a part of every true Hong Kong film fans collection!

 

Overall: Another classic of Hong Kong cinema, Once Upon A Time In China 2 is one of Tsui Hark's finest moments and a great showcase for its main stars!

 

Criterion Blu-ray Extras: 4K Restoration, Trailer

 

Eureka Video Blu-ray Extras: 4K Restoration, Audio Commentary with Mike Leeder & Arne Venema, Memories Of OUATIC 2 with Mike Miller, The Legend Of Wong Fei Hung (Part 2) Featurette, Archival Interviews with Jet Li & Donnie Yen, Trailers

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Cineasia DVD Extras: Audio Commentary with Bey Logan, Interviews with Jet Li & Donnie Yen, Animated Jet Li Biography, Trailers

 

Hong Kong Legends DVD Extras: Audio Commentary with Bey Logan, Interviews with Jet Li & Donnie Yen, Animated Jet Li Biography, Trailers

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Watch my unboxing video of this Criterion release HERE